# Chopin - Nocturnes: Recommendations?



## Omicron9

Greetings, Chopinists.

I figured this had been done, but I did a search and turned up nothing. So here goes.... <takes deep breath> ....

What are you favorite recordings of Chopin's Nocturnes, and why?

TIA,
-09


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## lextune

Well, I could pick individual Nocturnes/Pianists all day, (and maybe I will at another time), but I can quickly name my three favorite complete recordings:
In no particular order:
Rubinstein
Arrau
Roger Woodward


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## Barbebleu

Ashkenazy and Pollini.


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## lextune

Op.55 No.2 in E-flat Major, and Op.62 No.1 in B Major from Horowitz' final recording session are spellbinding.


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## jegreenwood

lextune said:


> Well, I could pick individual Nocturnes/Pianists all day, (and maybe I will at another time), but I can quickly name my three favorite complete recordings:
> In no particular order:
> Rubinstein
> Arrau
> Roger Woodward


Don't know Woodward but add Moravec.


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## Triplets

I love Arrau. His tone reminds me of utter melting on a lobster


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## Selby

Pires
Freire

How are you searching? I recommend using Google to search.

"site: talkclassical.com Chopin Nocturnes" for example, leads to:

Best Complete Chopin Nocturne? 
http://www.talkclassical.com/18424-best-complete-chopin-nocturne.html

Chopin's Nocturnes 
http://www.talkclassical.com/21344-chopins-nocturnes.html
http://www.talkclassical.com/9807-chopins-nocturnes.html


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## Pugg

> What are you favorite recordings of Chopin's Nocturnes, and why?


Daniel Barenboim / Vladimir Ashkenazy /Samson François and Hewitt to name a few.


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## Heliogabo

Yes, Samson François is my favorite. No one reachs his emotional level, to my ears.
I like a lot Brigitte Engerer too (Harmonia mundi), clear sound and great playing.


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## philoctetes

Arrau sweeps me away.


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## Animal the Drummer

Rubinstein and Tamas Vasary, in that order, would be my recommendations.


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## Kjetil Heggelund

When I listen to Chopin it's most often Nelson Freire's Nocturnes.


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## hpowders

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> When I listen to Chopin it's most often Nelson Freire's Nocturnes.


Nelson Freire. A pianist's pianist. Quite fine in Debussy too!


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## Vaneyes

Omicron9 said:


> Greetings, Chopinists.
> 
> I figured this had been done, but* I did a search and turned up nothing.* So here goes.... <takes deep breath> ....
> 
> What are you favorite recordings of Chopin's Nocturnes, and why?
> 
> TIA,
> -09


For your consideration...

http://www.talkclassical.com/18424-best-complete-chopin-nocturne-5.html


http://www.talkclassical.com/9807-chopins-nocturnes.html


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## Anankasmo

My version of the nocturnes is by Brigitte Engerer. She plays with great clarity and rhythmic diversity. The sound is very intimate and fits the nocturnes perfectly.


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## Selby

Last night I was listening to Garrick Ohlsson and appreciating his interpretation.


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## Pat Fairlea

Arrau. Superb attention to detail without sacrificing the larger structure and a delicate touch.


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## hpowders

Hard to go wrong with Rubinstein, Arrau or Freire.

A young French pianist Francois Chaplin does very well with the Nocturnes also.


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## PeterF

I rrecently liatened to a couple of versions of Chopin's Nocturnes.
The version by Moravec really moved me the most. 
I have a very highly regarded version by Friere that I need to hear to compare with the one by Moravec.


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## Larkenfield

Another fan here of Claudio Arrau's gorgeous performances in glorious Philips sound. (May the company rest in peace because I'm not fond of the Decca label and the surface sound quality of some of their re-releases of certain Philips' recordings). 

I'm also greatly fond of Peter Katin's Nocturne performances on the London label of the mid-1950s, so free of emotional excesses and yet so rich in sentiment. For me the Nocturnes represent Chopin with his emotional guard down and at the height of his exquisite and subtle best.


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## lextune

So many mentions of Arrau, (and rightfully so!), anyone care to guess my _ *one*_ gripe with his otherwise perfect recordings/interpretations?


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## lextune

Well, I went to youtube to set up a few links showing my tiny 'gripe', but it turns out you can't really hear it on youtube....

...On the CD you can occasionally hear the click of Claudio's fingernails on the keys, I find it distracting. I thought it sure someone else had noticed. (You can also hear him breathing quite often, but I have never found that disconcerting).

This has illustrated the gap between CD and youtube further for me though...

_(...I am as guilty as anyone in that my CDs collect dust, while I watch countless hours of youtube performances/recordings in inferior sound). _


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## Pugg

Omicron9 said:


> Greetings, Chopinists.
> 
> I figured this had been done, but I did a search and turned up nothing. So here goes.... <takes deep breath> ....
> 
> What are you favorite recordings of Chopin's Nocturnes, and why?
> 
> TIA,
> -09


Did you try out some recordings already?


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## Ukko

Weissenberg. That was my choice in 2010, still is - in memory.


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## Triplets

Selby said:


> Last night I was listening to Garrick Ohlsson and appreciating his interpretation.


Ohlsonn Nocturnes are the highlight of his complete Chopin set


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## Crystal

Rubinstein and Arrau.


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## compianist

samson francois,
arrau,
rubinstein

and Ashkenasy was good to me


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## Oldhoosierdude

I have Rubenstein's recording and a download of Abbey Simons work. Rubenstein is the slightest bit better.


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## Ras

My favorite complete set of Chopin Nocturnes is *Daniel Barenboim's double-cd on DGG*. *Claudio Arrau *was the first one I bought - I still love it - except the those weird "fingernail-noises" (you know like a "clicking" sound that could have been produced by long fingernails hitting the keys).
I also like *Ivan Moravec *- silky-fine touch, fragile.
I dislike Ashkenazy -- he is unable of creating a poetic romantic feeling. It's not just Chopin also his Rachmaninov concertos.
I have a box with all of *M. Pollini's * Chopin recordings from DGG which is good and cheap.


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## Holden4th

Either Rubinstein (stereo) or Moravec. Straight, simple but emotional playing.


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## lextune

I mentioned Arrau's fingernails several posts before yours! I knew I couldn't be the only one. :tiphat:


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## Flavius

Several composers of solo keyboard works have especially led me to collect a number of interpreters. Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin, each allows such leeway of expression and personality. For the 'Nocturnes' there are Freire, of course Moravec, and the immortal Arrau, Tipo, Feltsman...Bolet: each with distinctive insight. I'm particularly fond of Andrzej Wasowski, who is not so well known. My latest preference is Elizabeth Leonskaja, for her introspection and depth of understanding, her sensitive phrasing. My heart goes out to her.


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## Ras

lextune said:


> I mentioned Arrau's fingernails several posts before yours! I knew I couldn't be the only one. :tiphat:


lextune
They talk about remastering this and remastering that, but no one mentions Arrau's fingernails!!


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## Roger Knox

Pires
Engerer
Historical: Friedheim, Novaes


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## snowyflow

I would name Arrau's complete Chopin nocturnes by Philips 1997; superb quality. My favourite pieces are B flat minor Op. 9 No. 1, and E flat major Op. 9 No. 2.


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## jegreenwood

snowyflow said:


> I would name Arrau's complete Chopin nocturnes by Philips 1997; superb quality. My favourite pieces are B flat minor Op. 9 No. 1, and E flat major Op. 9 No. 2.


Must be heavenly. (Arrau died in 1991.  )

I presume that is one of several re-releases of his 1978(?) set. It's my second favorite after Moravec.

And welcome to Talkclassical.


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## Oldhoosierdude

Since posting on this subject in September, I have had the pleasure of acquiring or listening to a number of Chopin Nocturne recordings. I have yet to find one I really don't like. I believe it's almost a can't miss with just about any recommendation you receive. Someone previously mentioned Leonskaja and I found this one on the cheap. It is indeed worth listening to. I read a few reviews on this one as I had not heard of the pianist. Reviews generally said she plays well and accomplished but is too sparse, technical and cold. Granted it is a "leaner" interpretation than some others but I agree with the previous poster, this is a beautiful and heartfelt performance. I quite enjoy it!

Another goodie that critics didn't like as well is Angela Hewitt. The sound is fantastic, and I believe some of it has to do with the piano being used. I will leave you to look up that info yourself as it is interesting. But Hewitt is criticized as not having Chopin "in her heart" I don't know what those cats heard, but sister has definitely got it all together from what I heard.

Other good one's probably already mentioned would include: Pollini (mid 60's), Moravec, Pires, and Engerer. I am sure there are many more.


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## eternum1968

Pollini plays nicely the Nocturnes


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## Larkenfield

I love Claudio Arrau's performances, but I like Brigitte Engerer's even more... superb, nuanced, flowing, full of dramatic contrast, pace, without any lack of focus or intensity; some of her trills are more like flutters than trills and I've never heard that subtle effect created by anyone... timeless artistry:


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## Dimace

Larkenfield said:


> I love Claudio Arrau's performances, but I like Brigitte Engerer's even more... superb, nuanced, flowing, full of dramatic contrast, pace, without any lack of focus or intensity; some of her trills are more like flutters than trills and I've never heard that subtle effect created by anyone... timeless artistry:


I cried like a child, when she died... *Brigitte is a MYTHOS!* My Godes! I have everything of her but, this is so sad, are not a lot... This video / recording is a real treasure for the mankind. Only she (and Smeterlin, in a different way) has played the Nocturnes mostly with her soul and a little bit with her magical hands. With her death I lost one of my two greatest piano inspirations ( the other was Jorge...) Thanks and again thanks for the video!


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## Mandryka

Dimace said:


> I cried like a child, when she died... *Brigitte is a MYTHOS!* My Godes! I have everything of her but, this is so sad, are not a lot... This video / recording is a real treasure for the mankind. Only she (and Smeterlin, in a different way) has played the Nocturnes mostly with her soul and a little bit with her magical hands. With her death I lost one of my two greatest piano inspirations ( the other was Jorge...) Thanks and again thanks for the video!


I agree about Smeterlin. You don't happen to have a transfer of his Waltzes and Mazurkas LP you can share with me do you?

There's some good Chopin by Bolet too -- I remember a fabulous live sonata 3, and some live preludes.


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## MelodicMi88

Arthur Rubinstein has the most classic, balanced, insightful, dignified and not too “mushy”, yet heartfelt and poignant interpretation of Chopjn,s Nocturnes...


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## lextune

Balanced and dignified do indeed sum up Rubinstein's Nocturnes very nicely. Many prominent pianists today could learn a thing or three from them.


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## emegele12

I absolutely can't get enough of Rubinstein's version 
I wish he would have recorded the posthumous nocturnes in C-sharp minor and C minor


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## Oldhoosierdude

I stumbled on the pilz release of Schmalfuss version of some Chopin nocturnes. Wow, excellent! Not sure if he recorded all of them.


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## bruno parfait

Samson François. His playing was what the guy was, a work in constant progress, always moving and on the move. Trained by Alfred Cortot ( who did not record all the Nocturnes but was a genius in about all his Etudes or Preludes recordings).Samson François' Nocturnes are ghostly, in the most poetic meaning of the word...


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## Mandryka

bruno parfait said:


> Samson François. His playing was what the guy was, a work in constant progress, always moving and on the move. Trained by Alfred Cortot ( who did not record all the Nocturnes but was a genius in about all his Etudes or Preludes recordings).Samson François' Nocturnes are ghostly, in the most poetic meaning of the word...


I'm very much inclined to agree with you about this. If I have one reservation about Francois it's to do with a hardness of tone which I sometimes perceive, and which sometimes strikes me a slightly unsuitable in Chopin. But this is a very minor niggle, and may not be really justified anyway.

His relationship with Cortot was notoriously stormy, I think they once (nearly?) came to blows, or at least that's a story I once heard. However, I can't help but feel that he was Cortot's best pupil in terms of poetic disposition -- unless Cziffra was one of Cortot's pupils -- I don't think he was (friend yes, pupil no.)


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## Josquin13

Mandryka writes, "His relationship with Cortot was notoriously stormy, I think they once (nearly?) came to blows, or at least that's a story I once heard. However, I can't help but feel that he was Cortot's best pupil in terms of poetic disposition -- unless Cziffra was one of Cortot's pupils -- I don't think he was (friend yes, pupil no.)"

No, that's not right. François didn't study with Cortot for long (if at all), as Cortot took him on as a student for free (since Francois' family couldn't afford to pay him), and then passed on the young François' lessons to another pupil Yvonne Lefébure; which explains why years later François said that he learned nothing from Cortot. François actually spent more time in Marguerite Long's class at the Paris Conservatoire, I believe, and they did have a difficult relationship. What you may be remembering is that years after, Long told François that he'd been the only student she'd ever had to slap. To which François famously replied, "Madame, it was a privilege to be the only one."

As for François' "hard tone", it's true that he does have a more traditional gallic tone and piano touch (as do many French pianists), but I believe the hardness was exaggerated by the first EMI CDs that came out. His Nocturnes are a lot more listenable on the remasters done for the big French EMI box set, which are on You Tube: 



, then on both the early EMI CDs and subsequent Japanese EMI imports that I bought--primarily to see if François' piano tone really was that hard sounding. I wish I could have seen him in concert, but then, by various reports, he was quite erratic in the concert hall.

https://www.amazon.com/Samson-François-Complete-EMI-Recordings/dp/B004258ATM

My favorite Chopin Nocturne sets have come from pianists Claudio Arrau, Halina Czerny-Stefanska (a Japanese import release), Samson François, Ivan Moravec, and Maria Joao Pires (& possibly in that order). Oh yes, I like Nadia Reissenberg's set too. Guiomar Novaes & Maria Tipo can be interesting in the Nocturnes, as well. Stefan Askanase, Livia Rev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, & Tamas Vasary are likewise exceptional in this music.






































Of today's pianists, I wish Roland Pontinen would record a set, as he's a remarkable Chopin (& Satie) pianist. I also wish Dubravka Tomsic had made a complete recording, and Krystian Zimerman too. As for pianists from the past, I would have liked to have heard Maryla Jonas, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Solomon, and Moriz Rosenthal (in his prime) play a set of them.


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## Larkenfield

Brigitte Enderer again:


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## Mandryka

The English Wikipedia says that he studied with Cortot who found him difficult to teach, but the French Wikipedia doesn’t mention any problem with Cortot.


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## Josquin13

Mandryka said:


> The English Wikipedia says that he studied with Cortot who found him difficult to teach, but the French Wikipedia doesn't mention any problem with Cortot.


Ah, maybe that's why Cortot passed him onto Lefébure so quickly. Marguerite Long clearly found François difficult to teach, so it was likely the same for Cortot. Anyway, from what I've read, I don't think François considered himself a full-fledged Cortot student. Besides, I doubt you can teach the kind of imagination that François plays with.


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## premont

Arrau and van Oort (fortepiano) fulfill most of my needs in this repertoire. I grew up with Ingrid Häbler's evocative recording (Vox LP), but I didn't keep it, and it was never released on CD.


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## Guest

Fabulous recent versions are by Freire, Goerner and Fliter.
True Chopin specialists who benefit from the best recording technology. 
Pollini would also be a contender because he is one of the best pianists of all times.


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## Mandryka

premont said:


> Arrau and van Oort (fortepiano) fulfill most of my needs in this repertoire. I grew up with Ingrid Häbler's evocative recording (Vox LP), but I didn't keep it, and it was never released on CD.


You can get this now


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## bernard.samms

philoctetes said:


> Arrau sweeps me away.


Yep, it is Arrau for me too. Beautiful playing and interpretations.


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## burnabyguitar

what about Jerzy Koenig's video? 
Nocturne No 20, 



Nocturne No 21, 



Nocturne Op 9 No 1, 



......


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## Rogerx

I do prefer Ingrid Fliter (piano)/ Arthur Rubinstein (piano) and soms new kid on the block : Jan Lisiecki (piano)


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## Pat Fairlea

I have Chopin's Nocturnes by Hough, Arrau, Pollini and Moravec. All quite different in approach and 'voice'. But don't ask me which is the 'best'! If I had to recommend one of those four to someone coming to the Nocturnes for the first time, probably Pollini. Or to a pianist interested in technique, probably Moravec. To someone wanting profound but dignified emotional engagement, Arrau of course. And Hough if you want the Nocturnes to sing. 
And then there's Engerer....


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## Waehnen

I have versions by at least Rubinstein, Arrau and Maria Joao Pires. Pires is my top choice. Arrau takes too much liberties and manages to even ruin a few pieces. Rubinstein is too controlled for me (yes, the balance is always perfect). No complaints about Pires.


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## Viajero

Wow, Burnaby . . . what's not to like? Jerzy is a consummate musician with excellent pacing, natural rubato, exceptional use of dynamics, and impeccable technique. He has a wonderful "fat" tone and his transcriptions are first-class and bring Chopin alive through the Classical Guitar. We, guitarists, need to play more Chopin and Jerzy has provided three wonderful examples for the Classical guitar. . . albeit, for the advanced/professional performer. Tarrega did a wonderful transcription of Opus 28 No. 7 which is more accessible to the average guitarist. Were these transcriptions in Drop D tuning? Do you know who's the builder of his guitar? Thanks for the wonderful music. Here's composer/arranger/musician Edson Lopes. I hope you enjoy!
Viajero


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