# The Beauty of the Nocturne



## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

I respond to the nocturne with great emotion, calmness and a sense of inner beauty. They truly are a wonder to me. I know Field and Chopin but who else is renowned as a composer of nocturnes? Who else responds to nocturnes and what is it they do to you?


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Samuel Barber wrote a really good one.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

classical yorkist said:


> I respond to the nocturne with great emotion, calmness and a sense of inner beauty. They truly are a wonder to me. I know Field and Chopin but who else is renowned as a composer of nocturnes? Who else responds to nocturnes and what is it they do to you?


I think you will enjoy this









and maybe this too


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Gabriel Faure wrote the best set after Chopin (imo).


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Killmayer (20th Century) wrote an interesting set, dedicated to Field;
Liszt, Satie, Sorabji, Scriabin are some other, notable composers of nocturnes.

Josep Soler (20th century) wrote a lot, I personally skipped a CD, but others might like them, they are rather conservative (Marco Polo CD).


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## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

Art Rock said:


> Gabriel Faure wrote the best set after Chopin (imo).


I've just been listening to these and while some are very good I'm finding some of the others a little fiery for my tastes.

Satie's, however, are just the ticket. Beautiful, mysterious and languid.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Samson Francois started to record the Faure and then died, I think he left a handful.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

I recommend Poulenc's distinctive yet sadly neglected set of eight pieces titled _Huit Nocturnes pour piano_.

Among contemporary composers, Lowell Liebermann has composed eleven piano Nocturnes, making him perhaps the most significant recent contributor to the genre.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I would also add Franz Liszt's _(3) Liebesträume_ and _En reve_.


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## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

elgars ghost said:


> I would also add Franz Liszt's _(3) Liebesträume_ and _En reve_.


I've just listened to Liebsetraume and, like all Liszt I listen to, found it wonderful.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

This Russian-born pianist has done several performances of Chopin's nocturnes, and she's really pretty too; check out her channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsrXO5Zgulz8_9BQXBOb2aw
As amusing as it may sound (or not?), I like listening to nocturnes when it's night and everyone else are asleep, which I also like with Beethoven's moonlight sonata; that title was only given 5 years after the composer's death, but it still feels very suitable for the night.
I have a 2CD-pack of Chopin's nocturnes plays by Daniel Barenboim, he's a really good pianist and I love his performances!


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

The rather obscure Russian composer Alexei Stanchinsky wrote only one.... and it's probably my favorite


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## Anankasmo (Jun 23, 2017)

Dont forget Respighi and Lourie


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Then there's Debussy:






And Roslavets! For harp, oboe, two violas and cello.
Maybe less easy on the ears, at first. I think it's a magical piece.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Don't forget Grieg:






By the way, Deep R, thanks for sharing that Stanchinsky piece; it's gorgeous. I'll need to look into him.


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## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

Thank you all. It's seems a little sad and unusual that quite a few of the composers who wrote nocturnes wrote only one or two of them.


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## Oscardude (Jun 7, 2019)

I like the Barber nocturne. Check it out


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## CrunchyFr0g (Jun 11, 2019)

Art Rock said:


> Gabriel Faure wrote the best set after Chopin (imo).


Absolutely. Faure's 13 are all beautiful and the late ones have real profundity.


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## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

This is special


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

One of thje best nocturnes that Chopin wrote is the slow movement of the third piano sonata.


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## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

Mandryka said:


> One of thje best nocturnes that Chopin wrote is the slow movement of the third piano sonata.


I'm not a great listener of his sonatas as I tend to prefer the shorter pieces but I'll listen


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

classical yorkist said:


> I'm not a great listener of his sonatas as I tend to prefer the shorter pieces but I'll listen


Chopin's sonatas are a gold mine of beautiful music. I'd long neglected them myself. Martha Argerich plays them beautifully, as does Artur Rubinstein. Hell, there are many good recordings. Find a pianist you like.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Too bad Scriabin wrote only a few but he did write lots of Preludes.

Scriabin - Nocturne in A Flat (cute for a 12 year old, although compared to Etude Op. 2 no. 1 which he wrote a few years later, I still expected more from this)





Op. 5. The second one, Op 5. No. 2 is typical early Scriabin and really dreamy.





Nocturne for the Left Hand, Op. 9 No. 2. A fine piece altogether.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

How many nocturnes did Tchaikovsky compose? I came across this one and it's awesome!


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Wikipedia says Tchaikovsky wrote two Nocturnes. 
Here's the other one: Op. 10 No. 1 by none other than Sviatoslav Richter.
Beautiful piece! With that typical sound of his. A Yamaha right? I must say it has its own charm.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

DeepR said:


> Wikipedia says Tchaikovsky wrote two Nocturnes.
> Here's the other one: Op. 10 No. 1 by none other than Sviatoslav Richter.
> Beautiful piece! With that typical sound of his. A Yamaha right? I must say it has its own charm.


Beautiful! But who is that performer?


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Here's a great contemporary nocturne by Saariaho:


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> Beautiful! But who is that performer?


Sviatoslav Richter, one of the more legendary of the 20th century's many excellent Russian pianists. He has amassed a large, cult-like following, one that persists to this day, decades after his death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sviatoslav_Richter


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Richter did a very fine Tchaikovsky thing, this, it may as well be a nocturne in all but name


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Those from Chopin, Field, Poulenc, Faure, and Satie are among my favorite sets of nocturnes for solo piano.

Satie: Cinq Nocturnes (for me, this is one of Pascal Roge's best recordings to date): 




Alexander Tcherepnin (son of Nikolai) also composed Nocturnes for solo piano:

Op. 2, no. 1: 



Cinq Impressions, nocturne: 




(Michael Landrum's 2 CD album might be of interest to you, if for no other reason then the listing of 'night' repertory that he has chosen to play: https://www.amazon.com/Nocturnes-Michael-Landrum/dp/B008DWG02O)

Tcherepnin's Op. 88, no. 1 "Meditation" seems nocturnal to me, as well: 



.

Charles Tomlinson Griffes, composed a nocturne in his Fantasy pieces, Op. 6, no. 2 "Notturno": 




as did Jean Francaix: 




Here too is a set of 4 Nocturnes that I discovered recently, by composer Alexandre Tansman, which I liked: 



.

(Carol Rosenberger's album "Night Moods" might be of interest to you, too: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Moods-...senberger+night&qid=1561243145&s=music&sr=1-1.)

Can we count any night music for solo piano as nocturnes? such as Frederico Mompou's Musica Callada? Mompou composed all of his piano music late at night, and I often feel the solitude of night time in his music (as well as occasionally the Parisian influence of Satie):

Musica Callada: 



6 Impresiones intimas: 




Or, Robert Schumann's four Nachtstücke for solo piano?: 



. Or, Maurice Ravel's Gibet from his Gaspard de la Nuit?: 



, or Elliott Carter's Night Fantasies?: 



. Surely, fearful and unsettling dreams & nocturnal visions, or nightmares, are a part of night and therefore nocturnes, too?

There's also Debussy's Trois Nocturnes for orchestra, which for me, is among his most brilliant compositions, especially the third movement, entitled Sirènes: 




Mozart also wrote nocturnes, or night music, such as his Notturno in D, K. 286 Serenata Notturna, K. 239, and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525--although maybe this was more music that was intended for evening or night time performances, rather than on the subject of night?






F. J. Haydn also composed night music as well, such as his set of 8 Notturni for the King of Naples: 




Others not mentioned:

Shostakovich--the first 'nocturne' movement of his Violin Concerto no. 1: 




Britten--(1) Nocturne for tenor, seven obbligato instruments & strings:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tomfSyXNcDc; (2) the 3rd movement from his Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings: 



, and (3) the song, "On this Island: Nocturne": 



.

Contemporary composer Poul Ruders also seems to fairly preoccupied with themes of night and dreams:

Dreamland: 



Nightshade: 




Finally, there is, of course, Felix Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream: 




My 2 cents.


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## calvinpv (Apr 20, 2015)

Two by Enescu, the second being the final movement of his third piano suite:











One by Szymanowski (though admittedly, it sounds more like a rhapsody than a stereotypical nocturne):






Among the Chopin nocturnes, my personal favorite is actually the Op. 9/3 in B major, which I feel doesn't get nearly as much attention as some of the others:


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## calvinpv (Apr 20, 2015)

DeepR said:


> Too bad Scriabin wrote only a few but he did write lots of Preludes.
> 
> Scriabin - Nocturne in A Flat (cute for a 12 year old, although compared to Etude Op. 2 no. 1 which he wrote a few years later, I still expected more from this)
> 
> ...


You're forgetting the incredibly beautiful Poème-nocturne, Op. 61:


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