Chopin - 21 Nocturnes [Stott]
Here's a new set of the Chopin Nocturnes by Stott, well ok new to my collection, and i enjoyed these so much, i listened to disc one on the way to Church, and disc two on the way back, it's still August, it's meant to be a summer month, but already there's leaves on the ground, Autumn seems to be coming early this month, and in a real sense these Nocturnes fit in perfectly with the mood while walking through the park.
Kathryn Stott is an English Pianist, now 52 years old, she recorded a celebrated four disc set of Faure's complete Piano Music, these discs were recorded in 1992, and the Unicorn Kanchana label folded not much later, which is a shame, as this recording and interpretation is a treasure, these discs come in one of those 1 inch 'fatbox' cases, i really do love these, the front cover picture [by Sandra Lousada] is fantastic, a black and white photo, but i guess sepia toned, a dark recording, nice shadows, especially on the keys, very creatively lit, superb dark areas, which highlight all the more the light areas.
The Nocturnes that truly impressed me were 3-5, 7-8, 10-11, 13, & 16-20, with Nocturne 8 as a sublime experience, over the years i've had different favourites, certainly Nocturne 4 in the early days, but then it developed into Nocturne 7 & 10-11, but i think i've settled on Nocturne 8 as the quintessential piece that says the ideal, it has a beautiful melody, written in D Flat Major, it has a certain sadness to it, a constant tolling / beating left hand,
Here's Maurizio Pollini playing the Eighth Nocturne on YouTube.
