Octo_Russ

Chopin - 21 Nocturnes [Stott] 

Another great set of the Chopin Nocturnes, these are such wonderful mesmerising pieces of music, that it's so much worth delving into several sets to discover different ways to play this music, this is a two disc 'fatbox' set, i love these, and Kathryn Stott is a sure guide in this music, she doesn't bring attention to herself, but rather brings attention to the beauties of Chopin, this is the second time these discs appear in my Blog [29th August 2011].

Kathryn Stott is English, she is now 53, she recorded these pieces way back in 1992, on the Unicorn-Kanchana label, a British Company that ceased production about 20 years ago, so this set is now really hard to find, though it is re-issued under the Regis / Alto label, the front cover picture is a gem [by Sandra Lousada], showing a sepia tones black & white shot of Stott at the piano, a lovely sense of lighting, casting highlights on her back, and also shadows on the keyboard, it's a lovely product visually, it's a shame the timings for each piece wasn't written on the back.

The Nocturnes that i really loved on this listen were 7-8, 10 & 17, with the remarkable Nocturne 8 just superb, it's my favourite, it's in D Flat Major, and it starts off marked Lento Sostenuto [sustained slow], but the left hand rhythm throughout makes it sound like a rolling Andante, and it's easy to wallow in the sugaryness of the piece, and it just gets bogged down, maybe Stott does play it slightly slow, but she sustains it well, it's a superb tune in the right hand, one of Chopin's best ever, after the gorgeous opening melody, Chopin fairly quickly changes the instruction to Espressivo / expressive [0:45+], and there's a tangible sense of the heart opening out as the ardour intensifies, there's gentle fortes, which show real passion, i love the way Stott keeps the left hand very gentle [2:03-2:25], never drowning out the melody, now that pays dividends aplenty!, and when the volume increases, so the left hand digs down deeper into the bass, with some nice resonant 'clunks' [3:14+], it's a roller coaster really, Chopin takes us high, then brings us back down low again, it's one of those pieces you can't really pull apart and explain, just shut up and listen to it!, there's a gorgeous middle section full of left hand trills [3:59-4:06], and the passion after it is tremendous, the coda is a stroke of genius [4:51+], the way Chopin slows the whole thing down, and those double chimes [5:11-5:21], the whole piece is a lesson in cramming everything into just 6 minutes of time, a true genius, i love the way Stott does it justice.

Here's Valentina Lisitsa playing Nocturne 8 [Op27/2] on YouTube, i wish she would make a complete recording of all these wonderful pieces.