Chopin - 21 Nocturnes [Rev]
This is how i first listened to Chopin's Nocturnes, through a double cassette tape in the early days of getting into classical music, Rev wouldn't be my choice now, but at the time i thought this must be way these pieces are meant to be played, but listening to Barenboim [my favourite] and Pollini, my feelings to the 'rightness' of this music has changed, Rev is very low key, there's a sense of the unpretentious here, which at times helps Chopin to actually shine more brighter, and it was wonderful to revisit this set as i travelled on the bus today, see also [12th April 2012].
Livia Rev is Hungarian, she's now 98, and she recorded these Nocturnes back in 1988, she was already over 70 then, the front cover shows a painting by Alphonese Osbert called 'Songs Of The Night', the track listing is a little confusing, it doesn't run 1-21, therefore track 1 isn't Nocturne 1, and all the tracks are shifted this way, i believe the Nocturnes presented here are in date order, nice in a way, but ultimately more confusing than nice.
It's easy to talk about so many revelations throughout the whole set, too many to mention here, so i'll limit my comments to just the two that really affected me the most,
Nocturne 9 [in B Major- Op32/1] - One of my early favourites, a simple enough melody, in a sweet key, i think the second section of the piece is much more interesting [1:10+], and full of pathos, as always with Chopin, there's always this underlining sadness somewhere, Chopin's fluffy white clouds always have a grey lining!, and there's this moment where Chopin reaches a high treble note [3:27], and it's as if the music just freezes in time on it, a wonderful idea, Rev captures it nicely.
Nocturne 17 [in B Major - Op62/1] - Also in B Major, however i sense very much more a feeling of nostalgia / longing in this piece, there's the trick of holding notes for longer for effect, i love the way the music just so subtly changes [2:33+], and suddenly we're in a different world / mood, and then it can change again into another deeper mood [4:03+], Chopin goes into a sort of variation of trills [4:24-5:15], the ending is gorgeous, there's this treble Coda of sorts [5:42-6:15], beautiful in it's demurement, but Chopin has like a second ending of pure denouement [6:14-6:28], how Chopin can weave around your heart!.
Livia Rev is Hungarian, she's now 98, and she recorded these Nocturnes back in 1988, she was already over 70 then, the front cover shows a painting by Alphonese Osbert called 'Songs Of The Night', the track listing is a little confusing, it doesn't run 1-21, therefore track 1 isn't Nocturne 1, and all the tracks are shifted this way, i believe the Nocturnes presented here are in date order, nice in a way, but ultimately more confusing than nice.
It's easy to talk about so many revelations throughout the whole set, too many to mention here, so i'll limit my comments to just the two that really affected me the most,
Nocturne 9 [in B Major- Op32/1] - One of my early favourites, a simple enough melody, in a sweet key, i think the second section of the piece is much more interesting [1:10+], and full of pathos, as always with Chopin, there's always this underlining sadness somewhere, Chopin's fluffy white clouds always have a grey lining!, and there's this moment where Chopin reaches a high treble note [3:27], and it's as if the music just freezes in time on it, a wonderful idea, Rev captures it nicely.
Nocturne 17 [in B Major - Op62/1] - Also in B Major, however i sense very much more a feeling of nostalgia / longing in this piece, there's the trick of holding notes for longer for effect, i love the way the music just so subtly changes [2:33+], and suddenly we're in a different world / mood, and then it can change again into another deeper mood [4:03+], Chopin goes into a sort of variation of trills [4:24-5:15], the ending is gorgeous, there's this treble Coda of sorts [5:42-6:15], beautiful in it's demurement, but Chopin has like a second ending of pure denouement [6:14-6:28], how Chopin can weave around your heart!.
