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Track(s) taken from CDA67371/2

Nocturne in G major, Op 37 No 2

composer
1839; published in 1840

Angela Hewitt (piano)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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Recording details: November 2003
Reitstadel, Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany
Produced by Ludger Böckenhoff
Engineered by Ludger Böckenhoff
Release date: November 2004
Total duration: 4 minutes 57 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Garrick Ohlsson (piano)
Stephen Hough (piano)
Lívia Rév (piano)

Reviews

‘In a catalogue boasting many distinguished Chopin Nocturne cycles, Angela Hewitt's commands attention’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘One of the most elegant pianists around, the Canadian virtuoso Angela Hewitt interrupts her epic Bach and Couperin cycles for Hyperion to explore some of Chopin's most refined music, the complete Nocturnes and Impromptus. Hewitt's innate sophistication and delicacy of touch are perfectly suited to these exquisite pieces, 25 of them over two discs, by a master of the genre at the height of his fragile powers. Spanning almost his entire creative life, the Nocturnes amount to a remarkable graph of Chopin's emotional maturity, touchingly reflected in the affectionate care Hewitt brings to what sounds like a labour of love’ (The Observer)

‘Hewitt is not given to grand effects, whether an extreme rubato or rude dynamic change. Still, she can play grandly as well, as we hear on her powerful performance of the great Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp minor. This new recording of the nocturnes is what Marlon Brando would have called, if he had cared, a contender. It's richly recorded and beautifully played: it has art's final seal’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Angela Hewitt is a sound buy … the delicacy of touch and manicured precision of the phrasing is a delight’ (The Scotsman)
The Nocturne in G major is a barcarolle, and a sunny one at that. It is also an étude in double notes. The major problem facing the interpreter is to find a tempo at which the beginning is playable, and the lyrical section with which it alternates doesn’t drag too much, even though it is marked sostenuto. Chopin builds up the tension at the end, pausing on a diminished seventh chord, but then releases it in the most natural of ways. This set was entitled Les Soupirs by Chopin’s publisher in England. How he must have loved being asked to play his ‘Second Sigh’ by English ladies!

from notes by Angela Hewitt © 2004

Le Nocturne en sol majeur, une barcarolle, ensoleillée de surcroît, est également une étude de doubles notes. L’interprète est avant tout confronté à la nécessité de trouver un tempo permettant de jouer le début, tout en faisant que la section centrale avec lequel elle alterne ne traîne pas trop, bien qu’elle soit marquée sostenuto. Chopin développe la tension à la fin, marquant une pause sur un accord de septième diminuée, avant de le relâcher de la manière la plus naturelle qui soit. Son éditeur anglais ayant intitulé cet opus Les Soupirs, l’on imagine combien Chopin dut adorer entendre les dames anglaises lui demander de jouer son «Second soupir»!

extrait des notes rédigées par Angela Hewitt © 2004
Français: Hypérion

Es ist dies gleichzeitig eine freundliche Barcarolle als auch eine Etüde in Doppelnoten. Das Hauptproblem für den Interpreten besteht hier darin, ein Tempo zu finden, in dem einerseits der Anfang spielbar ist und in dem andererseits der lyrische Teil, mit dem er alterniert, nicht zu sehr schleppt, obwohl er mit sostenuto markiert ist. Gegen Ende erhöht Chopin die Spannung erheblich, hält auf einem verminderten Septakkord inne und löst ihn dann aber auf ganz natürlich Art und Weise auf. Diese beiden Nocturnes wurden von Chopins englischem Verleger Les Soupirs genannt. Wie sehr muss er es geliebt haben, von den englischen Damen aufgefordert zu werden, seinen „Zweiten Seufzer“ zu spielen!

aus dem Begleittext von Angela Hewitt © 2004
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Chopin: Nocturnes
Studio Master: CDA68351/22CDsStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Chopin: Nocturnes
CDD220132CDs Dyad (2 for the price of 1) — Last few CD copies remaining
Chopin: The Complete Works
CDS44351/6616CDs Boxed set (at a special price) — Download only
Chopin: Nocturnes & Impromptus
This album is not yet available for downloadSACDA67371/22CDs Super-Audio CD — Deleted
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