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Track(s) taken from CDA67371/2

Nocturne in F sharp minor, Op 48 No 2

composer
1841; published 1842

Angela Hewitt (piano)
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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: 6 minutes 56 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 F sharp minor Nocturne is melancholic but not totally without hope. The flowing outer sections are contrasted by a recitative-like section in which the composer wanted the first two chords to sound like an order from a tyrant, and the answer begging for mercy. The most expressive part of this piece is the final page where the same descending chromatic line appears twice, harmonized differently. The set is dedicated to Mlle Laure Duperré, a student of Chopin.

from notes by Angela Hewitt © 2004

Le Nocturne en fa dièse mineur est mélancolique, mais pas totalement désespéré. Aux fluides sections extrêmes s’oppose une section de type récitatif, dont les deux permiers accords doivent, nous dit Chopin, sonner comme l’ordre d’un tyran, cependant que la réponse implore la miséricorde. La partie la plus expressive de cette pièce est la page finale, où la même ligne chromatique descendante apparaît sous deux harmonisations différentes. Cet opus est dédié à Mlle Laure Duperré, élève de Chopin.

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

Das Nocturne in fis-Moll ist melancholisch, aber nicht ganz ohne Hoffnung. Die fließenden Außenteile sind einer rezitativartigen Passage gegenübergestellt, in der der Komponist die ersten beiden Akkorde wie den Befehl eines Tyrannen plante, auf die dann eine um Gnade flehende Antwort folgen sollte. Der expressivste Teil dieses Stückes ist die letzte Seite, wo dieselbe absteigende chromatische Linie zweimal erscheint, doch unterschiedlich harmonisiert ist. Diese beiden Nocturnes sind Mlle Laure Duperré, eine Schülerin Chopins, gewidmet.

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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