Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35, used the sonata genre as a framework to synthesize elements from his earlier works, such as the figurative patterns of his Études and Preludes, and the cantilenas of his Nocturnes.
Compositional Technique
Chopin's Berceuse Op. 57, originally titled 'Variantes', is a set of sixteen short variations on an ostinato ground, with its unique shape created almost entirely through texture and sonority.
Critical Reception
Chopin's Nocturnes Op. 27 were immediately recognized for their exceptional artistic quality upon publication in 1836, with Robert Schumann describing them as exemplifying a 'new wave' of piano music.
Composition History
Chopin completed his Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, by adding three movements in the summer of 1839, during his first productive summer at George Sand's country estate.
Critical Reception
Robert Schumann criticized Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35, referring to its four movements as 'four unruly children smuggled under this name into a place they could not otherwise have penetrated'.
Performer Biography
Marc-André Hamelin, the pianist on this recording, has been recognized worldwide for his originality and technical brilliance, and was awarded a lifetime achievement prize by the German Record Critics' Award.
Compositional Technique
Chopin's Nocturnes Op. 27, published in contrasted pairs rather than groups of three, gave greater weight to individual pieces while preserving their mutual compatibility.
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Chopin: Sonatas; Variations; Bolero; Tarantella; Allegro de concert
