The nocturne genre emerged with a new musical expressivity and an innovative pianistic style, allowing composers freedom from 18th-century sonata form.
Performer Biography
Bart van Oort, the pianist on this recording, won the 1986 Brugges Fortepiano Competition and has made over eighty recordings of chamber and solo repertory.
Instruments
The album was recorded on a Steinway piano from 1875, similar to those some of the featured composers would have known.
Recording & Production
Some of the nocturnes on this album are recorded for the first time.
Compositional Technique
Tchaikovsky's nocturnes often feature melodies floating above repeated pulsating chords, a technique first used by John Field.
Album & Artwork
This recording is part of a series, "The Art of the Nocturne in the Nineteenth Century," and is volume 6, focusing on Russian nocturnes.
Composer Biography
John Field, an Irish pianist and composer who spent most of his life in Russia, composed the first nocturnes and influenced the Russian piano school.
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