Field Nocturnes (míċeál O'rourke)

Passion rather than insouciance is Pires’s keynote. Here is no soft, moonlit option but an intensity and drama that scorn all complacent salon or drawing-room expectations. How she relishes Chopin’s central storms, creating a vivid and spectacular yet unhistrionic contrast with all surrounding serenity or ‘embalmed darkness’. The con fuoco of Op. 15 No. 1 erupts in a fine fury and in the first Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 1, Pires’s sharp observance of Chopin’s appassionato marking comes like a prophecy of the coda’s sudden blaze. Such resolution and psychological awareness make you realize that Chopin, like D. H. Lawrence, may well have thought that “there must be a bit of fear, and a bit of horror in your life”. Chopin, Pires informs us in no uncertain terms, was no sentimentalist.

Erik Satie, the visionary French composer and pianist, left an indelible mark on classical music through his innovative and eccentric approach. The album "Satie, E.: Piano Works (1906-19); Pièces humouristiques & Other Works" delves into Satie's genius, characterized by simplicity, humor, and a rejection of traditional norms.

Frédéric Chopin - François Chaplin - Nocturnes
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88.2 kHz: 1,63 GB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Zig-Zag # ZZT100203 | Country/Year: France 2010
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic | Source: Linn

…I found this recording improved in power and nuance on each repeated hearing. With sets of the nocturnes available from such great figures as Rubinstein and Arrau, it may seem presumptuous to recommend a set by someone with the comparatively low profile of François Chaplin. Yet I think I honestly can say that I rarely have enjoyed these pieces so much, while the sound engineering is something to rejoice in. Clearly we need to hear more from François Chaplin, so compelling is his artistry.

For his latest Deutsche Grammophon album, Polish-Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki has chosen to return to the music of Frédéric Chopin, featuring profoundly personal interpretations of some of the most beautiful and best-loved pieces ever written for solo piano. Lisiecki went into the studio last autumn, and his new recording not only captures the spirit of Chopin's pianism, but also represents the time and circumstances in which it was made, as the pianist himself explains: 'I'm the first to question why we should record something that has been recorded many times before. But music only lives through performance and is different every time we hear it, even when it's a recording. I think there was something for me to say with this album. It reflects on the last year and my thoughts on that as well as on the escape and understanding that music gives us.'