CHOPIN: NOCTURNES & IMPROMPTUS – HEWITT (2 CDs) Hyperion

CD1
1 Lento con gran espressione in C sharp minor ‘Nocturne’ KKIVa/16[3’53]2 Nocturne in C minor KKIVb/8[2’46]3 Nocturne in B flat minor Op 9 No 1[5’59]4 Nocturne in E flat major Op 9 No 2[4’34]5 Nocturne in B major Op 9 No 3[6’20]6 Nocturne in F major Op 15 No 1[4’47]7 Nocturne in F sharp major Op 15 No 2[3’32]8 Nocturne in G minor Op 15 No 3[3’34]9 Nocturne in C sharp minor Op 27 No 1[5’41]10 Nocturne in D flat major Op 27 No 2[6’05]11 Nocturne in B major Op 32 No 1[4’48]12 Nocturne in A flat major Op 32 No 2[5’21]13 Nocturne in G minor Op 37 No 1[6’18]14 Nocturne in G major Op 37 No 2[4’57]

CD2
15 Nocturne in C minor Op 48 No 1[7’16]16 Nocturne in F sharp minor Op 48 No 2[6’56]17 Nocturne in F minor Op 55 No 1[4’38]18 Nocturne in E flat major Op 55 No 2[4’57]19 Nocturne in B major Op 62 No 1[7’29]20 Nocturne in E major Op 62 No 2[6’09]21 Nocturne in E minor Op 72 No 1[4’54]22 Impromptu No 1 in A flat major Op 29[4’19]23 Impromptu No 2 in F sharp major Op 36[6’20]24 Impromptu No 3 in G flat major Op 51[5’48]25 Fantasy Impromptu in C sharp minor Op 66[5’22]

Angela Hewitt takes a well-deserved break from her mammoth Bach and Couperin surveys to present us with this enthralling set of Chopin’s most distinguished piano pieces—the complete Nocturnes and Impromptus.

Between 1830 and 1846 Chopin wrote eighteen Nocturnes that were published more or less in the order in which they were written. By spanning almost his entire creative life, they give us a marvellous opportunity to see not only how his early works were already totally inspired and original, but also how his style and emotional maturity developed through the years.

The four Impromptus date from 1835 to 1842. The title suggests improvisation; they might very well have been conceived as such initially, but we know that Chopin went through agonies when it came to writing a musical idea down. He would often spend six weeks on a page, only to return to what he had written in the first place. You wouldn’t know it listening to these pieces. They are full of vitality and freshness, and carry us along with great fluidity.

Hewitt’s performances are every bit as fresh as one would expect from the pianist hailed as ‘one of the reliably mesmerising musicians of the day’, with ‘the ability to convey a spiritual seriousness that nonetheless does not exclude an utter charm’ (The Sunday Times).