The solo piano music of Frédéric Chopin is one of Nelson Goerner's specialties, and his concert performances and recordings have been admired for their sensitivity and insight. This 2017 double-CD release on Alpha Classics presents all 21 of the Nocturnes, which Chopin modeled after the nocturnes of John Field and developed around the ornate style of bel canto singing in Vincenzo Bellini's operas. The long and highly embellished melodies are the most recognizable aspect of these poetic character pieces, though they ...
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The solo piano music of Frédéric Chopin is one of Nelson Goerner's specialties, and his concert performances and recordings have been admired for their sensitivity and insight. This 2017 double-CD release on Alpha Classics presents all 21 of the Nocturnes, which Chopin modeled after the nocturnes of John Field and developed around the ornate style of bel canto singing in Vincenzo Bellini's operas. The long and highly embellished melodies are the most recognizable aspect of these poetic character pieces, though they sometimes have been exaggerated by less skilled or overly expressive pianists and treated as an excuse for flashiness or sentimentality. But Goerner goes deeper into the implications of Chopin's harmonies and phrasing to find subtle shadings in support of the melodies, and he captures their fleeting moods with a light touch. Goerner also applies gradations of dynamics and tasteful rubato to suggest the ebb and flow of emotions, without exaggerating one feeling over any others. Add to...
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