One of the most fascinating, rewarding, and historically significant cycles in all of classical piano literature is the 13 Nocturnes, composed between 1875 and 1921 by French composer Gabriel Fauré. They begin in a solidly romantic style that approximates the model of Chopin, though with a number of significant differences. Even by the second Nocturne, there is a slight proclivity toward a nascent impressionistic harmony, which begins to surface with vehemence by the sixth. By the thirteenth and final Nocturne, the seventy ...
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One of the most fascinating, rewarding, and historically significant cycles in all of classical piano literature is the 13 Nocturnes, composed between 1875 and 1921 by French composer Gabriel Fauré. They begin in a solidly romantic style that approximates the model of Chopin, though with a number of significant differences. Even by the second Nocturne, there is a slight proclivity toward a nascent impressionistic harmony, which begins to surface with vehemence by the sixth. By the thirteenth and final Nocturne, the seventy-something Fauré was nearly standing at the brink of atonality, and that is one of the fascinating things about this cycle; it forms a microcosm of the transition between the romantic and modern. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fauré's Nocturnes have largely become the domain of French pianists -- Pascal Rogé and Jean-Philippe Collard are among several French artists who have contributed reputable complete recorded cycles -- however, England's Kathryn Stott has also done them for Hyperion....
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