Nocturne No.1 in D
Nocturne, in German, Nachtstück —a genre often associated with the subtle and sometimes sentimental works of the same name by Chopin.
This work traces the same subtlety, characterized by subtle changes of scenery and a mood appearing in twilight.
The work is strictly structured according to an A-A'-B-A'' form. The theme is carried by a long cantabile melody, which, through an augmented triad over the note "D", may initially obscure the tonal center and spread a twilight mood. After a brief interruptus, the section repeats, now appearing in a new light. Performed in pianissimo, the section approaches another focal point, supported by rhythmic embellishments.
The middle section relies on the same continuous eighth-note movements in the left hand. Harmonically, there is now discord between F-sharp minor and F-sharp major until, in the second half of the middle section, D major, blooming in full splendor for the first time, forms the climax.
Section A follows again, now emerging strengthened from the same through the celebration of D major in the middle section. No longer harboring any doubt, defying all the twilight scattered at the beginning, the theme is rendered strongly bound in forte. Extremely ornate figures in the right hand rely on the unchanged figures from the initial section in the left hand. The concluding coda is able to finally resolve the tension of the augmented triad set at the beginning to D major.
The piece for piano was written in 2020.
Live recording of the Nocturne op. 3 No.1 from the concert in March 2024 at the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte Leipzig.
At the piano: Iva Zurbo
Total duration: 06:16min
Nocturne No.2 in C
Nocturne, a night piece in a transfiguring mood?
Well - this genre exists in abundance and rightly has its fans.
This Nocturne in C, on the other hand, illuminates the more agitated side of the nocturnal mood. The restless, driven feeling that seems to rob you of sleep.
The scene is set with a suspenseful build-up of chords.
After a brief introduction in A minor, the piece circles through all C major-related keys without ever reaching the eponymous key. The mysterious mood is carried by a lyrical line that heads purposefully towards the middle section.
A change of character occurs. Just moments ago wandering dreamily, a rhythmically concise octave run rising from the depths, again in A minor, now heralds the middle section. Followed by an upward-winding staircase, the next attempt to approach C major follows. But this endeavor is also short-lived.
Characterized by abrupt changes and recurring thematic fragments, the striving towards the target key of C major occurs once again. After a longer modulation through harmonic A minor and the return to the initial theme, a glimmer of hope in C finally occurs at the end of the reprise.
The coda forms the conclusion, which represents both a retrospective and an arrival in a less dense and less agitated progression.
At the end of the coda, the theme is taken up again at a reduced tempo until the theme finally fades away to C major through an ascending line.
The piece for piano was written in spring 2023.
Live recording of the Nocturne op. 3 No.2 from the concert in March 2024 at the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte Leipzig.
At the piano: Iva Zurbo
Total duration: 03:53min
Nocturne No.3 in D
A-Es-A&Es>D, that could say it all.
A walk in the moonlight, the silver light reflected in the shallow water - this is how the scenery at the beginning of Nocturne No. 3 in D could be described. Radiating calm and at the same time mysterious, a phrase establishes itself in the opening section over an ostinato bass, which seems rather searching.
Unexpectedly, a larger movement in A leads to an intermezzo in C, which repeats a passage from the beginning like a dark glitter of moonlight, but now radiantly in a major key.
The same now less unexpected movement in A introduces the actual theme of the first of three parts. The theme in A rises slowly from the soft and gentle sounds, like the clearing mists of a pond. The long ascending line, supported by a string of triplets, swings up to high E, followed by a renewed outstroke, which now spirals up from the three-octave lower abyss into B flat, ending abruptly in fortissimo with larger leaps in the suddenly entering piano with increasing tension, concluding the first part.
The wandering in the moonlight continues in the second part. Now, however, in a different color, a theme that stretches far across the keyboard in E flat major. A dialog between two melodic lines slowly unfolds over the simple bass framework. The transition already takes up the tonal material and motifs from the first part.
The finale now miraculously combines the theme of the first part in A with the harmony of the second part (E flat) in the left hand. This symbiosis creates a new perspective that seems familiar despite the known building blocks. Carried by triplets, the piece tries to approach the target key of D major harmonically, wandering through some rough areas. On the one hand classically from A and on the other chromatically from E flat. With grand gestures, the line swings up to A, in order to end in D after a chromatically downward sixth run in a wide perfect cadence.
The piece for piano was written at the turn of the year 2023 to 2024.
Live recording of the Nocturne op. 3 No. 3 from the concert in March 2024 at the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte Leipzig.
At the piano: Iva Zurbo
Total duration: 05:23 min
