Pianist Jan Lisiecki releases his eighth Deutsche Grammophon album, Chopin: Complete Nocturnes. Recorded in October 2020 at Berlin’s historic Meistersaal – the album not only captures the spirit of Chopin’s pianism, but also represents the time and circumstances in which it was made...

Chopin's Complete Nocturnes have been recorded numerous times over the years but, like any other much recorded music, each variation differs. In fact if each of those artists were to record the album again there would be countless variations on their previous recording. A lot of the way the music comes across gives the listener a glimpse into the performer's soul... or the very least their headspace at the time of the recording.

This means that you can have numerous versions of this work by different performers and, once you know the pieces, have a very different experience when listening to them. For me, listening to Lisiecki's performance made me feel like I was rediscovering the music all over again.

Discussing the album, Lisiecki say: "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."

Whether you've already got a handful of albums of this collection, or you've never heard it before, it's worth picking up Lisiecki's album.

Track list:

Chopin – 3 NOCTURNES op. 9
01. No. 1 in B flat minor. Larghetto [6:29]
02. No. 2 in E flat Major. Andante [5:06]
03. No. 3 in B Major. Allegretto [6:50]

Chopin – 3 NOCTURNES op. 15
04. No. 1 in F Major. Andante cantabile [4:11]
05. No. 2 in F sharp Major. Larghetto [3:28]
06. No. 3 in G minor. Lento [6:15]

Chopin – 2 NOCTURNES op. 27
07. No. 1 in C sharp minor. Larghetto [5:50]
08. No. 2 in D flat Major. Lento sostenuto [7:14]

Chopin – 2 NOCTURNES op. 32
09. No. 1 in B Major. Andante sostenuto [5:36]
10. No. 2 in A flat Major. Lento [5:54]

Chopin – 2 NOCTURNES op. 37
11. No. 1 in G minor. Andante sostenuto [7:47]
12. No. 2 in G mMajor. Andantino [5:58]

Chopin – 2 NOCTURNES op. 48
13. No. 1 in C minor. Lento [5:49]
14. No. 2 in F sharp minor. Andantino [9:35]

Chopin –2 NOCTURNES op. 55
15. No. 1 in F minor. Andante [5:12]
16. No. 2 in E flat Major. Lento sostenuto [5:21]

Chopin – 2 NOCTURNES op. 62
17. No. 1 in B Major. Andante [7:49]
18. No. 2 in E Major. Lento [6:45]

19. Chopin – NOCTURNE in E minor op. post. 72/1. Andante [4:14]

20. Chopin – NOCTURNE in C minor op. post., KK IVb/8 [3:35]
Andante sostenuto

21. Chopin – NOCTURNE in C sharp minor op. post., KK IVa/16 [5:01]
Lento con gran espressione

10

Darren Rea