Category Archives: Nocturne – A Little Night Music

A Miscelleny of Nocturnes

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

31st December 2014. Another year has passed, another topic explored. Thank you, dear Reader, for joining me on a nocturnal journey through the piano repertoire. We’ve looked at and/or listened to Nocturnes by Field, Czerny, Chopin, Pleyel, Clara Schumann, Fanny … Continue reading →

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Ravel – Gaspard de la Nuit

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

As a child, I was fascinated by the cover art of this record from my parents’ LP collection, as well as by the musical works on the disc, including Gaspard de la Nuit. Especially Ondine.  Ondine Aloysius Bertrand (1807-1841 ) …I … Continue reading →

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Nocturnes – Poulenc

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

Unlike most nocturnes,  Poulenc’s set of eight nocturnes forms a cycle, with the final one serving as a coda (Nocturne pour servir de coda au cycle). They were composed at intervals between 1929 and 1938, and published separately at first. … Continue reading →

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Fauré – Nocturne No 3 in A Flat Major

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

Today, November 4th, 2014, marks the ninetieth year after Fauré’s death; an appropriate time to write about his contribution to the Nocturne genre. There are thirteen of them, composed throughout his career from 1875 to 1922, from Opus 33 to … Continue reading →

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Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata – Movements 2 and 3

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

So how to follow the brooding darkness of the first movement of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ sonata? Transpose the final RH chord up an octave, transpose it into a major key – D flat major – change the metre to a graceful … Continue reading →

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Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata, Movement 1

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

  Words fail me. Continuing this series of posts on works with nocturnal associations, and looking for a complementary image, I came across the one above – a facsimile of the Autograph of the third movement of Beethoven’s Sonata quasi … Continue reading →

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Night Pieces – Peter Sculthorpe (1929 – 2014)

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

A sad day for Australian music; composer Peter Sculthorpe has died, aged 85. It seems an appropriate day to continue my investigation of music with nocturnal associations by writing about his ‘Night Pieces’ of 1971. The suite of  consists of … Continue reading →

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Nocturnes by Schumann and Mendelssohn. But not the usual suspects …

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

Some years ago, the Promenade Concerts in London  were criticized for not programming any works by women composers. Lest I be tarred with the same brush, here are nocturnes by Clara Schumann, from her 6 Soirées musicales, Op. 6 of  1836, … Continue reading →

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…To sleep, perchance to dream … or not … Two Nocturnes by Liszt

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

We’ve all been there; those nights when your head hits the pillow, tiredness overtakes you, and sleep comes quickly and quietly. Sweet dreams… Then there are the other nights; those when you toss and turn, and thoughts, fears and questions … Continue reading →

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Chopin – Nocturne in C Minor, Op 48 No 1

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Christine Stevenson

Standing near Chopin’s grave in Paris a few years ago, I watched and listened as a young woman in a group of tourists quietly hummed the melody from one of his nocturnes to herself as she paid her respects. John … Continue reading →

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