Release Date: 01 November 2004
Label: Hyperion Records Ltd
Packaging Type: Brilliant Case (Jewel Case size, Holds 2 CDs)
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 034571173719
Genres: Classical Solo Instrumental
Description
Angela Hewitt takes a well-deserved break from her mammoth Bach and Couperin surveys to present us with this enthralling set of Chopin’s most distinguished piano pieces—the complete Nocturnes and Impromptus.
Between 1830 and 1846 Chopin wrote eighteen Nocturnes that were published more or less in the order in which they were written. By spanning almost his entire creative life, they give us a marvellous opportunity to see not only how his early works were already totally inspired and original, but also how his style and emotional maturity developed through the years.
The four Impromptus date from 1835 to 1842. The title suggests improvisation; they might very well have been conceived as such initially, but we know that Chopin went through agonies when it came to writing a musical idea down. He would often spend six weeks on a page, only to return to what he had written in the first place. You wouldn’t know it listening to these pieces. They are full of vitality and freshness, and carry us along with great fluidity.
Hewitt’s performances are every bit as fresh as one would expect from the pianist hailed as ‘one of the reliably mesmerising musicians of the day’, with ‘the ability to convey a spiritual seriousness that nonetheless does not exclude an utter charm’ (The Sunday Times).
Tracklisting
Andrea Oliva, Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt
Daniel Muller-Schott, Angela Hewitt
Daniel Muller-Schott, Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt
Mishka Rushdie Momen
The Gesualdo Six / Owain Park
Takacs Quartet
Simon Callaghan, Sinfonieorchester St Gallen
Cinquecento
Andrey Gugnin
El Leon de Oro / Peter Phillips
Piers Lane
