Nocturnes, Op.9
Nocturne · Op. 9
Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
Nocturne
Form
Op. 9
Catalogue
Score
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Difficulty
Our estimate Intermediate
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Themes & character
First published nocturnes·Bel canto melody·Dedicated to Marie Pleyel·Contains the famous E♭ major
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 9
- Form
- Nocturne
Movements
1
Nocturne in B♭ minorB♭ minor
A brooding, ornamented melody over a wide-spanning left hand.
2
Nocturne in E♭ majorE♭ major
The most famous nocturne Chopin wrote, its melody growing more elaborately decorated at each return.
3
Nocturne in B majorB major
The longest of the three, with a stormier central section framed by graceful outer music.
About the piece
Chopin's first published set of nocturnes, written between 1830 and 1832 and dedicated to Marie Pleyel, a celebrated pianist and the wife of the piano maker Camille Pleyel. They established the form he would return to across his whole career.
The second of the three, in E♭ major, became one of the most recognizable pieces in all piano music. Chopin took the nocturne from the Irish composer John Field and transformed it, giving the right hand the freely ornamented line of an opera singer over a steady, wide-reaching accompaniment.
The composer
Frédéric Chopin
1810–1849
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading composer of his era whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation".
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