Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2
Recordings
Historical and comparison recordings, outside the concert’s running order.
- Nocturne in E♭ major, Op. 9 No. 2Frank Lévy, piano · c. 20144:31
Frank Lévy plays Chopin’s Nocturne in E♭ major, Op. 9 No. 2, recorded for Musopen’s project to set the music free. The melody returns with more elaborate ornamentation each time, and a short cadenza follows.
Listening notes · joins
- Opening upbeat and bar 1
The melody begins on a single B♭ and rises a sixth to G. The G is held while the left hand plays a bass note and two chords on each beat. The tune then descends, with a short rise on the way.
- Varied return of the opening phrase
In bars 5–8 the first phrase returns, varied. The long G is now ornamented, and E♭ also carries added small notes. The bass repeats its pattern from bars 1–4 while the right hand plays an elaborated version of the melody.
- Musopen Chopin recording, 2014
In 2014 Lévy joined Musopen’s recording of Chopin’s complete works, which was released into the public domain. He had studied with Leon Fleisher in Baltimore and taught at Juilliard. His recording of the E♭ major Nocturne is part of that collection.
- Coda, bars 25–26
The coda begins with the melody on E♭. Underneath, A♭ minor chords sound before E♭ major returns. The bass holds E♭ through both harmonies.
- Senza tempo passage, bar 32
At bar 32, marked senza tempo, the regular beat no longer governs the phrase. High octaves are held above a B♭ dominant chord while the four-note figure C♭–B♭–C♮–A♮ repeats several times. The right hand then plays a descending run.
- Return of Tempo I in E♭
The first tempo returns with E♭ major chords played softly. The right hand rises to G again, now as part of the accompaniment. The piece ends on three chords marked ppp.
Joins
- Bass rises from E♭ to E♮
In bars 18–19 the bass moves from E♭ to E♮. With G, B♭ and D♭ above it, the new note forms a diminished seventh. The melody leaps to B♭ and descends through A♮ to G. Beneath it the left hand continues its bass-and-chord pattern through the diminished-seventh harmony.
- A♭ minor before the cadenza
The bass drops to A♭ under an A♭ minor chord, then returns to E♭ major. Above it, the tune turns around E♭ and F. Chopin next writes con forza, then stretto. The right hand climbs into octaves, and the measured accompaniment stops for the cadenza.
- B♭ dominant resolves under the falling run
The cadenza runs above a held B♭ dominant seventh. The right hand descends, and its last C and D lead to E♭. The bass takes E♭ underneath, the first tempo returns, and both hands play a soft rolled tonic chord.
- Nocturne in E♭ major, Op. 9 No. 2Patrizia Prati, piano · 24 November 2015, Museum of Romanticism, Madrid5:02
Patrizia Prati plays Chopin’s Nocturne in E♭ major, Op. 9 No. 2, recorded in November 2015 at the Museum of Romanticism in Madrid with no audience present. The left hand keeps a steady accompaniment while the melody is repeated with added ornaments and ends in an unaccompanied flourish.
Listening notes · joins
- Opening bar, left-hand accompaniment
Under each slow beat the left hand plays a low note followed by two chords. Above it the melody rises from B♭ to G. Chopin marks it espressivo dolce, expressive and sweet.
- Patrizia Prati, teachers and writing
Prati studied piano with Giancarlo Cardini, Aldo Ciccolini and András Schiff, and harpsichord with Anna Maria Pernafelli. She has published writing on music, literature and literary translation.
- Descending bass, bars 9–10
A new phrase starts on F, rises to G and falls back. Underneath, the bass steps down from B♭ to A♮, then A♭. The right hand repeats E♭ softly over the descent.
- Varied return of the opening theme
A rapid run through G, B♭ and E♭ brings the melody back to its high G in bars 21–24, the last varied statement of the opening theme. This version has more twists, trills and accented short notes. The left hand resumes its earlier pattern under the theme.
- Coda over a tonic bass
In the coda the melody is reduced to E♭, F and G. An A♭ minor chord harmonises its opening while the bass holds E♭. The melody then rises again, marked pp and sempre pp.
- Cadenza, bar 32
The bass climbs through a B♭-dominant chord and holds it. Above, the high octaves pause, then the right hand plays a four-note figure. The short cadenza is marked senza tempo, without the regular beat of the accompaniment.
- Final chords, bars 33–34
E♭ returns in the bass beneath rocking chords, marked Tempo I. The dynamic falls from pp to ppp. The nocturne ends with three chords, and the last is held under a fermata.
Joins
- The bass descends beneath repeated E♭s
In bars 17–19 the bass steps down through B♭, A♮ and A♭ while the right hand repeats E♭. Over A♭, a major chord turns minor when C falls to C♭. The bass then reaches E♭, and the melody falls to B♭ before leaping up an octave into the next phrase.
- A♭ minor beneath the last ascent
A♭ minor chords return, now with A♭ itself deep in the bass. The right hand turns around E♭ and F, then climbs under the marking con forza. High octaves take over the melody and rise to the B♭ dominant chord, which is held under the cadenza.
- Final run resolving to E♭
The final run descends over the held B♭ dominant seventh and ends on C and D. E♭ follows in both hands and resolves the chord. At Tempo I the first tempo returns, and the piano rolls through E♭ major, softly, before the last three chords.