7 Nocturnes YOU should Listen to this Week

Hello everyone! I have recently been assigned Chopin's nocturne in E-flat (op. 9 no 2) to learn for piano. So, I figured I would pick out 7 nocturnes for this week's weekly 7. First of all, I would like to specify that a Nocturne is a broad term generally meaning a short piece of "night" music. So, let's get into my picks!

7. Nocturne in D-flat Major - Frédéric Chopin

I remember that my music theory teacher made me copy the left hand figures in this piece as block chords and analyze the ingenious voice leading used by Chopin. It is incredible that in just the left hand, Chopin has 5 voices going which all move logically from chord to chord. These nocturnes really are incredible by design in that they sound as if the player has three hands.

6. Nocturne in A minor (Cold Spring Harbor) - Billy Joel

This was probably my first exposure to the term "nocturne." I have known about this piece ever since fifth grade. It does have the character of a Chopin nocturne. Though the theory behind it is nothing like the theory behind a Chopin Nocturne, it is still interesting to think that Joel was inspired by Chopin's unique style in his early days. Plus, it is a neat little piece!

5. Nocturne no. 3 in A-flat Major - Franz Liszt

This is a very popular piece. I remember hearing it on a commercial recently. Anyway, Liszt was known to be one of the greatest pianists of his time, and possibly all time (though there is no solid evidence). But this piece really embodies how technically talented he was (1:15 for example). Anyway, Liszt also deserves respect for his immense body of phenomenal piano works. Especially this one.

4. Nocturne in B Major - Frédéric Chopin

This was one of the options that my piano teacher gave me to learn. As in all Chopin nocturnes, it has a flowing and beautiful melody that sounds romantic and longing. Listening to pieces like this really makes me think about how talented Chopin was at writing within and innovating upon his own style. Chopin has a very unique style which he seems like a gift from god.

3. Nocturne (Op. 6 No. 2) - Clara Schumann

It is shameful how easily Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn were brushed aside as composers despite obvious talent. It is common knowledge that Clara Schumann was a pianist in her age, but she was also a composer. Now she did not compose as frequently as her husband, but she did seem to have a talent for it. Anyway, here is a Nocturne that I found by her.

2. Nocturne from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Felix Mendelssohn

Here is the only orchestral nocturne on this list. The horns in this piece really are quite beautiful! I was mildly surprised to hear something by Mendelssohn that featured horns giving that he was very much into the strings (being a virtuoso violinist). I often find that Mendelssohn's music is beautiful. That is why he is up there in my list of favorite composers. I am fairly certain that this is from the incidental music that Mendelssohn wrote. Either way, this work is stunning!

1. Nocturne in E-flat Major (Op. 9 No. 2) - Frédéric Chopin

This is the piece that I am learning to play on piano currently. It is incredibly beautiful (as are all of the pieces in this list). This is probably one of Chopin's most famous nocturnes. I will not call it his best because I have not listened to all of them deeply enough to judge that, but I will say that (having read the music) it is incredibly elaborate in the realm of music theory as well as imagination. It is a balanced binary form (meaning that it contains an A section [which repeats] and a B section which contains the A section in it [which also repeats] then a coda).

All Previous Weekly7s

Schedule (hopefully)

Friday - Tuesday: "The Wealth of Nations" review
Wednesday: Break/Free write day
Thursday: Weekly7

Closing

Thanks for reading this! This is my first weekly7 in a long time. I hope you enjoy the pieces I have selected. If you have any requests for future weekly7s, please don't hesitate to leave them in the comments. Anyway, as always, feedback is always appreciated. See you later!

Also remember to check for: My weekly 7 post, As well as my composer birthday posts (Note) In order to encourage meaningful feedback on the platform, I will check comment trails of users who leave superficial comments (ie "Awesome post," or "Upvoted.") and will mute any users who exhibit a pattern of leaving "spammy" comments.

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hansenatortravel (49) · 6 years ago

All very relaxing music. Well put together cmp2020! Soothing, good by the pool. Haha. Cheers!

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tin-tin (54) · 6 years ago

Thanks for the list! They're all great, a couple of them familliar and some new to the ear, some mellow, some a little livelier, but all beautiful pieces. (Except no. 6, which I couldn't watch since it's blocked from where I live...)

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