Tuesday 30 March 2010
Tune of the Day: Nocturne in E-flat major
by Frédéric Chopin, arranged for Flute and Piano
The Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2, is very possibly the most famous work ever penned by Frédéric Chopin. The Polish pianist composed it between 1830 and 1832, when he was about twenty.
Like much of Chopin's music, this nocturne is tinged with melancholy. However, despite its globally reflective mood, the piece suddenly becomes passionate near the end. The concluding melody begins softly, but then ascends to a high register, eventually reaching the loudest part of the piece, marked fortissimo. After a brilliant and almost hypnotic trill-like passage, the excitement subsides; the nocturne ends calmly.