Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne 19
in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1

Published after Chopin's death, this touching piece alternates a melancholic main section with a mysterious and peaceful secondary theme in major.

ID: 2634
Frédéric Chopin - Nocturnes:

Nocturne 19
Op. 72 No. 1

Key: E Minor
Year: 1837 (publ. 1855)
Level: 7
Period: Early Romantic
piano sheet music Piano score: PS Urtext Download
Piano Music AST Audiovisual Study Tool Listen & View

Posthumous perfection

The e minor Nocturne alternates a melancholic main section with a mysterious and peaceful secondary theme in major, following an A-B-A’-B’ scheme. In each A section, the somber main theme is presented twice, first as a lone melody followed by a short episode, and then again reinforced in octaves. A transitional episode modulates to B major and the first entry of the B section, which provides some consolation before leading back to an exquisitely decorated variation of the A section. A short transition brings about a slightly modified repeat of the B section, now in E major, bringing the piece to a quiet close on the Picardy third. This Nocturne can be a rewarding piece to study for the early advanced or determined intermediate student if its main technical obstacles – supple navigation around the keyboard with the left hand and a couple of fast scales and arpeggio runs in the right hand – can be overcome. Apart from the opportunity it provides to study these difficulties along with melodic cantabile playing, there are few listeners whose hearts will remain untouched by a convincing performance of the piece.

Background

Though Chopin asked for his unpublished pieces to be destroyed after his death, they were rescued from this fate by his friends and family. Julian Fontana, Chopin’s long-time confidant, published this Nocturne among a number of other unpublished works during the 1850:s. Though Fontana deemed the Nocturne to be a work from 1827 - Chopin’s late teens - this has more recently been disputed due to the level of compositional craft and emotional maturity it exhibits.


Forum posts about this piece:

Practice level vs playing level by figaro
I’ve been taking private lessons for about a year after being away from piano for some time.  Currently I’m learning Chopin Nocturn...

Chopin's Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72, No. 1 -- Significant textual variants by gingrichdk
I've been comparing scores and performances of this nocturne and, among the many differences, have discovered one major one, plus a cou...

help with pedal marks in chopin op72 no1 by itzik0525168
hi, i don't understand when to release the pedal and when to press again. from the sheet it's seem to me that there is stop betwee...

Classical piano Audition soon, 2 pieces with 'contrasting pieces/movements'? by mylynn
Hi, i have a classical piano audition coming up soon for a bachelor's program in classical performance. It doesn't say much, just ...

Guitar chords against Chopin's music by stillofthenight
Hello, I am trying to put guitar chords against some of my favorite Chopin pieces to play on my guitar. I am interested in the underlying ch...

Help/Advice with Chopin Nocturne in E Minor 0p72,No1??? by sophiehill123456789
Hello, I'm rather new on this forum(Its a Miracle I came across it :) ) Currently, Im having a go at Chopins Nocturne in E minor op 7...

Chopin Nocturne op 72 no 1 by redragon
I'm learning this piece....... and I stumbled across something that i noticed i could use help with. There are sixteenth notes and trip...

Chopin Nocturne in e minor by 8426
I'm studying chopin's nocturne in e minor. In the second part there are some plyrythms...4-3 ,then 8-3 ,then 10-3 ,then 11-3. Apar...

Any advice on playing Nocturne in E minor? by ishy14
I'm learning a new piece, Nocturne in E minor-Chopin. My teacher said she cant help me much on some parts any advice on learning it? ...

Learn Chopin Nocturne Op.72 #1 with Me! by violinist
I just printed out the music.  Here's the .pdf file: www.sheetmusicarchive.net/compositions_b/noct72_1.pdf Maybe we could learn ...

Chopin Nocturne op 72 no. 1 by guitarwolf
I have a question about the big trill in this piece. 3rd page 8th bar. I know the first part of the trill is with the 1st and 3rd finger. My...

what are your thoughts on Chopin Nocturne in E m, Op.72 Nº.1 by RH200300
  what are your thoughts on Chopin Nocturne in E m, Op.72 Nº.1   thanks    ...

Chopin Nocturnes op 72 No. 1 by rh2003001
Chopin Nocturnes op 72 No. 1 I'd like to know what impressions this piece had left inside each of you. a sad one ?  anything insight of...


Member's recordings of piece:

Chopin Nocturne op. 72, no 1 (in E minor) by mike_h
Hi everyone! Second time posting, just wanted to share my progress on Chopin’s nocturne op. 72 no. 1 in E minor. I still have to finish t...

Chopin Nocturne in E minor by sarahkw
Hello all, I've been playing this piece for about a month now. I have heard many different recordings of people playing it, each with...

Chopin Nocturne in E minor Op 72 (video) Stage Recital by totallyclassics
This is by far one of my favorite pieces......I have been playing it off and on for the last 2 years of my 4 years in piano!   It is very ...

Nocturne 72/1 in E Minor Chopin by justliam
Again on a turn keyboard lol, but what can ya do, so bear in mind again pedalling is bound to be poor.  But comments very much welcome....

Chopin Nocturne 72/1 (on another website) by violinist
Hello folks, I've been busy busy busy... my piano been gather dust :( But I wanted to record something and let you guys know I'm...

Nocturne in Em Op. 72, No. 1 (posthumous) by gaer
I've taught this at least three times, so I thought it was about time to see what I could do with it myself. Strangely, although I had...


Members who like this piece have also downloaded:

DOWNLOAD: Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne (opus posth) Op. 72 No. 1 in E Minor ( from Nocturnes by Chopin). Piano sheet music to print immediately or to view in mobile devices.
Frédéric Chopin, who was one of the prominent composers active in the Early Romantic era, wrote this piece titled "Nocturne (opus posth)"Op. 72 No. 1 in E Minor from Nocturnes. The composition is categorized as "Piece" in the sheet music library and the level of difficulty in the piano music database is 7.