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Topic: Chopin nocturne question  (Read 1051 times)

Offline pianopuff

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Chopin nocturne question
on: November 06, 2020, 02:49:06 PM
Hi,
I have played only a few Chopin nocturnes (Op. 9 no 1 and 2, as well as the posthumous nocturnes and Op 37 no 1).
Many are lovely but a bit too hard for me. I looked on the Henle site for ratings and it was not terribly helpful as it rated most of them a 6. It rated, for example, Op. 9 no 1 and 2 the same as Op. 27 no 2, which in my mind is a LOT harder)….
Can anyone suggest which ones are on the 'easier' side of the scale? Which ones would make sense to approach next? I have seen that Op. 55 no 1 seems pretty doable but what about others?

Thanks

Online j_tour

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Re: Chopin nocturne question
Reply #1 on: November 06, 2020, 06:39:36 PM
Can anyone suggest which ones are on the 'easier' side of the scale? Which ones would make sense to approach next? I have seen that Op. 55 no 1 seems pretty doable but what about others?

Oh, as I was just looking up the Op. number for the F minor, I see it is the Op. 55 no. 1.

Yeah, you can play that:  the only real mechanical challenge is working the arpeggios at tempo towards the end, but it's not a very technical piece. 

I'm afraid I can't say about the other nocturnes of Chopin, as this was the only one I mastered a long time ago.  I still do recommend just grabbing the Dover reprint and reading through them, though:  there are a bunch of them and I don't recall any single nocturne featuring more than one tricky mechanical technique.

Agreed about the Henle "grading" levels:  I don't find their system (if what they have can be called systematic, regardless of the quality of their print editions) very helpful at all.
My name is Nellie, and I take pride in helping protect the children of my community through active leadership roles in my local church and in the Boy Scouts of America.  Bad word make me sad.
 

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