Nocturne
Nocturne · in E♭ major · Op. 9, No. 2
Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
E♭ major
Key
Nocturne
Form
Andante
Tempo
Op. 9, No. 2
Catalogue
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Difficulty
Our estimate Intermediate
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Themes & character
The most famous nocturne·Ever more elaborate returns·Bel canto ornament·Composed around 1831
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 9, No. 2
- Key
- E♭ major
- Tempo / character
- Andante
- Form
- Nocturne
About the piece
The Nocturne in E♭ major, Op. 9 No. 2, is the most widely recognized piece Chopin ever wrote and probably the most famous nocturne by anyone. He composed it around 1831, in his early twenties.
Its melody returns three times, and on each return Chopin decorates it more elaborately, exactly as an operatic soprano of the period would have ornamented a repeated verse. Beneath it the left hand keeps a steady, wide-spanning waltz-like accompaniment that never draws attention to itself.
The composer
Frédéric Chopin
1810–1849
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading composer of his era whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation".
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