HOME     Biography     TEXTS        |     YOUTUBE    AMAZON   ITUNES  ARKIVMUSIC   NAXOS

NOTTURNO

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN

ELIANE RODRIGUES

 

OVERVIEW

 

Navona Records’ NOTTURNO: The Complete Nocturnes and Ballades of Chopin is a fresh look at some of the Polish composer’s most expressive works. The nocturnes and ballades are also some of Chopin’s most innovative works, displaying exciting advancements in harmony, rhythm, and form—all renewed in pianist Eliane Rodrigues’s nuanced, thoughtful performances, recorded in Sacilie, Italy’s acoustically advanced Fazioli Concert Hall.

 

Although he didn’t invent the piano nocturne, Chopin popularized it and certainly improved it beyond a mere character piece. He was heavily influenced by the sensuous melodies of bel canto opera arias, and developed a freer sense of rhythm and expression—as a result, the nocturnes exude an abstract mood or atmosphere. Chopin did, however, invent the piano ballade—a genre with its own distinct forms and qualities. His four ballades most directly contrast the nocturnes in their abstract narrative style—very different from “mood” pieces, they were likely inspired by poems by Adam Mickiewicz.

 

Taking a page from Chopin’s own unwritten ballade narratives, Rodrigues includes text by Jantien Brys to accompany each nocturne, each one telling a sort of story without sacrificing the essential atmospheric nature of the nocturne. She writes, “For me, the Nocturnes are like a diary of Chopin, so Jantien wrote the texts as if they were excerpts from a fictional diary of his.” Rodrigues’s performances, influenced by these new texts, bring the listener a new kind of emotional connection to Chopin and music.

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

Eliane Rodrigues was born in Rio de Janeiro, where she began composing at three, played her first recital at five, and performed with an orchestra at six. From there, she won prizes at age 18 at the Van Cliburn Competition in the United States and was a laureate at the 1983 Queen Elisabeth Competition.

 

Rodrigues has a truly international performing presence. She has performed in Antwerp, Brussels, The Hague, Moscow, New York, Rio de Janeiro, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Zürich, and elsewhere. In 1998, she was the leading artist at the Música Romântica music festival in Switzerland, featured as performer, conductor, and composer.

 

Rodrigues makes her home in the Netherlands, where, in Rotterdam, she gives an annual Chopin recital at De Doelen on the day after Christmas. She is currently professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, where she has taught for many years.

 

Rodrigues has produced over 25 CDs featuring live and studio recordings. These include recordings of Prokofiev’s five piano concertos and several Beethoven works, including recent recordings of all of his piano concertos in St. Petersburg.

 

CONNECT with Eliane Rodrigues

 

                     

 

ALSO ON

 

REFLETS (nv6164)

Eliane Rodrigues

Release Date: October 13, 2017

Catalog #: NV6123

 

 

TRACK LISTING

 

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN

ELIANE RODRIGUES PIANO

 

DISC 1

01 NOCTURNE 1 - Op.9 No.1 in B-fl at minor - Larghetto

02 NOCTURNE 2 - Op.9 No.2 in E-fl at major - Andante

03 NOCTURNE 3 - Op.9 No.3 in B major - Allegretto

04 NOCTURNE 4 - Op.15 No.1 in F major - Andante cantabile

05 NOCTURNE 5 - Op.15 No.2 in F-sharp major - Larghetto

06 NOCTURNE 6 - Op.15 No.3 in G minor - Lento

07 NOCTURNE 7 - Op.27 No.1 in C-sharp minor - Larghetto

08 NOCTURNE 8 - Op.27 No.2 in D-fl at major - Lento sostenuto

09 NOCTURNE 9 - Op.32 No.1 in B major - Andante sostenuto

10 NOCTURNE 10 - Op.32 No.2 in A-fl at major - Lento

11 NOCTURNE 11 - Op.37 No.1 in G minor - Lento sostenuto

12 BALLADE No.1 in G minor, Op.23

 

DISC 2

01 NOCTURNE 12 - Op.37 No.2 in G major - Andantino

02 NOCTURNE 13 - Op.48 No.1 in C minor - Lento

03 NOCTURNE 14 - Op.48 No.2 in F-sharp minor - Andantino

04 NOCTURNE 15 - Op.55 No.1 in F minor - Andante

05 NOCTURNE 16 - Op.55 No.2 in E-fl at major - Lento sostenuto

06 NOCTURNE 17 - Op.62 No.1 in B major - Andante

07 NOCTURNE 18 - Op.62 No.2 in E major - Lento

08 NOCTURNE 19 - Op.post.72 No.1 in E minor - Andante

09 NOCTURNE 20 - Op.post. in C-sharp minor - Lento con gran espressione

10 NOCTURNE 21 - Op.post. in C minor - Andante sostenuto

11 BALLADE No.4 in F minor, Op.52


BONUS TRACKS

-Digital Only-

 

 

 

CREDITS

 

Recorded February 27-28, 2017 at the

Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile (Italy)

Fazioli concert grand F278

 

Artistic Director Florian Heyerick

 

Recording, editing & acoustical modelling

Gregor Antes - laborantes.com

 

In collaboration with

 

 

 

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw

A&R Chris Robinson

Audio Director Jeff LeRoy

Mastering Lucas Paquette

Design & Marketing Director Brett Picknell

Design Emily Roulo

 

© NAVONA RECORDS LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

Navona Records offers listeners a fresh taste of today's leading innovators in orchestral, chamber, instrumental, and experimental music as well as prime pieces of classic repertoire. Our music is meticulously performed by the finest musicians and handpicked to ensure the most rewarding listening experience.

 

www.navonarecords.com

223 Lafayette Road

North Hampton NH 03862

 

PRESS INQUIRIES

press (at) parmarecordings.com

603.758.1718 x 151