Tom Hicks - Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes (2025) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Chopin’s 21 Nocturnes, often described as ‘songs of the night’, are among the most well-known and beautiful of Chopin’s short solo piano works.

Divine Art is thrilled to present pianist Tom Hicks’ insightful new recording of these works which synthesizes his research into Chopin’s performance and composition practices with modern listeners’ expectations via a ‘stunning technical agility’ (American Record Guide). Dr Kim Sauberlich’s excellent liner notes delve deeper into this often-forgotten performance, teaching, and historical recording practice and, together with the 21 pieces on this album, pose fascinating questions about authenticity and interpretation.

Chopin’s practice of sending manuscripts to publishers in multiple countries, while continuing to edit, led to multiple, authentic first editions which are not often heard in performance today, and even less in recordings. In this recording, Tom has tastefully incorporated some of these variants, alongside historically informed choices about tempo rubato and pedaling, to create a version of the Nocturnes that feels fresh, individual, and truly authentic. He has even included minor and occasional improvisations, paying homage to the composer’s multifaceted creative process, in which improvisation was central.

Tom Hicks has said “All of this led me to see Chopin as a highly creative and spontaneous musician for whom the score is one representation of the work and for whom the score is only the starting point of an interpretation, not the end.”

The album was recorded at night and the engineers have captured an intimacy of sound. The recording process relied upon minimal editing and longer ‘live’ takes to recreate the intimate feel of the salon where these pieces were most often heard.

Guernsey-born pianist Tom Hicks has an expansive repertoire and has been praised for his “brilliantly evocative”(International Piano) and “gorgeously creative playing” (Fanfare). He has won many awards and competitions and has appeared at the Wigmore Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and many other venues throughout Europe and the United States. This new album follows his March 2022 albums centered around the Liszt and Ireland Piano Sonatas and Camden Reeves’ ‘Blue Sounds’.

Tracklist:
01. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 9, B. 54- No. 1 in B-Flat Minor
02. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 9, B. 54- No. 2 in E-Flat Major
03. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 9, B. 54- No. 3 in B Major
04. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 15- No. 1 in F Major, B. 55
05. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 15- No. 2 in F-Sharp Major, B. 55
06. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 15- No. 3 in G Minor, B. 79
07. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 27- No. 1 in C-Sharp Minor, B. 91
08. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 27- No. 2 in D-Flat Major, B. 96
09. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 32, B. 106- No. 1 in B Major
10. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 32, B. 106- No. 2 in A-Flat Major
11. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 37- No. 1 in G Minor, B. 119
12. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 37- No. 2 in G Major, B. 127
13. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 48, B. 142- No. 1 in C Minor
14. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 48, B. 142- No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor
15. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 55, B. 152- No. 1 in F Minor
16. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 55, B. 152- No. 2 in E-Flat Major
17. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 62, B. 161- No. 1 in B Major
18. Chopin- Nocturnes, Op. 62, B. 161- No. 2 in E Major
19. Chopin- Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1, B. 19
20. Chopin- Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, B. 49
21. Chopin- Nocturne in C Minor, B. 108


Thanks to the Original customer!