The garden of a manor house in Sintra, in the misty hills above Lisbon, may seem a long way to go to hear Chopin garnished with birdsong, but attendance at Sintra´s exquisitely civilised music ...

Chopin's Nocturnes form a central collection in the romantic piano repertoire, and with good reason. But just how did the inspiration for such an epic set of piano pieces come about? Frederic Chopin's ...

Chopin was born 200 years ago on Monday, but it’s a tricky anniversary to celebrate. His oeuvre, almost exclusively for piano, offers little scope for repackaging. There is nothing to be dug up or ...

In Paris, far from his Polish homeland, Chopin gave his soul to the piano, creating for it music of unearthly beauty. Into the Nocturnes, he poured the greatest brightness of his genius. Chopin was ...

Frederic Chopin was a Polish-born pianist and composer of matchless genius in the realm of keyboard music. As a pianist, his talents were beyond emulation and had an impact on other musicians entirely ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Be clear about one thing: this is not just another recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes. The roll-call of pianists ...

Chopin’s Nocturne No. 7, in C-sharp minor, begins with a low, ashen sound: a prowling arpeggio in the left hand, consisting only of C-sharps and G-sharps. It’s a hollowed-out harmony, in limbo between ...

There was something about the slower pace of life during pandemic-era lockdowns that invited me to explore the introspective and generally calming world of nocturnes. I enjoyed sight-reading through ...