Chopin, Nocturne, E-flat major, opus 55 #2, Piano Solo

[Avramopoulos1]

@ikschrijflangenamen instruments? this is solo piano... the colours represent the "voices" let's say.. i don't how it is in english, but in many pieces there are more than 2 "voices". check some fugues and u'll realize it :)

[Amarelaoo1]

prefer bach but this is great

[Shanelololol]

@Amarelaoo1 chopin was greatly inspired by the works of Bach.

[schymbros]

Great music

[Orodonis100]

You are awesome for posting all the sheet music on your site!

[maidenofrohan]

I love your videos and keep coming back to them. Thank you for taking the time and effort to put them up.

[hazymat]

This piece is a great contender for visualisation.

That tenor line dropping in and out, in a different colour.

Such an amazing piece. Great to see it deconstructed in this way.

It only adds to the beauty for me.

[ifrozetodeath]

my love for classical music increases tenfold every day with this beautiful website and people like you uploading these diamonds of musical genius. and for this, I thank you :)

[galtzur21]

lol easy way :)

[WORLDCLASS12341]

i love chopin <3

[jabelngo]

smalin, your videos are addicting to watch & listen to. thanks for putting this together!

[Krzisek]

Fryderyk not Frederic... he was polish composer, he wasn't Frenchman

[Axotrotl]

@Krzisek ale on byl na polovinu francouz a na polovinu polák ty idiote,nejprve si ověř svou informaci debile!...geniální skladatel to byl!

[starsontheground]

I like how the pianist played this piece, very sensitive! bravo!

[susitha1000]

beautuiful and faboluise

[adams123s]

Fryderyk Chopin a nie Frederic

[Krzisek]

@adams123s dokładnie, wszyscy myślą, że był Francuzem!

[Ryak1234]

Is there somewhere a torrent or something with all Chopin's nocturnes?

[organist121893]

@Ryak1234 it should be in the public domain

[Truzel40]

@Ryak1234 (FLAC) Frederic Chopin - The Complete Edition (17 CDs): That, and many others is on The Pirate Bay. Succes!

[nycolas1712]

Excellent.

[aznkriss133]

that was just beautiful

[Snezhinka9]

For me, this Nocturne always had a Beethoven-late quartet feel...something about the melody reminded me of one of his late quartets...I think the ode from the a minor quartet...anyhow, thats just me and my wierd associations. I love this nocturne, I love Chopin. <3

[tonyngjichun]

Urm, for the FAQ, Op.55 set is Nocturne, but not etude.

Etude is just Op.10 & Op.25 & The three Trious Novellous which are Posthumous in Opus no.

Amend the info ASAP :D

BTW i love this.

U"sing Pianissimo?

[smalin]

@tonyngjichun Ooops, thanks for noticing the mistake; fixed.  See the FAQ for the question about Pianissimo.

[Lif3isMus1c]

@smalin I love your videos :)

[SatanPanda]

If you're having a hard time understanding this piece, try listening to Rubinstein's recording. He has much better phrasing and dynamics.

[P4meJ]

Dear, can you make a version of the Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 (by Chopin of course) but with the score? Can you? :D

Best regards from Chile.

[smalin]

@P4meJ see the FAQ

[P4meJ]

@smalin Thanks, but does not answer my question. How I can do it myself (if possible), with the score (or the sheet music) included?

[smalin]

@P4meJ There is no easy way for you to do it.

[tonyval214]

what amazes me is you appreciating from classical to other kind of music..that's what music is all about..to be enjoyed ..love this piece too! ..how i wished i did not stop my piano lesson..now all I can do is just sighed and listen..thanks for sharing ..cheers!

[Cynthia95ish]

I'll post a photo up in the next day or two so you can bask in my radiating beauty! Seriously, I am moved and astounded by your audio-visuals, and so is everyone else, smalin, based on their comments. You are just toooo much, man.

[Cynthia95ish]

I never liked, understood, nor appreciated classical before; I've had just enough music theory to read sheet music and vocalize. I stumbled upon your work just a moment ago, now I see.

[smalin]

@Cynthia95ish Cool, Cynth. What's next?

[Zappyguy111]

Is it me or doesn't this piece end on a tonic?

[smalin]

@Zappyguy111 It's you.

[Zappyguy111]

@smalin

awe...

[brrrrhhhh]

exquisement!

[Tafel]

What a lovely ending.

[atim31]

suscribed !

[CSFan11]

it's actually not frédéric, it's fryderyk. he's polish.

[smalin]

It's true, he was christened Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, but his father was French, and Frédéric François Chopin is the name he's usually referred to by in English-speaking countries.

[Zwangsworkaholic]

oh, not just in the english speaking countries.

as how much i see it, he is nearby always referred as Chopin, not Szopen.

But after all, that doesn't matter a bit, he is one of the greatest composers (and my personal favorite), polish or not =).

[jsylw]

Polish inferiority complex...

[SuperFunnyman11]

you should do flight of the bumblebee...

[CorwynCelesil]

These are incredible. They help me to understand the music better and to see how truly complex it is. I am quite fascinated by them.

[MarcoMeerman]

I feel relaxed when i listen and view classical piano. I stopped smoking and when i feel like smoking, i listen this and view your video's.

Thank you Smalin!

[smalin]

Wow. I'd better make more videos, so that you don't run out.

[123pelerin]

You may have saved a life, Smalin :)

[Agomongo1235]

@smalin lol that is funy but yeah you better hurry

[gerdoyle]

I wish that was the same for me!

[eric5906]

@MarcoMeerman: keep it up!

[jibtazzle]

I got view nr. 84000! xD

But I love this melody oh so much! :D

[jambato]

I got view 91485! ;D Do I win something?

[smalin]

Yes! You win a free view of this piece!

[jibtazzle]

HAHAHAH! You only won a view of this piece, while I won the piano he was playing!

Awesooome!

[smalin]

Hey, I was wondering where that piano went; bring it back!

[DiabolicalGenius39]

I absolutely love Chopin's work. Obviously I'm not the only one, judging by many of the other comments. .

[lemming9]

I was just clicking on random classical music on youtube and liked it all until I heard this... just sounds discordant to me, maybe I have a bad ear but it sounds like 2 songs are playing and clashing to me.

[cucuta95]

@lemming9 i htink its like shred on guitar

[uruzumi]

welcome in chopin's world :p

[MultiFailBot]

You probably have a bad ear.

[AvidHobbyist]

@lemming9 it's one of Chopin's more contrapuntal pieces. but i don't think the voices are clashing; they're complimenting each other.

[podx990]

I think this is Horowitz from "The Last Recording", 1989.

[harojohn]

its no clair de lune,

[smalin]

few things are

[Manifold1]

ummm what? clair de lune is nothing compared to chopin.

[gorillahitman]

@harojohn i know exactly what you mean

[RemovdSande11]

chopin is one of the best, most likely the best :P. Im studying nocturne in C-minor , its verry hard to do certain pieces haha ^^

[leightonmeester4ever]

lovely beautifull

[paolichert]

Hmmm...u take requests, huh? How about Lizst's Liebestraum...I think it's the number 3 in Am...the popular one which has been recorded many times...especially in the first half of the 20th...please do that one, it can hold its own against Clair de Lune, or Chopin's Nocturne etc. etc. Thanks!

[smalin]

>u take requests, huh?

see the FAQ

[paolichert]

WoW...you've got a long list there!

[AnotherPornGuru]

Very nice! I wish it was showing the fingers dancing on the keyboard. How about filming your version of Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu?

[smalin]

Hopefully, I'll get to that.

[Lyss27PIVI]

oooooooh that would be good i love that song

[bgpiper]

Very beautiful. I really love Chopin. Magnificent.

[Alex618mir]

a mazurka would be great

[smalin]

Not to mention the opus 53 polonaise.

[MulfyMovies23]

This is a lovely song....I think I still prefer it in C Minor though....but it's beautiful :)

[emifisa]

You have Ballade No 1 op.23 In Youtube?? is a great music

[Smily2800]

Lovly, how about some of chopins mazurkas?

[smalin]

I don't think my bar-graph scores do much for the mazurkas ...

[ZeldavsMusic]

any chance of seeing wagner or stravinsky?

[smalin]

Stravinsky maybe ... but not soon.

Wagner ... probably not.

[terryregnar]

Great as usual.. thanks SMalin..

I'd love to hear more fugues from the art of fugue, or maybe godowsky prelude and fugue on BACH motif for left-hand ( definitly worth looking up)

[smalin]

You should check out my to-do list (see the FAQ).

Thanks for the pointer to the Godowsky;

I'm a fan of his Chopin etudes,

but don't know the P&F.

[pianogirl98]

Simply beautiful!

[WinterHaven]

Sir you have great taste in music!

[mahler151]

any chance you were ever planning on doing some prokofiev, or purcell?

[smalin]

I'm not much of an expert on Prokofiev, so that's not likely; Purcell is a possibility, but I'm more a fan of his string music.

[mahler151]

okay then. whoever is playing is quite a pianist, but you yourself (in your other videos) are quite good aswell.

[smalin]

Thanks. I guess you've forced me to accept a deserved compliment.

[mahler151]

haha, very well.

[mahler151]

ah, smalin, when it comes to chopin and bach you're right up there with horowitz, rubenstien, and the like.

[smalin]

(This isn't me playing...see the FAQ)

[MagicDonDino]

I think Horowitz should be playing this night.

Thank you for the beautiful video night!

[ceciliadeni]

joplin? when?

[smalin]

>joplin? when?

Almost certainly within the next couple of months.

[Synsacrus]

This, along with other works of Chopin, I find a bit confusing; it's hard to put my finger on any elements here. However, Chopin's works have taught me that my inability to understand something doesn't discount it's beauty or majesty.

[smalin]

I know what you mean. I can't say I understand this piece as well as some of his others. If it were my performance, that would be different. I feel a little dishonest, posting music I haven't mastered ...

[Synsacrus]

I don't think you should feel dishonest. Showing is different than performing, I suppose.

[spawnfan101]

Out of curiosity: what exactly do you mean when you say you "understand" or don't understand a piece of music?

[smalin]

>what ... do you mean when you say you "understand" ... a piece of music?

Good question. I complete answer is not possible (especially in 500 characters), but a simple answer might be: I understand a piece if I know why it was written the way it was instead of some other way. A piece I write myself, I understand completely (usually). A piece I perform, I want to understand completely enough to express what's essential in it.

[Synsacrus]

For me, understanding it is knowing why it is beautiful; which completes my original thought to say: I don't need to see why it is beautiful to know that it is beautiful.

[smalin]

The question is: can you fully appreciate the beauty of a piece of music if you don't understand it? For me, it's analogous to a play: if you don't know what your lines mean, you can't give a convincing performance. Listening to this nocturne, there are places where I feel "what's going on here?" There are things which strike me as beautiful, but the beauty is marred because the piece doesn't completely make sense to me. Yet.

[Synsacrus]

No, however, accepting that it is beautiful despite the fact that I don't understand it is not the end. It is the first step to being able to take the journey to understand the piece and love it as fully as it can be loved by someone other than the writer.

As a listening composer, simply understanding that I don't understand it is enough for now; if I do an arrangement or a performance later, though, that would change.

[flamethrowerabc]

not the nocturne in e flat i was hoping for but still very nice.

first comment also!

[smalin]

I'm thinking that the next one I do will be me playing, and it will be the opus posth. in e minor. But first, Joplin.

[flamethrowerabc]

by joplin do you mean a piece by him or a set?

[smalin]

The one I'm ready to do next is the Heliotrope Bouquet, but I expect to do at least the Maple Leaf, Entertainer, and Solace eventually.