Chopin: Nocturnes – Nelson Goerner

   in Piano International (Jan, 2018)
There is huge competition in this repertoire with the likes of Barenboim, Pollini, Rubinstein, Arrau et al all pulling at our wallets. Goerner’s way is intelligent and loving: intelligent in the clear acknowledgement of the composer’s debt to Bellini in the vocal qualities of the melodies; loving in the shaping of the pieces themselves. Since his 2002 EMI Debut disc of Chopin, one has been aware of Goerner’s affinity with this composer. Nice to see him in a complete corpus of work, and how Goerner finds drama in the Nocturnes as well as repose (most notably perhaps in the central section of Op 15/1 and in the ‘tone poem’ of Op …