Chopin: Nineteen Nocturnes (Ed. Eduard Mertke): Piano Book
By Frédéric Chopin / ed. Eduard Mertke
Level: Advanced
Item: 00-PK-0003020
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Description
Chopin wrote the nocturnes, short pieces for solo piano, between 1827 and 1846. They are considered among the finest short solo works for piano. Although Chopin did not invent the nocturne, he popularized and expanded on it, building on the form developed by Irish composer John Field. This volume is edited and fingered by Ed Mertke, with historical and performance notes.
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Chopin: Nineteen Nocturnes (Ed. Eduard Mertke): Piano Book comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Kalmus Edition
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
64
SKU:
00-PK-0003020
More about this title
About the Composer: Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin (1810, 1849) was a Polish composer and pianist who fundamentally reshaped how the piano was written for and played. Though he composed in multiple genres, his nocturnes became his calling card, intimate, emotionally direct works that demanded a new level of control and expressivity from performers. Chopin's influence on piano literature cannot be overstated; he showed that a short form could contain profound depth and that technical display meant nothing without poetic intention.
Chopin's approach to the nocturne, inherited from John Field's model but transformed entirely, established a template that composers have returned to for nearly two centuries. His attention to voice-leading, rubato, and the singing quality of the right hand created a blueprint for Romantic-era composition that students encounter in every serious piano curriculum.
Why we love this
Chopin's nocturnes demand serious pianistic and interpretive engagement without requiring the virtuosic fireworks that can overshadow musical substance. This collection, edited and fingered by Mertke with performance and historical context, gives advanced students the roadmap they need to navigate the harmonic subtlety, ornamental decoration, and long-line singing voice that define this repertoire. Programming even a single nocturne signals artistic maturity and opens conversations about Romantic-era aesthetics in a way few other genres can.
What to expect
These nocturnes evoke intimate reverie and melancholic beauty, each shaped by Chopin's gift for spinning out a singing melody over gently rocking accompaniment. The emotional landscape ranges from nocturnal solitude and yearning to moments of passionate intensity, creating miniature emotional arcs that feel simultaneously simple and profoundly complex.
Who it's for
Advanced pianists preparing for conservatory study, upper-level university music majors, and serious adult learners ready to engage with repertoire that rewards sustained interpretive work. Students should have secure technique, comfort with ornaments and rapid figuration, and the musical maturity to sustain long melodic lines without structural support from harmonic rhythm.
How to get the most out of it
- Treat the right-hand ornamentation as vocal phrasing rather than mere decoration; each grace note and turn should serve the melodic line and breath of the phrase.
- Balance the left hand to support without overwhelming the primary melody. The accompaniment figures, while intricate, exist to frame the nocturne's song.
- Study Chopin's own recordings and period performances to hear how tempo flexibility (rubato) functioned in his artistic vision, then develop your own informed approach rather than assuming strict metronomic steadiness.
- Approach the pedal with precision tied to harmonic changes, not merely atmospheric effect; each pedal marking in the score serves structural clarity.
How to use it
A single nocturne works beautifully as a recital opener or closer, setting an introspective tone that distinguishes student programs from more athletic repertoire. Pairing two nocturnes in contrasting moods (early versus late-period, for instance) can anchor a recital's middle section and give audiences a focused experience of Chopin's stylistic range.
Skills your students will build
- Long-line phrasing and sustaining melody over broken accompaniment figures
- Ornamental realization including grace notes, turns, and trills appropriate to Romantic style
- Pedal technique coordinated to harmonic change rather than count
- Rhythmic flexibility and rubato within structural integrity
- Voicing and balancing between treble melody and inner-voice accompaniment layers
- Harmonic analysis of Chopin's chromaticism and unconventional chord progressions