In 1837, after meeting in Dresden and sharing pleasantly for fifteen days, Frederick and Maria Wodzinska – the young Polish woman with whom he had thought to lead a life together – saw their relationship coming to an end. That summer Chopin waited in vain for an invitation to spend the season again with the Wodzinski family, but the offer never came. What did arrive but to the mother's ears, was the rumor about Chopin's incurable illness.
The favored
But in Paris life went on. And some of his colleagues, Franz Liszt, for example, were having a wonderful time. That same year Cosima Liszt was born, the fruit of Liszt's relationship with Countess Marie d'Agoult. (Many years later, Cosima would marry Richard Wagner, after leaving her husband, the conductor Hans von Büllow, but that is another story).
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| Chopin, a water-color painting, by Maria Wodzinska |
And those who were not having a good time, faced the definitive end. It's the case of the Irish pianist and composer John Field, "inventor" of the nocturne form, who died that year in Moscow, on January 23, at the age of 55. Creator of short pieces, sort of reveries or meditations, he liked to accompany his rather tender melodic lines with arpeggios, or broken chords of the left hand. Chopin was inspired by them, of course, and will give soul, heart, and life to this new form, somewhat weak at first, devised by Field.
A tribute?
Who knows if in 1837 Chopin learned of the death of his "master" in the genre. And who knows whether, if so – although the nocturne is dedicated to a pupil – perhaps Chopin did want to pay tangential homage to Field with this simple piece, a quiet, brief romanza, just as his inspirer warned that the nocturnes should be.
Nocturne Opus 32 No 1 in B major
It's initially marked andante sostenuto and is in 4/4 meter. The piece transitions to adagio in the last two measures, un interruption that, as a foreground Chopin's desire, makes the music speaks, according to some scholars.
The performance is by Dutch pianist Arthur Jussen, at the end of a concert.
