24. Let’s go Chopin’

Silence at night is often desirable, but even the quietest night is rarely completely soundless. The moonlit hour has always inspired artists (do you remember Mad About Music in 2023, held under the theme “Ode à la nuit?”), and it also lends itself to music-making, both indoors and under the open sky. Many musical genres have become forever associated with the night, including the serenade and the nocturne – the latter even has “night” in its name. Serenades can be sung in the evening beneath the window of a beloved, as Don Giovanni does when he seduces his latest victim with the song Deh vieni alla finestra (Oh, come to the window) in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera. But in Mozart’s Vienna, a serenade more often referred to a light, pleasant multi-movement piece, usually performed just after dusk, often outdoors. This is true not only of the famous Eine kleine Nachtmusik, but also of the Serenata notturna, a nocturnal serenade for a rather atypical ensemble: a group of string soloists, tutti strings, and timpani. The piece was composed in January, so it was performed indoors, on the occasion of an unknown social event, for which the formal march at the beginning and the downright entertaining dances in the subsequent sections were well-suited. Although Frédéric Chopin’s Concerto in F minor is not immediately associated with the night, the second movement of this work is, in fact, a nocturne. Alongside the delicate depiction of night in the outer sections, the middle section brings intense emotions. The first movement, Maestoso – enthusiastic and solemn – and the finale – a spirited, dance-like Rondo – also contrast with the gentleness of Larghetto.

– Dominika Micał (pisanezesluchu.pl)