The E major Nocturne has a bardic ring. Its song is
almost declamatory and not at all sentimental--unless so
distorted--as Niecks would have us imagine. The intermediate
portion is wavering and passionate, like the middle of the F
sharp major Nocturne. It shows no decrease in creative vigor or
lyrical fancy. The Klindworth version differs from the original,
as an examination of the following examples will show, the upper
being Chopin's:
[Musical score excerpt]
The posthumous nocturne in E minor, composed in 1827, is weak and
uninteresting. Moreover, it contains some very un-Chopin-like
modulations. The recently discovered nocturne in C sharp minor is
hardly a treasure trove. It is vague and reminiscent The
following note was issued by its London publishers, Ascherberg &
Co.:
The first question, suggested by the announcement of a new
posthumous composition of Chopin's, will be "What proof is
there of its authenticity?" To musicians and amateurs who
cannot recognize the beautiful Nocturne in C sharp minor as
indeed the work of Chopin, it may in the first place be
pointed out that the original manuscript (of which a facsimile
is given on the title-page) is in Chopin's well-known
handwriting, and, secondly, that the composition, which is
strikingly characteristic, was at once accepted as the work of
Chopin by the distinguished composer and pianist Balakireff,
who played it for the first time in public at the Chopin
Commemoration Concert, held in the autumn of 1894 at Zelazowa
Wola, and afterward at Warsaw.
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