This nocturne was addressed by
Chopin to his sister Louise, at Warsaw, in a letter from
Paris, and was written soon after the production of the two
lovely piano concertos, when Chopin was still a very young
man. It contains a quotation from his most admired Concerto in
F minor, and a brief reference to the charming song known as
the Maiden's Wish, two of his sister's favorite melodies. The
manuscript of the nocturne was supposed to have been destroyed
in the sacking of the Zamojski Palace, at Warsaw, toward the
end of the insurrection of 1863, but it was discovered quite
recently among papers of various kinds in the possession of a
Polish gentleman, a great collector, whose son offered Mr.
Polinski the privilege of selecting from such papers. His
choice was three manuscripts of Chopin's, one of them being
this nocturne. A letter from Mr. Polinski on the subject of
this nocturne is in the possession of Miss Janotha.
Is this the nocturne of which Tausig spoke to his pupil Joseffy
as belonging to the Master's "best period," or did he refer to
the one in E minor?
The Berceuse, op.
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