A wonderful idea brilliantly executed,
Bart van Oort's four-disc set entitled The Art of the Nocturne is not only an in-depth examination of one of the most romantic of romantic musical forms, but also a really sexy set of seduction discs that cannot fail to warm even the coldest heart. The first disc in
Oort's survey includes all the elegantly expressive Nocturnes of Irish-Russian composer John Field, the second and third discs include all the supremely sensual Nocturnes of Polish-French composer Frédéric Chopin, and the fourth disc includes individual Nocturnes by various contemporaries of
Chopin, of whom the best known are Clara Schumann and Charles-Valentin Alkan and the least known is Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski.
Oort is a sensitive and soulful player with supple technique, and, thankfully, he simply plays the music and doesn't impose an interpretation on it. Played on a clear, warm 1837 Erard,
Oort's superlative performances of
Chopin's Nocturnes may not beat the best ever recorded, but in context of his unsurpassed performances of Field, Alkan, and, it goes without saying, Dobrzynski, they are completely convincing and entirely satisfying. Brilliant's sound is clean and open.