Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes Jenny Lin

• Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849): Nocturnes, Op. 9:
• 1 Nocturnes, Op. 9: No. 1 in B-Flat Minor 05:06
• 2 Nocturnes, Op. 9: No. 2 in E-Flat Major 04:24
• 3 Nocturnes, Op. 9: No. 3 in B Major 06:40
• Nocturnes, Op. 15:
• 4 Nocturnes, Op. 15: No. 1 in F Major 04:19
• 5 Nocturnes, Op. 15: No. 2 in F-Sharp Major 03:55
• 6 Nocturnes, Op. 15: No. 3 in G Minor 04:25
• Nocturnes, Op. 27:
• 7 Nocturnes, Op. 27: No. 1 in C-Sharp Minor 05:16
• 8 Nocturnes, Op. 27: No. 2 in D-Flat Major 05:40
• Nocturnes, Op. 32:
• 9 Nocturnes, Op. 32: No. 1 in B Major 04:51
• 10 Nocturnes, Op. 32: No. 2 in A-Flat Major 04:59
• Nocturnes, Op. 37:
• 11 Nocturnes, Op. 37: No. 1 in G Minor 05:56
• 12 Nocturnes, Op. 37: No. 2 in G Major 05:27
• Nocturnes, Op. 48:
• 13 Nocturnes, Op. 48: No. 1 in C Minor 05:39
• 14 Nocturnes, Op. 48: No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor 06:22
• Nocturnes, Op. 55:
• 15 Nocturnes, Op. 55: No. 1 in F Minor 04:33
• 16 Nocturnes, Op. 55: No. 2 in E-Flat Major 05:15
• Nocturnes, Op. 62:
• 17 Nocturnes, Op. 62: No. 1 in B Major 06:53
• 18 Nocturnes, Op. 62: No. 2 in E Major 05:34
• Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72:
• 19 Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1 04:15
• Nocturne in C Minor, B. 108:
• 20 Nocturne in C Minor, B. 108 03:38
• Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, B. 49:
• 21 Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, B. 49 04:18
• Total Runtime 01:47:25

Info for Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes

The night has always been a time of enchantment; it embodies the uncanny, but also the romantic side of human existence. For her new Hänssler release Jenny Lin has selected a program of night pieces that speak to both the sensual and more complex psychological aspects of nocturnal experiences – from Debussy’s "Clair de lune" to Arthur Lourié‘s "A Phoenix Park Nocturne" to Liszt's "Liebestraum" she evokes sounds, dancing, romance, far from everyday experiences, whispering of things hidden from the light of day.

She evokes thoughts and visions from a shadowy realm that draws us into our inner world. A dramatically styled CD, perfectly expressive of human longing for the other side.

"Her opening selection, Debussy's 'Clair de lune', is starkly deliberate, straightforward and kitsch-free...The Griffes, Glinka, Turina and Lourie selections inspire some of Lin's most ravishing playing on disc...this beautifully engineered release is a welcome addition to Lin's diverse and distinct discography." (Gramophone)

"Taiwanese-Austrian-American pianist Jenny Lin has a flair for unusual programs, and so it is here even though the material at first seems conventional. Yes, this is one collection of nocturnes or night pieces among many on the market. But Lin titles the album Night Stories, and she delivers not a collection of mood pieces but a survey of what the idea of night has meant musically. As if to emphasize her intention, Lin frames the program with perhaps the two most familiar night pieces of all, Debussy's Clair de lune and Liszt's Nocturne No. 3 ("Liebestraum"). After the Debussy come Romantic pieces of various kinds, with Chopin effectively placed in the middle so as to show just how radical his treatment of this salon form really was. The second half of the program features music from the early 20th century and carries psychological overtones, bringing some delighful and largely forgotten pieces like Arthur Lourié's A Phoenix Park Nocturne and Charles Tomlinson Griffes' The Night Winds. A contemporary piece might have added zest to the program, but Lin deserves plenty of credit for defining a musical space and then filling it up. Her tone is initially more forceful than expected for this kind of music, but this is a performer with a vision original enough to bring listeners along for the ride. Hänssler Classics' engineering work, at Virginia's Sono Luminus studio, supports the artist's aims beautifully." (James Manheim, AMG)

Jenny Lin, piano

Jenny Lin
is one of the most respected young pianists today, admired for her adventurous programming and charismatic stage presence. Her ability to combine classical and contemporary literature has brought her to the attention of international critics and audiences. She has been acclaimed for her “remarkable technical command” and “a gift for melodic flow” by The New York Times. The Washington Post praises “Lin’s confident fingers… spectacular technique… “, “…surely one of the most interesting pianists in America right now…” and Gramophone Magazine has hailed her as “an exceptionally sensitive pianist”. Martha Argerich wrote: “Miss Jenny Lin is a very gifted young musician and a brilliant pianist.”

Jenny’s orchestral engagements have included Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Collegiate Chorale and American Symphony, Valentin Silvestrov’s Metamusik with Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Manuel de Falla’s Nights in the Garden of Spain with La Orquesta Sinfónica de Gijón; Ernest Bloch’s Concerto Grosso No. 1 with SWR Rundfunkorchester; world premiere of Stefano Gervasoni’s Piano Concerto with Orchestra Sinfonica Nationale della RAI, and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. She has also worked with NDR Radiophilharmonie, Flemish Radio Orchestra, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and performed with conductors such as Lothar Zagrosek, James Bagwell, Jiri Starek, Urs Schneider, Alexander Mickelthwate, Peter Bay, Jac van Steen, Ovidiu Balan, Wen-Pin Chien, Kek-Tjiang Lim, John Kennedy, Carlos Amat, Oliver Diaz, and Celso Antunes.

Her concerts have taken her to Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Kennedy Center, Miller Theatre, MoMA, Whitney Museum, San Francisco Performances, Freer Gallery of Art, Morgan Library, (Le) Poisson Rouge, National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery, Spivey Hall, and throughout Europe and the Far East; as well as Festivals worldwide at Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart, BAM’s Next Wave, Spoleto and Portland International Piano Festivals in the USA, Chopin Festival in Austria, Flanders and Ars Musica Festivals in Belgium, Shanghai New Music Festival in China, Divonne Festival in France, Schleswig-Holstein, Potsdam and Husum Piano Rarities Festivals in Germany, Kings Place in London, Millennium Festival in Spain, Festival Archipel in Switzerland, and Winnipeg New Music in Canada.

Jenny’s extensive discography includes critically acclaimed recordings on Steinway & Sons, hänssler CLASSIC, eOne Records, BIS Records, Albany Records, and Sunrise Records. Since 2000, she has over twenty albums to her credit. The New York Times called her disc of Federico Mompou’s Musica Callada “…beautifully recorded…”. Classicstoday praised her 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovitch “…hands down the finest version of this massive work” and was voted Best of 2009 by the Washington Post, All-Music Guide raved: “The 11th Finger is a thrill ride for musical adventurers” and “Lin’s playing is nothing less than superhuman”, and Gramophone reported on her CD of Stravinsky’s solo piano music “superbly recorded… another notable achievement from this gifted and imaginative artist.” Other notable recordings have included Liszt Sonata and Schumann Fantasie, music for Piano and Orchestra by Ernest Bloch, Xavier Montsalvatge, Ma Shui-Long Piano Concerto, and ‘Get Happy’, an album of Broadway song arrangements by pianists such as Stephen Hough, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Chistopher O’Riley, and Stephen Prutsman. Two new releases are scheduled for 2015, an album for children and a two-piano disc with Uri Caine.

Jenny is the central figure in Cooking for Jenny by Elemental Films, a musical documentary portraying her journey to the north of Spain and meeting with composer Javier López de Guereña for the preparation of the world premier of his piano concerto ZAHARA. Other media appearances include CBS Sunday Morning, NPR Performance Today, and “Speaking for Myself”, a film about Manhattan as seen through the eyes of eight contemporary artists by filmmaker Bert Shapiro.

Born in Taiwan and raised in Austria, Jenny studied with Noel Flores at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, with Julian Martin at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and with Dominique Weber in Geneva. She has also worked with Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, and Blanca Uribe, and with Dimitri Bashkirov and Andreas Staier at the Fondazione Internazionale per il pianoforte in Como, Italy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in German Literature from The Johns Hopkins University and currently resides in New York City.

This album contains no booklet.