Written at seventeen and published after Chopin’s death: a slow, grieving melody over wide, rolling left-hand triplets.
The story
Chopin wrote this nocturne in Warsaw around 1827, when he was seventeen, possibly after the death of his younger sister Emilia that year.
He never published it. Julian Fontana printed it in 1855, which is why it carries such a late opus number.
Two things to know
- The left hand spans more than an octave in almost every triplet.
- It is one of the most often played of all Chopin’s nocturnes, though it is among the earliest.
How to play it
Keep the left-hand triplets smooth with the pedal, and play the melody a little louder, so it floats above the waves.