Chopin: Nocturnes Bruno Rigutto

• Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849):
• 1 Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 (Posthumous) 03:43
• 2 Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, Op. Posthumous 03:52
• 3 Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9, No. 1 05:56
• 4 Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 04:01
• 5 Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9, No. 3 06:11
• 6 Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15, No. 1 04:01
• 7 Nocturne in F-Sharp Major, Op. 15, No. 2 03:19
• 8 Nocturne in G Minor, Op. 15, No. 3 04:53
• 9 Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 1 05:06
• 10 Nocturne in D-Flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2 05:48
• 11 Nocturne in B Major, Op. 32, No. 1 04:28
• 12 Nocturne in A-Flat Major, Op. 32, No. 2 04:36
• 13 Nocturne in C Minor, Op. Posthumous 03:04
• 14 Nocturne in G Minor, Op. 37, No. 1 05:53
• 15 Nocturne in G Major, Op. 37, No. 2 04:51
• 16 Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1 06:13
• 17 Nocturne in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 48, No. 2 07:23
• 18 Nocturne in F Minor, Op. 55, No. 1 04:49
• 19 Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 55, No. 2 04:22
• 20 Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62, No. 1 06:27
• 21 Nocturne in E Major, Op. 62, No. 2 05:26
• Total Runtime 01:44:22

Info for Chopin: Nocturnes

Bruno Rigutto performed a new recording, matured over time, of Chopin's Nocturnes, 40 years after his first complete recording of these pieces.

His long-time attendance and his poetic approach to this corpus make this new album an exciting object. This second complete recording is enriched with the sheen that only time and long-lasting imagination can give to the performance.

For the French pianist, playing Chopin's music has a mysterious aura. The performer's sensitivity has to resonate with the composer's affects. The alchemy is complete, the interpreter drawing from within himself the atmospheres to create subtle nuances and phrasings. Finally, the album is the mirror of the inner life of Chopin since it follows the chronological order of composition of the Nocturnes. So this is the soundtrack to Chopin’s life that we are following as we listen. The listener discovers or rediscovers Bruno Rigutto under the nocturnal rays of romanticism, which are infused with the works of one of the most endearing composers and pianists.

Bruno Rigutto, piano

Bruno Rigutto
is a bold, contrasting personality, capable of subtle poetry and powerful lyricism. He admits that he received from Samson François, whom he studied with for ten years, ‘a sense of musical freedom, generosity, a need for imagination and, above all, a sense of touch’.

A graduate of the Paris Conservatoire, he studied piano with Lucette Descaves, chamber music with Jean Hubeau, composition and conducting. After leaving the Conservatoire, he quickly won the Marguerite Long International Competition in Paris and the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, presided over by Emil Gilels.

Bruno Rigutto soon embarked on an international career, invited by the greatest conductors: Carlo Maria Giulini, Georges Pretre, Lorin Maazel, Leonard Bernstein, Zdenek Macal, Serge Baudo, Kurt Masur, Marc Soustrot, Antonello Allemandi, Laurent Petitgirard. For over 60 years, he has performed in the most prestigious concert halls and festivals: Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, London's Wigmore Hall, the Festival de La Roque d'Anthéron, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Palau de la musica in Valencia, not to mention his many tours of Russia, Japan, Korea and China.

He also devotes himself to chamber music, from which he draws the material necessary for his research. His partners have included Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Arto Noras, Yo Yo Ma, Barbara Hendricks, Michel Portal, Jean-Pierre Wallez, Patrice Fontanarosa, Brigitte Engerer, Laurent Korcia, Marc Coppey, Henri Demarquette, Dong Suk Kang, Alexander Kniazev, Augustin Dumay, Pierre Amoyal, and the Debussy and Modigliani Quartets.

His extensive discography has been widely acclaimed by the critics. He has made some fifty recordings for DECCA, EMI, FORLANE, DENON and LYRINX, and has won several major record awards and a Victoire de la musique. In 2014 he released a boxed set of most of his DECCA recordings, from Bach to Prokofiev. In 2020, he recorded the complete Chopin Nocturnes for the APARTÉ label.

Teaching is an important part of Bruno Rigutto's life: he taught for twenty years at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he succeeded Aldo Ciccolini. He has helped to train many young soloists who are now pursuing international careers: Kotaro Fukuma, Romain Descharmes, Jean-Baptiste Fonlupt, Romain Hervé, Guillaume Coppola, Etsuko Hirose, Lise De La Salle, Claire-Marie Le Guay, François Dumont...

A regular guest at master-classes in Europe, China, Korea and Japan (TOHO, Gakuen College, Nagoya, etc.), he now teaches at the Ecole Normale Alfred Cortot and regularly gives interpretation classes at the Festival des Lisztomanias.

A conductor and composer, he has written numerous scores for theatre and film.

In 2007, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Booklet for Chopin: Nocturnes