Alice Sara Ott – John Field: Complete Nocturnes (UHQCD + DVD)

“She is shaking up classical music,” wrote the New York Times about Alice Sara Ott, a pianist who is as well known for her deeply felt, poetic and delicate playing as she is for her innovative programming and rapport with her audience. Alice Sara Ott is a visionary musician: on this limited edition UHQCD, she pays tribute to the 18 nocturnes of the Irish pianist and composer John Field, who is considered the “father of the nocturne” – a genre usually associated with Chopin, but actually developed, perhaps even invented, by the far less well-known John Field.

Leading contemporary composers entrust this artist with the premiere and first recording of their works, which has led to exciting collaborations with Ólafur Arnalds, Bryce Dessner, Chilly Gonzales, Francesco Tristano and others. In January 2024, she performed the world premiere of Dessner’s piano concerto and celebrated acclaimed premieres in England, the United States and France. A highlight was her debut with the New York Philharmonic. “For me, exploring the nocturnes was a great personal enrichment. They touch me deeply with their beauty and grace and they beautified my work phase before the recording,” says Ott, adding: ”I hope that with this complete recording of the nocturnes, which is finally also present in the Deutsche Grammophon catalog, I might inspire a few people to discover the music of John Field…” This edition includes a bonus DVD with official music videos for four nocturnes.

UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. Unlike conventional CDs, UHQCDs are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. Another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied to the softer photopolymer for scratch protection. The combination results in significantly reduced reflection of laser light inside the CD and an unmatched precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with standard CD players. Musically, the result is a sound image strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.

While Universal Music Japan’s first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, with increasing popularity, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now appearing. Typically, the Universal Archive master tapes are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not own an SACD player.

Lista pieselor

UHQCD

1. Nocturne No. 1 In E Flat Major, H. 24 (Molto Moderato)

2. Nocturne No. 2 In C Minor, H. 25 (Moderato E Molto Espressivo)

3. Nocturne No. 3 In A Flat Major, H. 26 (Un Poco Allegretto)

4. Nocturne No. 4 In A Major, H. 36 (Poco Adagio)

5. Nocturne No. 5 In B Flat Major, H. 37 (Cantabile)

6. Nocturne No. 6 In F Major, H. 40 “Cradle Song” (Andante Tranquillo)

7. Nocturne No. 7 In A Major, H. 14 (Andante)

8. Nocturne No. 8 In E Flat Major, H. 30 (Andante Spianato)

9. Nocturne No. 9 In E Minor, H. 46 (Adagio)

10. Nocturne No. 10 In E Major, H. 54 “Nocturne Pastorale” (Andante Con Moto)

11. Nocturne No. 11 In E Flat Major, H. 56 (Moderato) 

12. Nocturne No. 12 In E Major, H. 13 “Nocturne Charactéristique: Noontide” (Allegro)

13. Nocturne No. 13 In C Major, H. 45 “Rêverie – Nocturne”

14. Nocturne No. 14 In G Major, H. 58 (Lento)

15. Nocturne No. 15 In D Minor, H. 59 “Song Without Words” (Lento)

16. Nocturne No. 16 In C Major, H. 60 (Molto Moderato)

17. Nocturne No. 17 In C Major, H. 61 (Molto Moderato)

18. Nocturne No. 18 In F Major, H. 62 (Molto Moderato)

DVD Official Music Videos

1. Nocturne No. 1 In E Flat Major (Molto Moderato)

2. Nocturne No. 2 In C Minor (Moderato E Molto Espressivo)

3. Nocturne No. 9 In E Minor (Adagio)

4. Nocturne No. 14 In G Major (Lento)

Artist	Alice Sara Ott
Format	UHQCD + DVD
Gen muzical	Muzică clasică