Nocturne in B Major (Op. 62, No. 1) by M. Chopin
Leila Y.
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I was a pianist even before I could walk. I owe much of my initial interest to my father — a jazz saxophonist and avid music lover — for it was he who first emphasized how music “expresses the human condition in its most elemental form.” It was also he who held me up to our upright Kawaii piano as a one-year-old so I could tap my fingers on the keys and become so immersed in my task that not even a toy or video camera could tear my attention away. My formal music education has included classical violin for ten years, viola for five, and piano for thirteen, but while I enjoy social aspects of playing viola and violin and have had wonderful experiences over the years, the piano is truly my heart and soul. Playing this instrument is, for me, an emancipation from the strict expectations that the music world imposes on me. When I am with my piano, I do not feel the obligation to be perfect, to play the most technical, dazzling pieces, to impress my audience with my level or talent. And while I have had difficult moments when practicing or my teacher has asked me to work on a composition I wasn't over the moon about, my love of the instrument has never dwindled. The piece that I chose for this submission is the culmination of all my years of developing my musicality — it is by far the most advanced harmonically-inventive and musically-fascinating composition I've ever had the pleasure of learning. Fredric Chopin's Nocturne in B Major (Op. 62, No. 1) is one of the last two he wrote and quite a hidden gem in many professional pianists' repertoire. I learned this piece faster than any other within the past five years because I simply couldn't get tired of playing it. One thing that's always struck me with this Nocturne is how it's in B Major, but to my ear, it doesn't really sound uplifting or "happy" like other pieces in major keys. In my teacher's own words, it must be approached with "a touch of melancholy." The fact that I have always a soft spot for sad songs or songs in minor keys perhaps has something to do with my absolute adoration of this Nocturne. But key aside, the reason why I've stayed with this piece for longer than I needed to was because I feel its originality is unsurpassable. It invokes personal, sensitive emotions for me, especially when I'm tinkering through it late at night. Over the past three months, I've played with various tempos, phrasings, dynamics, and emphasis in different sections, but I am far from being finished. There is, after all, so much more to be explored within the nuances of this piece. For the purposes of this submission, I believe that I've crafted it to a point where it can be presented, and I hope my excerpt (the piece is, unfortunately, at least 7 minutes long so I was limited to a shorter portion of it) will inspire you to seek out a professional artist's full recording. I am deeply grateful to my piano teacher (who, while recommending me to look into the Creative Youth Awards, has absolutely no idea that I'm actually undertaking this submission) for her intuitive insight as well as my music theory instructor at school who also brought CYA to my attention and was the second vote I needed.
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I feel extremely fortunate that for me, boredom comes hand-in-hand with a staggering desire for creativity. Whether it be sketching, editing a film, journaling, or delving into a new viola/piano piece, I focus my energy on creating something meaningful and artistic, even if it's just for myself.
