Nocturne e minor op. post. 72/1

The Nocturne in e minor was written as early as 1827, and is among the Chopin juvenilia that were published only after his death. Julian Fontana, Chopin’s long-time confidant and assistant in all areas of life, published a considerable number of previously unreleased works as “Oeuvres posthumes” in the mid 1850s, and guaranteed that he would edit these works faithfully according to the master’s manuscripts.

In the case of the e-minor Nocturne, however, there are no manuscript sources, so we are thankful to have become acquainted with this charming and melodious early work through Fontana’s edition. Our own Urtext edition is based upon it.