Gone are the days when one heard the name of John Field mentioned only as a precursor of Chopin. Now he is regarded, in the words of Robin Langley, as ‘one of the most original figures in the development of Romantic piano music’. If his influence on Chopin has always been obvious, elements of his style can also be traced to Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms and Glinka. Himself a pupil of Clementi, Field taught extensively after his arrival in Russia in 1802, eventually becoming one of the pillars of the ‘Russian School’. His pupil Aleksandr Dubuque taught Nikolay Zverev, who would become the teacher of Scriabin and Rachmaninov. All of Field’s rather substantial catalogue of piano works has been recorded, along with his seven piano concertos and a number of his songs and other works. Still, it is his Nocturnes, the form he pioneered, that are best known. One catalogue lists nine complete recordings of Field’s Nocturnes, one by Tyler Hay (Piano Classics) among the most recent. The latest of all is by Alice Sara Ott on a beautifully produced DG album.

Few would argue, I suspect, that Field’s 18 Nocturnes are the equal of Chopin’s 19 in terms of variety, drama or overall musical depth. Yet they have a great deal to recommend them, beyond mere historical interest. Ott deftly captures their delicate poise without ever resorting to overplaying. Pellucid textures are beautifully rendered and the individual lyricism of each piece finely wrought. The essentially Italianate lines are held aloft effortlessly and with the utmost tenderness. Interestingly, if only two of the 18 pieces are in a minor key, several have intriguing subtitles, such as Nocturne caractéristique noontide and Réverie-Nocturne. Not everything is an invitation to repose: some of the nocturnes are interrupted by perky folk dances. Transitions in and out of these are but one delicious aspect of Ott’s beguiling performances.