A whole generation before Chopin, John Field invented the nocturne as the quintessence of musical poetry in which vast dream landscapes spread out in the listener’s imagination.

A gifted pianist, Field reinvented his compositions during every performance depending on the ambiance, audience, and mood of the moment, so that numerous versions of the same piece were produced. Stefan Irmer’s interpretation of these gems enables us to experience them in an especially personal way.

On Vol. 2 of his complete recording of Field’s nocturnes, Irmer brings together different versions of one and the same nocturne. Stefan Irmer has recorded six additional works covering the composer’s very first creative phase as well as his final years. Together with the sixteen nocturnes, the result is a richly faceted portrait of a romantic composer who was far ahead of his times and much more than a mere forerunner. Field was an individual artistic personality of the first order.