The Nocturne in E♭ Major, Op. 9 No. 2 is the second of Chopin’s first published set of three nocturnes, composed between 1830 and 1832 when he was around twenty years old. It is 34 measures long, written in 12/8 meter, cast in rounded binary form with a coda (A A′ B A″ B′ A‴ + Coda), and built on a long, ornamented right-hand melody that floats above a steady left-hand arpeggiation. It is the single most famous nocturne ever written — and very likely the most famous piece Chopin composed.
If you’ve heard a Chopin piece in a movie, a television drama, or a subway station — odds are it was this one. Mad Men, Dexter, Bones, Hannibal, The Simpsons, The Five-Year Engagement, and the Taipei Metro all reach for it when they need instant atmosphere. It is the only Chopin solo piano work to have remained a permanent fixture in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame since the poll began in 1996.
The piece earned that reach honestly. In 34 measures of 12/8, Chopin demonstrated more completely than any composer before him what “singing at the piano” could mean. The right hand floats a long, ornamented melody that breathes and delays and rushes like a human voice. The left hand keeps absolute, unwavering time. The tension between those two things — the voice that lives and the clock that doesn’t stop — is the entire emotional substance of the piece.
Chopin did not invent the nocturne. The Irish composer John Field got there first, publishing his first nocturnes around 1812 and establishing the template: singing right-hand melody, broken-chord left-hand accompaniment. Chopin absorbed that template and transformed it through his deep knowledge of Italian opera and his gift for chromatic harmony. Field, unimpressed, reportedly dismissed Chopin as a “sickroom talent.”
“Chopin was a master at the fine line separating drama from melodrama. Played one way, this nocturne is cool, crisp, devastating. Played another way, it’s a drunk friend telling you they love you.”
At a Glance
1832Published
20Chopin’s Age
34Measures
~4:30Duration
Structure
Form Map: A A′ B A″ B′ A‴ + Coda
Chopin built the Nocturne on rounded binary form — two sections, A and B, that alternate across the piece and accumulate ornamentation with each return.
Casual analyses sometimes call this “ternary form” (A-B-A), but that shortcut misses what’s actually happening. The piece has not one A section and one return but three A sections and two B sections, each iteration more elaborately ornamented than the last. The “development” is not harmonic or structural — it is decorative, expressive, improvisatory. Click any section below to read its detail.
Click any section to read its detail
Music Theory
How Does It Work?
Chopin’s genius here is not harmonic audacity — the harmony is straightforward, mostly tonic, dominant, and subdominant in E♭ major. His innovation is time, breath, and ornament.
Ornamentation: How the Melody Accumulates
The piece has one tune, told four times. Each telling is richer than the last. What begins as a simple eight-note phrase ends as a cascade of twenty-two notes filling the same rhythmic space. This is the bel canto singer’s tradition of improvised embellishment on the da capo: the composer writes the melody plain on the first pass and expects the performer to ornament it more extravagantly on each return. Chopin, unusually, wrote all the ornaments out himself.
The bare theme
♪ B♭ — A♭ — G — F — E♭ — D — E♭ ♪
Eight measures, mostly stepwise motion. The first statement of the theme is as plain as Chopin wrote it anywhere in the nocturnes. A long arc from B♭ (the dominant) down through the scale to E♭ (the tonic). Every note is there, nothing extra. The bel canto singer who hasn't yet added her ornaments.
Tempo Rubato: The Two Hands Don’t Agree
Chopin was specific about rubato. The left hand — he told students explicitly — keeps strict time. It is the conductor, the metronome, the anchor. The right hand is free to breathe, to delay before a phrase peak, to rush through an ornament. This is what tempo rubato means: stolen time. The right hand steals time from the beat and returns it before the bar ends. The demonstration below shows what this looks like: twelve evenly spaced left-hand pulses against nine unevenly spaced right-hand notes.
Left Hand (steady)
Right Hand (rubato)
When the right hand speeds up, it’s “robbing time” from the beat — when it slows, it’s returning it. The left hand never moves.
The Rolling Left Hand: One Pattern, 34 Measures
The left hand plays one uninterrupted arpeggio pattern from the first beat to the last. In E♭ major this is: bass note E♭3 on beat 1, then upper chord tones B♭3–E♭4–G4–B♭4–G4 across beats 2 through 6. Then again. Every half measure. For 34 measures. The left hand plays 408 notes and never varies the pattern once. All the musicality is in the right hand; all the technical discipline is in the left.
■ Bass (beat 1)■ Chord tones (beats 2–6)
The left hand plays this six-note pattern every half measure — 34 measures without interruption. Bass note on beat 1, upper arpeggio fills beats 2–6.
Theory Cards
Bel Canto at the Keyboard
The operatic ghost in every bar. Chopin was besotted with Italian opera — Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini. In bel canto, a singer floats a long melody above simple accompaniment and adds ornaments on the repeat. Op. 9 No. 2 translates this exactly: right hand is the soprano, left hand is the strings. He directed students to listen to Pasta, Malibran, and Rubini to understand phrasing.
The 12/8 Metric Trick
It feels like a waltz, but it isn’t. 12/8 is compound quadruple time — four beats per bar, each divided into three eighth notes. The triple subdivision creates a rolling, rocking quality that’s softer than a march (duple) and gentler than a waltz (triple). When you feel the gentle nocturnal sway, you’re feeling 12/8 at work.
The Rolling Left Hand
One pattern, 34 measures, never stops. From bar 1 to bar 34, the left hand plays the same six-note arpeggio. 34 × 4 beats × 3 eighth notes = 408 notes, all one pattern. The technical demand is not complexity but consistency: the pattern must be perfectly even regardless of what the right hand does above it.
The B Section
A brief redirection, not a contrast. The modulation to A♭ major is a warm shift — the subdominant, a fourth above the tonic. The melodic material is new but in the same spirit. It’s a turn of phrase, not a change of subject. Chopin gives just enough variety to make the return of A feel like coming home.
The Senza Tempo Bar
Chopin’s one surrender. In the Coda, he writes senza tempo — without strict time. This is his only concession to pure freedom in a piece that otherwise demands rhythmic discipline. Hold the final melodic gesture in suspension. Then con forza — and one brief, unrestrained forte.
The Coda’s Flourish
The only time the restraint breaks. The Coda introduces the only truly new melodic material in the entire 34 measures — a brief flourish marked con forza, the piece’s single moment of unrestrained volume. One measure of declaration, then silence. Some hear it as a suppressed sob. Chopin left no instruction. He leaves it to the performer.
History
Chopin and the Nocturne Form
Quick Answer
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) wrote the Op. 9 nocturnes between 1830 and 1832, during the period when he left Poland for Paris. The set was published in 1832 simultaneously in three countries and dedicated to Marie Pleyel, one of the most celebrated pianists in Europe at the time.
Chopin composed the Op. 9 set during a transformative period. He had left Warsaw in 1830 — partly for musical reasons, partly because the November Uprising made Poland unsafe. By September 1831 he was in Paris, already performing in aristocratic salons and teaching the children of the Parisian elite. Within two years he had met Liszt, Berlioz, and Mendelssohn and established the reputation that would define his life.
1810
Frédéric Chopin born near Warsaw. His father Nicolas was French; his mother Tekla Justyna was Polish. He would carry both identities throughout his life, writing in French and aching for Poland.
1830
Leaves Poland forever. The November Uprising ends any realistic prospect of return. He travels to Vienna, then Paris, composing the Op. 9 nocturnes as he goes.
1830–1832
The Op. 9 Nocturnes composed. Three pieces, three characters: No. 1 in B♭ minor (dark, turbulent), No. 2 in E♭ major (the one that became famous), No. 3 in B major (formally the most complex).
1832
Meets John Field in Paris — and is insulted. Field hears Chopin play and calls him a “sickroom talent.” The remark has been interpreted as both a slight and a grudging acknowledgment that Chopin’s style belonged to a different world than Field’s own.
1832
Published simultaneously in Paris (Schlesinger), Leipzig (Kistner), and London (Wessel). Three publishers, three countries, all at once — standard practice for copyright protection before international agreements existed.
1842
“Do please let me alone.” By this point the Nocturne’s fame had outstripped anything else Chopin wrote. He grew visibly tired of being asked about it and of hearing it played badly by students who thought its simplicity was permission to play without discipline.
1849
Chopin dies in Paris of tuberculosis, aged 39. He leaves 21 completed nocturnes. Op. 9 No. 2 remains the most performed of them all — a fact he would probably have found irritating.
Marie Pleyel (1811–1875)
Born Marie Moke, she was one of the most celebrated pianists in Europe in the 1830s — her technique was compared favorably to Chopin’s own. She was briefly engaged to Hector Berlioz (who, on hearing of the cancelled engagement, apparently planned revenge before reconsidering). She later married Camille Pleyel, the piano manufacturer — which has caused the common error of saying the dedication is “to Camille Pleyel.” The dedication is personal: to Marie Pleyel the pianist, not Camille Pleyel the instrument maker.
What Does “Nocturne” Mean?
Nocturne comes from the Latin nocturnus — “of the night.” As a musical genre it describes a lyrical piece evoking night’s atmosphere: quiet, introspective, songlike. The piano nocturne as a form was created by John Field, who published his first examples around 1812. His model was simple: a singing right-hand melody over a broken-chord left-hand accompaniment. Chopin absorbed this and transformed it through Italian opera, chromatic harmony, and ornamental intensity. After Chopin, the word “nocturne” in piano music means essentially what Op. 9 No. 2 sounds like.
Cultural Footprint
Everywhere, All at Once
No other Chopin work comes close. Op. 9 No. 2 has been used as atmospheric shorthand for refinement, melancholy, and romantic intensity across film, television, literature, pop music, and public infrastructure.
Film · 2012
The Five-Year Engagement
Opens with the nocturne playing against a scene of domestic intimacy — a pointed contrast with the comedy that follows. The choice signals sophistication, then immediately undercuts it.
TV Drama · 2007–2015
Mad Men
Used across multiple episodes to signal introspection, memory, and Romantic longing. The show’s creators deployed it with unusual precision — it appears at moments of genuine emotional weight, not merely decoration.
TV Thriller
Dexter · Hannibal · Bones
Three separate TV thrillers reached for this nocturne to establish the atmosphere of cultivated menace or forensic detachment. Its association with elegance makes it useful for characters who are dangerous and well-read.
TV Comedy · Season 1
The Simpsons — “Moaning Lisa”
Lisa plays the nocturne to establish her musical sensitivity as counterpoint to the family’s chaos. A rare moment of genuine emotional weight in a comedy pilot. The choice of piece matters: it signals that Lisa’s sadness is real.
Rock · 2009
Muse — “United States of Eurasia”
The track on The Resistance opens with a direct quotation of the nocturne’s opening melody before transforming it through orchestral rock. One of the more honest acts of borrowing in contemporary pop music.
Public Transit
Taipei Metro
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit system uses the nocturne as ambient station music — one of the few instances of a Chopin work being integrated into everyday public infrastructure. Heard by millions who may not know the composer’s name.
Discography
The Best Recordings
Op. 9 No. 2 has been recorded by almost every pianist who has ever touched a concert career. These six illuminate the music rather than merely demonstrating it.
Maria João Pires
DG · 1996
The benchmark. Pires plays with absolute vocal naturalness — no affectation, no rubato for its own sake. The ornamentation sounds improvised because it understands what it is imitating. The place to start.
Arthur Rubinstein
RCA · 1965
The 20th century’s great Chopin interpreter. Warmer and more overtly Romantic than Pires, but never sentimental. His tone and phrasing remain a touchstone for how to approach the nocturnes.
Alfred Cortot
EMI · 1949
The older Chopin tradition in a single recording. Cortot’s rubato is extreme by modern standards but deeply purposeful. Historically essential — this is what 19th-century performance practice sounded like in its last direct heir.
Vladimir Horowitz
Various · 1965
Horowitz’s Chopin is controversial — idiosyncratic, rhythmically free, technically astounding. His nocturne performances divide opinion, which is the best possible reason to listen to them.
Maurizio Pollini
DG · 1968
Leaner and more objective than Rubinstein or Pires. Pollini strips away salon warmth to reveal the structure underneath. Useful as a corrective against over-romanticization — and still deeply musical.
Krystian Zimerman
DG · 2017
The finest recent recording. Zimerman’s complete nocturnes set is impeccably balanced — technically flawless, tonally beautiful, and emotionally direct without being sentimental. The 21st century’s best.
Myths & Facts
What Everyone Gets Wrong
✗
Chopin invented the nocturne
The Irish pianist John Field (1782–1837) invented the piano nocturne and published his first examples around 1812 — years before Chopin’s were written. Chopin transformed the form but acknowledged Field as his model. Field, hearing Chopin play, called him a “sickroom talent.”
✗
It’s easy because the notes are simple
The notes read as intermediate. The performance is advanced. Voicing the melody above an independent accompaniment, realizing the ornaments idiomatically, and achieving true Chopinesque rubato are skills that take years to develop. Henle rates it 6/9. Most student performances are technically correct and musically unconvincing.
✗
The piece is in simple ternary form
The piece has not one A section and one return but three A sections and two B sections. Calling it A-B-A misses the continuous ornamental development across six main sections plus coda. The form is rounded binary with additive ornamentation — a more accurate description is A A′ B A″ B′ A‴ + Coda.
✗
It was dedicated to Camille Pleyel the piano maker
The dedication is to Marie Pleyel (née Moke), one of the most celebrated pianists in Europe — not to her husband Camille Pleyel the manufacturer. The confusion arises because Marie was married to Camille. The dedication is personal and musical, not commercial.
✗
The middle section modulates to E♭ minor
The B sections modulate to A♭ major — the subdominant of E♭, a warm and closely related key. Not to E♭ minor. This matters because the A♭ major shift is a gentle redirection, not a darkening. The piece never touches the parallel minor.
✓
John Field called Chopin a “sickroom talent”
True, and famously. Field heard Chopin play in Paris and made this remark. It has been interpreted as criticism (Chopin’s delicate, introverted style vs. Field’s more open manner) and as reluctant recognition that Chopin occupied a different artistic territory altogether.
✓
Chopin got tired of this piece
True. By the 1840s the nocturne’s fame had outpaced everything else he had written, and he grew visibly impatient with it — with students who treated it as an easy piece and with audiences who fixated on it to the exclusion of his more demanding works.
✓
It’s everywhere in film and TV
True, and uniquely so. No other Chopin work appears in as many films, TV dramas, comedies, thrillers, and public spaces. Classic FM’s Hall of Fame has included it every year since 1996. It is not merely famous — it is culturally ubiquitous in a way that very few classical pieces are.
How to Play
Difficulty & Practice
Honest Assessment
The notes of Op. 9 No. 2 are intermediate. The music is advanced. Playing the ornaments correctly, achieving true tempo rubato with a steady left hand, and shaping phrases with vocal expressiveness takes years of serious study. Henle rates it 6 out of 9 — upper intermediate.
Für Elise
Gymnopédie No. 1
Moonlight I
Clair de Lune
Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2
Fantaisie-Impromptu
Ballade No. 1
BeginnerConcert
6 / 9Henle Difficulty
Grade 7ABRSM
01
The Left Hand First
Practice the left hand alone until the 12/8 pattern is absolutely even and effortless. It must not slow down or hesitate when the right hand adds ornaments. The left hand is the metronome. Only when it is truly automatic does the right hand have real freedom.
02
Voicing: Three Layers
There are three simultaneous voices: the melody (loudest), the left-hand accompaniment (quietest), and the left-hand bass (medium). Practice each layer separately, then combine them. If the accompaniment is louder than the melody, the piece disappears.
03
Rubato: Left Hand Doesn’t Know
Chopin said the left hand keeps strict time while the right hand breathes freely. Practice with the left hand playing to a metronome while the right hand experiments with delays, rushes, and pauses. The left hand should not react to the right.
04
Sing the Melody
Literally sing the melody before playing it. Out loud. Chopin’s phrasing comes from the breath and the vocal line. If you can sing where it wants to go, you will phrase it correctly at the piano. This is what “bel canto” means in practice.
05
Ornaments: Decoration on Top
Learn the melody without any ornaments first. Then add each ornament separately, slowly enough that every note is clean. The ornament should sound like an elaboration of the underlying note, not a different passage. A slow, clear ornament is always better than a fast, muddy one.
06
Restraint: Almost Entirely Piano
The piece is marked p at the opening and stays mostly quiet throughout. There is one brief f at the Coda and nowhere else. Control of tone at quiet dynamics is the hardest skill on the piano. Practice slowly at pp, focusing on evenness. The dynamic restraint is the whole character of the piece.
Related Pieces
What to Play Next
More Chopin
Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1
B♭ minor · Henle 6
The first of the three Op. 9 nocturnes — darker, more turbulent, and formally more complex than No. 2. Essential for understanding what the set as a whole is doing.
More Chopin
Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2
D♭ major · Henle 7
The other frequently cited “most beautiful nocturne.” Two voices in extended dialogue — more harmonically ambitious than Op. 9 No. 2 and slightly harder to play.
The other great “atmospheric night piece” in the standard repertoire. Impressionist rather than Romantic, but similar in its demand for tonal control and interpretive refinement.
Easier by two Henle grades. The same atmospheric, lyrical character but without the ornamental complexity. A natural stepping stone before the nocturne.
Next Challenge
Fantaisie-Impromptu
C♯ minor · Chopin · Henle 8
Two grades harder. The famous polyrhythm (triplets vs. 16ths) demands the same left-hand independence as the nocturne but in a faster, more virtuosic context.
The other “famous quiet night piece” in the standard repertoire. Completely different in character — Beethoven vs. Chopin — but often paired in the public imagination.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked
Op. 9 No. 2 is not complicated music. It is hard music. The difference is everything — and learning to feel it is the work of a lifetime.