Alice Sara Ott John Field Complete Nocturnes (UHQCD+DVD)

"She shakes up classical music," wrote the New York Times about Alice Sara Ott, a pianist known as much for her heartfelt, poetic and tender playing as for her innovative programming and interaction with her audience. Alice Sara Ott is a visionary musician: on this limited edition UHQCD, she pays tribute to the 18 Nocturnes by Irish pianist and composer John Field, considered the "father of the Nocturne" – a genre most commonly associated with Chopin, but actually developed, perhaps even invented, by the far lesser-known John Field.
Leading contemporary composers place the world premiere and premiere recording of their works in the hands of this artist, which has led to exciting collaborations with Ólafur Arnalds, Bryce Dessner, Chilly Gonzales, Francesco Tristano, and others. In January 2024, she gave the world premiere of Dessner's Piano Concerto and acclaimed premieres in England, the USA and France. A highlight was her debut with the New York Philharmonic. "For me, dealing with the Nocturnes was a great personal enrichment: they touch me deeply with their beauty and grace and they embellished my work phase before the recording," says Ott and adds: "I hope that with this complete recording of the Nocturnes, which is now also present in the Deutsche Grammophon catalogue, I hope to perhaps move a few people to to discover the music of John Field..." This edition includes a bonus DVD with official music videos for four Nocturnes.
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. UHQCDs, unlike conventional CDs, are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. To protect the softer photopolymer from scratching, another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unrivalled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with normal CD players. Musically, the result is a sound that is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
While Universal Music Japan's first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now being released with increasing popularity. Typically, the master tapes of the Universal Archive are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not have a SACD player.

Selections:

UHQCD
John Field (1782-1837)
1. Nocturne No.1 In E Flat Major, H.24 (Molto Moderato)
2. Nocturne No.2 In C Minor, H.25 (Moderato E Molto Espressivo)
3. Nocturne No.3 In A Flat Major, H.26 (Un Poco Allegretto)
4. Nocturne No.4 In A Major, H.36 (Poco Adagio)
5. Nocturne No.5 In B Flat Major, H.37 (Cantabile)
6. Nocturne No.6 In F Major, H.40 "Cradle Song" (Andante Tranquillo)
7. Nocturne No.7 In A Major, H.14 (Andante)
8. Nocturne No.8 In E Flat Major, H.30 (Andante Spianato)
9. Nocturne No.9 In E Minor, H.46 (Adagio)
10. Nocturne No.10 In E Major, H.54 "Nocturne Pastorale" (Andante Con Moto)
11. Nocturne No.11 In E Flat Major, H.56 (Moderato)
12. Nocturne No.12 In E Major, H.13 "Nocturne Charactéristique: Noontide" (Allegro)
13. Nocturne No.13 In C Major, H.45 "Rêverie-Nocturne"
14. Nocturne No.14 In G Major, H.58 (Lento)
15. Nocturne No.15 In D Minor, H.59 "Song Without Words" (Lento)
16. Nocturne No.16 In C Major, H.60 (Molto Moderato)
17. Nocturne No.17 In C Major, H.61 (Molto Moderato)
18. Nocturne No.18 In F Major, H.62 (Molto Moderato)
DVD Official Music Videos
1. Nocturne No.1 In E Flat Major (Molto Moderato)
2. Nocturne No.2 In C Minor (Moderato E Molto Espressivo)
3. Nocturne No.9 In E Minor (Adagio)
4. Nocturne No.14 In G Major (Lento)