One of my very earliest musical memories is the wonderful sound of Chopin’s E flat nocturne on an old 78. The music gets under your skin, and that is equally true for the Chinese-American pianist Claire Huangci, who has recorded all 21 nocturnes. Are they too unvaried a sequence? No, because of the deftness and variety that Chopin creates within the form. Huangci has a lovely, warm sound and in some pieces, like the F sharp major, integrates all the incredible filigree to beautiful effect. But she overdoes some effects, like the pauses in the D flat major; there is not enough variety in the textures to make this a top recommendation.
