8 Nocturnes, Op. 368
Nocturne sentimental et brillant sur la Valse Alexandra in A-Flat Major, Op. 537
8 Nocturnes romantiques de différents caractères, Op. 604

Carl Czerny (1791-1857) is remembered as Beethoven's favoured interpreter of his own piano works and is well known as Liszt's teacher {Naxos Liner Notes}. To this day, he is still highly respected or despised (depending on your point of view as a piano student) for leaving behind a substantial body of pedagogical work including hundreds of technical piano exercises and etudes. Some former piano students may still experience nightmarish flashbacks to those yellow-covered Schirmer edition books containing his collected studies. But seriously, his intentions were well-placed and beneficial, if not completely cherished.

Unlike Chopin's, Carl Czerny's Nocturnes sound more like an extension of the Classical style rather than full-fledged Romanticism. With more emphasis on a lyrical melodic line than on rich and emotive harmonic flow, they sound closer to pieces Franz Schubert might have composed. The Op. 368 Nocturnes in particular leave that impression. For example, the No. 4 in D-flat major with its arpeggiated left hand, somehow brings to mind Schubert's Ave Maria.

Nonetheless, these very rarely heard small-scale gems reveal a completely different facet of this stodgy composer. Concert pianist and chamber musician Roberte Mamou brings out the 19th century salon setting charm and Viennese manner of these pieces, with finely detailed and delicate playing.