Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes Tom Hicks

• Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849): Nocturnes, Op. 9, B. 54:
• 1 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 9, B. 54: No. 1 in B-Flat Minor 05:41
• 2 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 9, B. 54: No. 2 in E-Flat Major 04:24
• 3 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 9, B. 54: No. 3 in B Major 06:25
• Nocturnes, Op. 15:
• 4 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 15: No. 1 in F Major, B. 55 04:03
• 5 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 15: No. 2 in F-Sharp Major, B. 55 03:20
• 6 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 15: No. 3 in G Minor, B. 79 05:25
• Nocturnes, Op. 27:
• 7 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 27: No. 1 in C-Sharp Minor, B. 91 05:08
• 8 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 27: No. 2 in D-Flat Major, B. 96 05:43
• Nocturnes, Op. 32, B. 106:
• 9 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 32, B. 106: No. 1 in B Major 05:08
• 10 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 32, B. 106: No. 2 in A-Flat Major 04:43
• Nocturnes, Op. 37:
• 11 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 37: No. 1 in G Minor, B. 119 07:48
• 12 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 37: No. 2 in G Major, B. 127 05:54
• Nocturnes, Op. 48, B. 142:
• 13 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 48, B. 142: No. 1 in C Minor 05:54
• 14 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 48, B. 142: No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor 07:43
• Nocturnes, Op. 55, B. 152:
• 15 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 55, B. 152: No. 1 in F Minor 04:34
• 16 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 55, B. 152: No. 2 in E-Flat Major 04:54
• Nocturnes, Op. 62, B. 161:
• 17 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 62, B. 161: No. 1 in B Major 07:43
• 18 Chopin: Nocturnes, Op. 62, B. 161: No. 2 in E Major 06:29
• Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1, B. 19:
• 19 Chopin: Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 No. 1, B. 19 03:53
• Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, B. 49:
• 20 Chopin: Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, B. 49 03:52
• Nocturne in C Minor, B. 108:
• 21 Chopin: Nocturne in C Minor, B. 108 03:04
• Total Runtime 01:51:48

Info for Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes

Chopin’s 21 Nocturnes, often described as ‘songs of the night’, are among the most well-known and beautiful of Chopin’s short solo piano works.

Divine Art is thrilled to present pianist Tom Hicks’ insightful new recording of these works which synthesizes his research into Chopin’s performance and composition practices with modern listeners’ expectations via a ‘stunning technical agility’ (American Record Guide). Dr Kim Sauberlich’s excellent liner notes delve deeper into this often-forgotten performance, teaching, and historical recording practice and, together with the 21 pieces on this album, pose fascinating questions about authenticity and interpretation.

Chopin’s practice of sending manuscripts to publishers in multiple countries, while continuing to edit, led to multiple, authentic first editions which are not often heard in performance today, and even less in recordings. In this recording, Tom has tastefully incorporated some of these variants, alongside historically informed choices about tempo rubato and pedaling, to create a version of the Nocturnes that feels fresh, individual, and truly authentic. He has even included minor and occasional improvisations, paying homage to the composer’s multifaceted creative process, in which improvisation was central.

Tom Hicks has said “All of this led me to see Chopin as a highly creative and spontaneous musician for whom the score is one representation of the work and for whom the score is only the starting point of an interpretation, not the end.”

The album was recorded at night and the engineers have captured an intimacy of sound. The recording process relied upon minimal editing and longer ‘live’ takes to recreate the intimate feel of the salon where these pieces were most often heard.

Guernsey-born pianist Tom Hicks has an expansive repertoire and has been praised for his “brilliantly evocative”(International Piano) and “gorgeously creative playing” (Fanfare). He has won many awards and competitions and has appeared at the Wigmore Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and many other venues throughout Europe and the United States. This new album follows his March 2022 albums centered around the Liszt and Ireland Piano Sonatas and Camden Reeves’ ‘Blue Sounds’.

Tom Hicks, piano

Tom Hicks
a pianist originally from Guernsey, has been recognised for his distinguished artistry and technical command. Described as possessing “magnificent pianism” and an “engaging personality,” his performances have been noted for their “brilliantly evocative” interpretations (International Piano) and “gorgeously creative playing” (Fanfare). A Yamaha Artist, Hicks maintains an extensive and varied repertoire, performing as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician in major venues across Europe and the United States. These include appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, and numerous other respected concert halls.

Hicks has performed as concerto soloist on over 60 occasions, which most notably includes several cycles of Rachmaninoff’s complete works for solo piano and orchestra and several performances of the two Brahms concerti. He has earned acclaim in these and other performances of works by composers including Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann for “depth and maturity” as well as “the technique and temperament to bring off the bravura passages with aplomb”.

His discography features a similarly wide-ranging repertoire. In 2019, Hicks released a recording featuring works by John Ireland and Tchaikovsky, supported by the John Ireland Charitable Trust. This recording received enthusiastic reviews in publications such as International Piano, Fanfare, Piano Journal, and Classical Music Daily. In 2022, he issued two further albums. The first, Liszt and Ireland Piano Sonatas (Divine Art), presents the major sonatas of these composers alongside works by Charles Stanford, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Rebecca Clarke. This recording was noted for its “consistent excellence” and its “commanding performance, balancing the dramatic with the intimate” (Musical Opinion, MusicWeb International). It was included in the American Record Guide Best of 2022 Critics’ Choice. The second, Blue Sounds (Métier), follows Hicks’ premieres of works by Camden Reeves, including Tangle-Beat Blues (2014), Nine Preludes (2016), and Blue Sounds (2019). His interpretation on this recording was commended for its “fluidity, authority, and musicality” (Textura). Hicks also appears on Augusta Read Thomas’ Grammy-nominated recording released by Nimbus Records.

His 2025 Divine Art release, Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes, has been hailed for its fresh, authentic interpretations that honor Chopin’s creative process. Jerry Dubins praises the tone he “draws from his piano...the sensitivity of his phrasing, and the subtleties of his voice-leading” while James Harrington writes that he “cannot imagine any other performances of these masterpieces that capture their essence any better than Hicks” (Fanfare).

In addition to his solo work, Hicks is an experienced chamber musician and accompanist. He has collaborated with ensembles including the Coull Quartet in performances of the piano quintets of Schumann, Brahms, and Dvořák, and performed Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring for two pianos with Eylam Keshet. His chamber music training includes coaching from Boris Berman, Hung-Kuan Chen, Leonard Elschenbroich, Mark Steinberg, and Ralph Kirshbaum.

Hicks received his early musical training with Mervyn Grand in Guernsey before studying with Murray McLachlan at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, with whom he continued at the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester. During this period, he was awarded the Royal Northern College of Music Gold Medal, the Peter Frankl Piano Prize, the Keith Elcombe Prize for Best Overall Performance, three Proctor-Gregg Performance Prizes, and the University of Manchester Faculty of Humanities Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. Hicks subsequently completed graduate studies in the United States, studying with Boris Berman at the Yale School of Music and with James Giles at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, where he earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts in 2021. His studies were supported by awards including a Charles R. Miller Scholarship and Frances G. Wickes Fellowship at Yale, and an Eckstein Scholarship and Fellowship at Northwestern. He has been successful in various competitions, receiving gold medals at the Wales International Piano Competition, the EPTA UK Piano Competition, and the Croydon Concerto Competition.

In 2019, Hicks founded the Fanny Davies International Piano Series in Guernsey, where he serves as Artistic Director. The series has brought internationally renowned artists, such as Joanna MacGregor, Leon McCawley, Noriko Ogawa, and Alexander Panfilov, to Guernsey for concerts and masterclasses.

As an educator, Hicks has taught piano at Yale University, Northwestern University, and Whitman College. He currently holds the position of Assistant Professor of Piano, Director of the Piano Area, and Artistic Director of the International Piano Series at the College of Charleston.

Booklet for Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes