John Field (composer)
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John Field (July 26, 1782 – January 23, 1837) was an Irish composer and pianist. He is best known for being the first composer to write nocturnes.
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[edit] Biography
Field was born in Dublin in 1782, the eldest son of Protestant Irish parents. His father, Robert Field, earned his living by playing the violin in Dublin theatres. Field first studied the piano under his grandfather (also named John Field), who was a professional organist, and later under Tommaso Giordani. He made his debut at the age of nine, a performance that was well-received, on 24 March 1792 in Dublin[1]. His family moved to Bath in 1793, and later that same year went to London. Field's father there secured for him an apprenticeship with the pianist and piano manufacturer Muzio Clementi. He attracted favourable comment from Joseph Haydn for his performances. By the time he was seventeen, Field had already premiered his First Piano Concerto (he wrote seven of them); it was one of the last acts of his apprenticeship. He was lionized as a performer for several years before turning to composition, beginning with his first set of piano sonatas, dedicated to Clementi, published in 1801.
In 1801 Field accompanied Clementi on a tour of Paris and Vienna (where he studied briefly with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger). When Clementi moved to Russia, Field followed him there, continuing his employment demonstrating his pianos. Field established his own concert career in Russia, and by 1806 was dividing his time between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, settling in the latter city after his marriage to a French woman in a Catholic ceremony in 1810. His teaching proved lucrative, and his lifestyle became somewhat extravagant; he was something of a bon vivant, and fathered an illegitimate son.
By 1831 his health deteriorated, and suffering from a painful cancer of the rectum he travelled back to London for medical attention. After treatment he returned to Russia by way of France (where, after first hearing one of Franz Liszt's performances on the keyboard, he asked his neighbour, "Does he bite?") and Italy, spending nine months in a hospital in Naples. Helped by a Russian aristocratic family, he returned to Moscow in 1835, and gave three concerts in Vienna en route, as a guest of Carl Czerny. In Moscow, he composed his last few nocturnes in the sixteen months remaining to him.
He died in Moscow two years later. Because Field's faith was unclear -- his parents were nominally Protestant, but he had had a Catholic wedding -- there is a legend that when he was questioned on his deathbed about which religion he was by a priest his friends had procured, he said, "I am a clavicist" (Je suis claveciste).[citation needed]
[edit] Music
Field is best remembered for his eighteen nocturnes which are single movement impromptu compositions for piano that maintain a single mood throughout. He is also the founder of the piano nocturne. The first three of these date from 1812. These pieces are further notable for their influence on Frédéric Chopin, who went on to write 21 nocturnes himself.
[edit] Selected compositions
Field wrote seven piano concertos.
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat, H. 27 (1799)
- Piano Concerto No. 2 in A flat, H. 31 (1811)
- Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat, H. 32 (1811)
- Piano Concerto No. 4 in E flat, H. 28 (1814, revised 1819)
- Piano Concerto No. 5 in C, H. 39 (1817), l'Incendie par l'Orage
- Piano Concerto No. 6 in C, H. 49 (1819, revised 1820)
- Piano Concerto No. 7 in C minor, H. 58 (1822, revised 1822-32)
Among his solo piano compositions, Field composed 18 nocturnes, four piano sonatas (the first three published together as his Op. 1), as well as fantasias, etudes, rondos, and sets of variations.
[edit] Partial discography
There are now over 50 recordings[1] devoted in part or in full to the music of John Field, including:
- Nocturnes and Sonatas - played by Benjamin Frith (1999) Naxos 8550761
- Sonatas, Nocturnes - played by John O'Conor (2002) Telarc 80290
- Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - played by Míceál O'Rourke with the London Mozart Players conducted by Matthias Bamert (1995) Chandos 9368
- Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3- played by John O'Conor accompanied by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras (1994) Telarc 80370
[edit] References
- Keith Anderson, notes for recording Field: Piano Music, Vol. 1, Benjamin Frith (piano), Naxos 8.550761
- Track listing for CD Field: Piano Music, Volume 2, Benjamin Frith (piano), Naxos 8.550762
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Between perfect technique and soulful playing: John Field's piano concertos, by Regula Rapp, in booklet edited by Jens Schünemeyer, produced by Teldec and DeutschlandRadio, Cologne, 1998
