Night music: The twentieth century nocturne in piano teaching

The solo piano repertoire contains numerous examples of nocturnes by a wide variety of composers. Chopin\u27s nocturnes receive the most play time and are often used for pedagogical purposes. The purpose of this study is to explore the other piano nocturnes that could be used in piano pedagogy. The first chapter provides a discussion of the nocturne as a genre, including the definition of nocturne and the differences between the 19th and 20th Century conceptions of it. The second chapter lists nocturnes composed during the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, as well as biographical and stylistic information of their composers. The remainder of the study focuses on individual nocturnes and their pedagogical value. Intermediate to advanced level nocturnes by a variety of composers, including Dave Brubeck, Benjamin Britten, Erik Satie, Francis Poulenc, Samuel Barber, Charles Griffes, and Lowell Liebermann, are examined