Benjamin Godard | Nocturne in a minor, Op.150

A great, unknown Nocturne, where I like to imagine a cold wintery night in the beginning and snow is falling. That's why I chose a rather slow tempo. I also changed the tempi according to how the story unfolded in my head while playing. Lastly, this piece was published 1 year before the composer's death. It's the fourth of his nocturnes (I already played No.1 on the channel). Godard (1849-1895) was a French violinist and composer, composing eight operas, five symphonies, two piano and two violin concertos, string quartets, sonatas for violin and piano, piano pieces and etudes, and more than a hundred songs. Godard's long list of works includes five symphonies: Symphonie gothique (1883), Symphonie orientale (1884), and Symphonie légendaire (1886); Concerto romantique for violin and orchestra (1876), two piano concertos, three string quartets, four sonatas for violin and piano, a sonata for cello and piano, two piano trios, and various other orchestral works. Among his piano pieces may be mentioned Mazurka No. 2, Valse No. 2, Au Matin, Postillon, En Courant, En Train, and Les Hirondelles. Florian's Song is also very popular and has been arranged for many instruments. One of Godard's sonatas for violin and piano contains a scherzo written in the unusual time signature of 5 8. He wrote more than 100 songs. Godard was opposed to the music of Richard Wagner and also highly critical of Wagner's antisemitism. Godard's musical style was more in tune with those of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.