Meet the man who invented the Nocturne – and no, it wasn’t Chopin...

11 February 2025, 15:03

The Irish composer John Field is credited with the invention of one of the most popular classical genres.

John Field is a relatively unknown name in today’s classical music world, but he was a hugely influential figure in his day and created the nocturne, a form later perfected by Frédéric Chopin.

He was born in 1782 in Dublin and raised in a musical household. His father, Robert, was a violinist in Dublin’s booming theatre scene, and young John took piano lessons from his grandfather, a professional organist. He later learned with the Italian composer Tommaso Giordani and made his solo debut at the age of nine in a well-received concert in Dublin.

A year later, the family moved to London, where John studied with the pioneering keyboard player and teacher, Muzio Clementi. During the next decade, he began performing extensively in the capital and was soon a household name, lauded by the press and fellow musicians alike, including a visiting Joseph Haydn. In 1799, he gave the premiere of his first piano concerto, the first important work he wrote.

Read more: 10 greatest pieces of music by Frédéric Chopin

Settling in Russia

In the summer of 1802, Field travelled to Paris with Clementi as his assistant selling pianos abroad. From there, they travelled on to Vienna, where Field mingled with Haydn and Beethoven, the latter being deeply impressed by his playing.

By winter, they had reached Saint Petersburg, where Field was so taken with the city’s artistic life that he decided to stay. Clementi left six months later, but not before he used his influence to secure Field a teaching job in Narva (present-day Estonia).

After Clementi left, Field had an increasingly busy performance schedule around Russian and the Baltic States, eventually performing at the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society. It was around this time that he developed the compositional style which he is best known for today, characterised by lyrical chromatic melodies accompanied by arpeggiated left-hand chords decorated with sensitive pedalling.

Alice Sara Ott - Field: Nocturne No. 9 in E Minor, H. 46 (Official Music Video)

The Nocturne

Chief among his creations are his 18 nocturnes, which are some of the most influential pieces of the early Romantic period, with a freeness of form that deviated from the norm expected at the time.

These nocturnes were venerated by Liszt and Chopin, the latter of whom went on to make the style famous.

The extent to which Field was admired in his own lifetime is evident from numerous inclusions in literature and popular culture, most notably Leo Tolstoy’s epic War and Peace, where Countess Rostova calls on the Rostov household musician to play her favourite nocturne, which is by Field.

Alice Sara Ott - Field: Nocturne No. 2 in C Minor, H. 25 (Official Music Video)

Lavish lifestyle and untimely end

Field enjoyed his fame and success and indulged in an increasingly lavish lifestyle. In 1810 he married Adelaide Percheron, a French pianist and former pupil, but she left him 11 years later, taking their son, Adrien, with them. Field also fathered another illegitimate son, Leon, who became a famous tenor, while Adrien became a pianist.

Owing partly to his extravagant lifestyle, Field’s health steeply declined by the mid-1820s and from about 1823 his concert appearances started decreasing. He gave his last concert in March 1836 and died in Moscow almost a year later, on 23 January 1837, from pneumonia.

According to an eyewitness report, when asked on his deathbed what his religion was, Field replied with a characteristic pun: “I am not a Calvinist, but a Claveciniste” (French for harpsichordist).

Field’s works are attracting increased attention today, and there have been several new recordings made of his works, including a complete recording of his Nocturnes from pianist Alice Sara Ott, which is our Album of the Week. Listen every day after 11am with Alexander Armstrong on Classic FM.