Chopin

Chopin wrote the Nocturne in C-sharp minor around 1830, at twenty, shortly before leaving Poland for Vienna. He dedicated it to his sister Ludwika as a practice piece before she took on his Piano Concerto No. 2, and it quotes the melody of the concerto's second movement. Chopin never published it; it appeared in 1875, 26 years after his death, which is why it is known as a posthumous work. Its use in the film The Pianist (2002) brought it a much wider audience. The writing is restrained throughout, with harmonies of unusual delicacy.

I recorded this in 2020; only an excerpt is included here.