John Field (composer)

John Field (26 July 1782, Dublin – 23 January 1837, Moscow) was an Irish pianist, composer and teacher[1] widely credited as the creator of the nocturne.

While other composers were writing in a similar style at this time, Field was the first to use the term 'Nocturne' specifically to apply to a character piece featuring a cantabile melody over an arpeggiated accompaniment.

He was born into a musical family, in Dublin, and received his early education there, in particular with the Italian composer Tommaso Giordani.

Field was very highly regarded by his contemporaries and his playing and compositions influenced many major composers, including Felix Mendelssohn, Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Franz Liszt.

Field was born 26 July 1782 in Golden Lane, Dublin,[3] the eldest son of Irish parents who were members of the Church of Ireland.

[5] According to an early biographer, W. H. Grattan Flood, Field started composing in Ireland, but no evidence exists to support his claim.

Flood also asserted that Field's family moved to Bath, Somerset, in 1793 and lived there for a short time, and this too is considered unlikely by modern researchers.

Field continued giving public performances and soon became famous in London, attracting favourable comments from the press and the local musicians.

After Clementi's departure, Field had a busy concert season, eventually performing at the newly founded Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society.

Field returned to Moscow in April 1807 and apparently did not revisit Saint Petersburg until 1811 (but he kept his apartment at Vasilievsky Island).

[6] On Christmas Day 1832 Field was in Paris, performing his 7th Piano Concerto, which received a mixed reaction, just as at his recent concerts in England.

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).

These works were some of the most influential music of the early Romantic period: they do not adhere to a strict formal scheme (such as the sonata form), and they create a mood without text or programme.

Similarly influential were Field's early piano concertos, which occupied a central place in the development of the genre in the 19th century.

Composers such as Hummel, Kalkbrenner, Mendelssohn and Moscheles were influenced by these works, which are particularly notable for their central movements, frequently nocturne-like.

Some of the less-known works were also historically important: particularly the piano fantasies, in which Field pioneered the Romantic large-scale episodic structure.

He is mentioned in passing in War and Peace when Countess Rostova calls on the Rostov household musician to play her favourite nocturne.