6. Vladimir AshkenazyChopin: Nocturnes

Classical music reminds me a lot of when I was growing up. I learned violin and trumpet in school, and I sang; my mum listened to classical music a lot, too. All of it I discarded at thirteen, of course, when I became a teenager, as you do. But Bach, Mozart and Beethoven were always there at home. They were this incredible musical wallpaper.

I didn’t know Chopin’s Nocturnes, though, until my wife introduced me to them about twenty years ago. Because of that, they’re very dear to me. This music is properly of the night in its melodies, and the sparseness of its arrangements. The playing by Ashkenazy is incredible, too. It’s music that goes straight through you, in the best possible way.