I mentioned a couple of days ago that my book was about to be published in the US. This morning I was delighted to find a review in the Wall Street Journal.
The link is this, but after a couple of paragraphs it may disappear behind a paywall, so here’s an excerpt:

‘In Nocturnes and the Fascination of Night Music, Susan Tomes delves into the origins of the nocturne and the reasons for its popularity. A Gramophone-Award-winning pianist and the author of eight books – nearly all of them about the piano – Ms Tomes brings to her work a commanding authority and an undisguised appreciation. Her writing is never less than clear, sustained by a lifelong commitment to the piano as practitioner and teacher. …

‘One night recently I sat back and imbibed Ivan Moravec’s 1966 recording of Chopin’s Nocturne in D flat major (opus 27 no 2), seven and a half minutes of sustained beauty with a breadth of vision that hardly seems humanly possible – the singing quality of the opening melody, the balance between the two highest parts at the entrace of a new melody, the heightened emotional pitch before the opening melody’s final return, the silvery grace notes in the closing gesture. I have no doubt that my listening experience was enhanced by reading Nocturnes.
Susan Tomes invites us to return with new appreciation to the wonderful works of Chopin, Field and others – and to linger over the spell that night casts upon our imagination.’

John Check in the Wall Street Journal, April 29, 2026