[sound effect]

TERRANCE MCKNIGHT: This is the Open Ears Project.

[MUSIC PLAYING: Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 in B-flat minor]

LUCY BOYNTON: The essence of the piece feels like a kind of large old house. It's haunting, but it's so beautiful, and for some reason, even though it-it can be haunting, it is also very calming and soothing and elegant and romantic.

It's like an old romance.

I'm Lucy Boynton.

I'm an actress and today I've chosen Chopin's Nocturne No. 1

I first had this piece, I think I was 18.

It was in an episode of this show Endeavor that plays on British TV, that I was in, and this song was kind of a theme and in a way another character that played throughout the episode, but it was one that was weirdly familiar already and I can't place where I would have heard it first or why – In what setting?

It's just one that for some reason, you know, which I thought kind of lends itself to the haunting element of it, as is.

My father has always been the biggest influence of music. I mean, he's a huge music-obsessive junkie. So we've always grown up with some kind of soundtrack in the background.

So it's always been very important and central in my life, especially then going off and discovering my own taste in music.

And then of course, in my work as well, soundtracks, soundscapes are so vital to any film or television series in terms of engaging people in a very personal, emotional way.

So learning more about that and how that is kind of constructed has been a huge education as well, in my own job.

You realize how intricate the soundscapes that they create are, because you think you're focusing predominantly on the scene in front of you and then you realize there's been this underscore the whole time kind of engaging you subconsciously and emotionally, and makes it so much more of an enriching, all encompassing experience that I don't think you get just listening to dialogue.

Turning to music to kind of reset yourself in a different headspace or different tone is very helpful in terms of getting into character.

I think because it can so immediately affect you, kind of right down to your core, it's the most efficient way to change or alter your mood or where your headspace is at. It's kind of a good way to focus yourself and concentrate in a feeling that isn't kind of so literal than just reading the script and trying to get into that world.

The music that I’m drawn to is usually specific to the characters or the tone of the thing that I'm currently working in. 

So, I did a film, Murder on the Orient Express, where I played a barbital-addicted ballerina, and something like this kind of changes the way that you hold yourself that feels very… I don't know, I think it makes you change your posture and it fits with something like that which does make you carry yourself slightly differently. 

It's a piece of music that I find myself so frequently going back to and I think there is something to be said or explored about why I turn to it when I do.

I don't know, I've never, kind of, explored it out loud before. 

I don't know what it does, but it just changes, like, the feeling within you.

It's not an effort to try and feel different, it's just kind of seeping into you and happening. And I kind of love that.

[OPEN EARS THEME MUSIC: Philip Glass’s Piano Etude No. 2]

TERRANCE MCKNIGHT: That was actress Lucy Boynton talking about – get ready for this – Chopin’s Nocturne No. 1 in B flat minor, Opus 9 no. 1, and it’s the Larghetto. 

You don’t have to memorize that whole title just to listen to it. We’re going to play it just after this break. Stick around. 

[MUSIC PLAYING: Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 in B-flat minor]

TERRANCE MCKNIGHT: This is the Open Ears Project.

Join us next week. We’ve got a New Yorker joining us: Nick Ferrone. He’s a real estate agent by day, a harmonica player by night. You can often catch him playing at Sunny’s Bar in Brooklyn. He’s gonna join us to talk about Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.”

NICK FERRONE: It's often considered a song of mourning. But I like to say it's more melancholy, sort of a thoughtful sadness…  but I also think it’s a beautiful thing, so, how could that be just sad? You could be on a beautiful lake in the mountains and have it on your headphones and you could just splendor at nature with this incredible music in your head.

TERRANCE MCKNIGHT: The Open Ears Project was conceived and created by Clemency Burton-Hill. I’m Terrance McKnight. I’m so pleased to present season two of this podcast to you. 

If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating and a review on your favorite podcast platform. And if you’ve got a story about a piece of classical music, we want to know. Email us at openears@WQXR.org. 

You can also head to our website, WQXR.org, to check out our other podcasts about classical music and playlists for this and past seasons.

Season two of The Open Ears Project was produced by Clemency Burton-Hill and Rosa Gollan. Our technical director is Sapir Rosenblatt, and our project manager is Natalia Ramirez. Elizabeth Nonemaker is the executive producer of podcasts at WQXR, and Ed Yim is our chief content officer. 

I’m Terrance McKnight. Thanks for listening.

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