fortepiano

Beethoven: Works for Cello and Piano

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Beethoven: Complete Works for Cello and Piano
Robin Michael, cello, Daniel Tong, fortepiano
Resonus Classics RES10254. 2CDs. 76’09+71’59

The key thing about this recording is that it uses period instruments – not always to be assumed in Beethoven recordings even in these more enlightened times. If your experience of the five cello Sonatas has so far been with a modern cello and piano, you are in for a treat, listening to the music as Beethoven might have heard it, at least in his head as far as the later Sonatas are concerned. The five sonatas range from Beethoven’s early years to the sad years of his hearing loss. Continue reading →

Piano Sonatas by Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Piano Sonatas by Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven
Walewein Witten (fortepiano)
Resonus RES10242. 71’29

Beethoven: Sonata in D minor, Op. 31/2 ‘The Tempest’
Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI:52
Mozart: Sonata in F major, KV 533/494

The question of what Beethoven, or Bach, would have done if they were composing for modern instruments, rather than those of their time, is often asked. The question is, of course, impossible to answer but I would hazard a guess that their music would be totally different to what it actually is. So, in a way, they would no longer be Beethoven or Bach, but a different composer, writing in a different age and for different listeners. So the first, and possibly the most important, thing about this recording is that it is performed on a fortepiano. Continue reading →

Discover Danzi (concert and CD)

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson ~ Leave a comment

Discover Danzi (concert and CD)
ensembleF2
Concert: St John’s, Smith Square, 22 October 2015
CD: Franz Danzi: Music for Piano and Winds Vol 2
Devine Music. DMCD004. 70’05

Concert: Steven Devine, fortepiano, Jane Booth, basset horn, Anneke Scott, natural horn;
CD: plus Katy Bircher, flute, James Eastaway, oboe, Ursula Leveaux, bassoon & Jane Booth, clarinet.

CD: Franz Danzi: Grand Sonata in F for fortepiano and basset horn Op. 62; Sonata in E minor for fortepiano and horn Op. 44; Quintet in D Op.54/2 for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano.

The St John’s, Smith Square concert by ensembleF2 was part of a series of events to promote the second in their series of Franz Danzi recordings. The concert included the first two of the CD pieces, but replaced the latter’s concluding Quintet in D with Mozart’s piano Adagio in B minor (KV540), played as an introductory prelude to the Horn Sonata. Both concert and CD contrast two of the most evocative sounds of the early classical period – the basset horn and the natural horn, the similarity of their names bearing no relation to their distinctively different tones.

The basset horn is a wonderful example of the maxim not to judge anything by its appearance. It looks like a piece of badly botched plumbing, Continue reading →