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Dussek: Keyboard Music, Vol. 10 / Petra Somlai
Brilliant Classics

Dussek: Keyboard Music, Vol. 10 / Petra Somlai

Classical Romantic Virtuosic Melancholic
$13.99

Details

Composer
Jan Ladislav Dussek
Artist
Petra Somlai
Format
CD
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
May 10, 2024
Catalog #
BRI95981
UPC
5028421959818

About

The latest volume in a critically acclaimed series presents modern recordings of Dussek’s exhilaratingly diverse cycle of piano sonatas on instruments of his own time.

This enterprising series has reached the trio of ‘Grand Sonatas’ Op. 35, probably first published in 1798, when Dussek dedicated them to Gabrielle Pleyel (wife of the piano manufacturer Ignaz Pleyel) and Muzio Clementi, the composer, publisher, and piano manufacturer who developed new, more powerful-sounding and reliable piano actions. Dussek, like Beethoven, seized on such technological innovation and produced music of new turbulence such as the C minor Sonata Op. 35 No. 3. The sonata’s opening Allegro bursts with vitality and violence, which becomes all the more vivid when played on a piano from Dussek’s time, straining to contain the music’s expressive reach, as it is here.

The instrument used on this album is a 1798 fortepiano from the firm of Longman-Clementi. Accordingly, the touch and sound correspond more closely than any other piano previously used on recordings of this repertoire. Dussek lived in London during the 1790s and worked closely with the manufacturer John Broadwood to extend the range of keyboard instruments. The English fortepiano lent itself naturally to the harmonic fullness of Dussek's preferred textures, and in reverse, the instrument's characteristic sound and touch inspired and shaped the development of Dussek's compositional style.

Op. 69 No. 3 belongs to a collection of sonatas which Dussek composed with an optional violin part. Nos. 1 and 2 in the set have already received historically informed recordings in a separate Brilliant Classics project, with Julia Huber and Miriam Altmann, but this series presents the piano-only version which all the same contains the full argument of the sonata. In partnership with Bart van Oort, Petra Somlai contributed to Volume 9 in this series, which was welcomed in Fanfare magazine with glowing praise: ‘Both musicians have the requisite technique, and their execution of Dussek’s virtuoso writing is impressive… Both artists play with sensitivity and attractive tone. The recorded sound is fine, with admirable warmth and detail.’

Tracklist 11 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro moderato e maestoso 15:10
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro moderato e maestoso
    Duration
    15:10
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  2. 2 II. Finale. Allegro non troppo ma con spirit 08:26
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Finale. Allegro non troppo ma con spirit
    Duration
    08:26
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  3. 3 I. Allegro 10:56
    Track
    3
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    10:56
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  4. 4 II. Rondo: Molto allegro, con espressione 06:49
    Track
    4
    Title
    II. Rondo: Molto allegro, con espressione
    Duration
    06:49
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  5. 5 I. Allegro agitato assai 10:38
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro agitato assai
    Duration
    10:38
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  6. 6 II. Adagio patetico ed espressivo 07:40
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Adagio patetico ed espressivo
    Duration
    07:40
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  7. 7 III. Intermezzo. Presto 00:33
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Intermezzo. Presto
    Duration
    00:33
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  8. 8 IV. Finale. Molto allegro 04:31
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Finale. Molto allegro
    Duration
    04:31
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  9. 9 I. Allegro maestoso e brillante 09:09
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Allegro maestoso e brillante
    Duration
    09:09
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  10. 10 II. Larghetto espressivo 03:35
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Larghetto espressivo
    Duration
    03:35
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai
  11. 11 III. Finale: Chasse, allegro scherzo 07:08
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. Finale: Chasse, allegro scherzo
    Duration
    07:08
    Composer
    Jan Ladislav Dussek
    Performer
    Petra Somlai