Life in Shades of F-Major: Going back in time to the 18th Century

Going back in time to the 18th Century

>> Sunday, September 27, 2009

Steph and I just returned from a recital given at Oklahoma State University by University of Missouri piano professor, Janice Wenger, on an exact reproduction of a Viennese instrument built by Anton Walter in about 1802. The fortepiano was created in 2006 by Paul McNulty, an American working in the Czech Republic. The concert featured two pieces by Haydn, a Mozart and the Beethoven Moonlight Sonata. I have to admit that the Beethoven was my favorite, as I've never heard this piece played on the instrument for which it was composed. What a thrilling experience!

3 comments:

Kathy Handyside September 27, 2009 at 7:16 PM: I enjoyed this video so much! No modern piano can match the subtlety of the colors and tone of the fortepiano! If I ever hit on the lottery, that will be the purchase I make!

You can hear all the tones, colors, and harmonies, especially of Mozart's music, on the fortepiano; whereas, on a modern piano the tones, colors, and harmonies tend to be overwhelmed by the power of the modern piano. Some people say that to them, the fortepiano sounds like an out-of-tune tinny child's toy - and I always am so amazed that they can't hear what I hear when I listen to music played on a fortepiano.
Kathy Handyside September 27, 2009 at 7:33 PM: Just had to listen to the entire Mozart concerto and am now listening, as I write, to Malcolm Bilson performing it on a replica of Mozart's Walter fortepiano, by Philip Belt of New Haven, CT. Wonderful!
Jasper November 4, 2009 at 12:09 AM: Wow, this is so cool. And a first for me. Thank you, Lynette!