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Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonatas Op. 2

Roberto Prosseda (fortepiano)

Beyond the quality and variety of sound Prosseda achieves, Beethoven’s articulation markings emerge with greater definition than commonly heard on a modern piano. Prosseda’s readings shed new...

Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonatas Op. 2

Roberto Prosseda (fortepiano)

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Beyond the quality and variety of sound Prosseda achieves, Beethoven’s articulation markings emerge with greater definition than commonly heard on a modern piano. Prosseda’s readings shed new...

About

For his debut release on Challenge, Roberto Prosseda has chosen to record the three Sonatas op. 2 by Beethoven, and for a more personal interpretation, he has selected to perform on Graf fortepiano dated 1820.

Can something new, interesting and 'true' still be said about the interpretation of Beethoven's sonatas? I believe so, provided we break out of the conventions created by the tradition of interpretation and discography, where in 98% of cases a modern piano is used. Therefore, I thought that the choice of recording Beethoven on a historical instrument could also be a way for a more individual interpretative investigation, free from the models that listening to famous recordings on a modern piano risks accustoming us to.I do not believe that there is a 'right' and a 'wrong' instrument on which to perform Beethoven's Sonatas Opus 2.

What matters is the musical result. It depends on the alchemy that is created between the performer and the instrument. Before I came to choose the Graf No. 429, I tried at length various modern copies of fortepiano from 1795 - 1800, trying to get closer to the sound and expressive world of early Beethoven.However, having the opportunity of having a Graf fortepiano (No. 429) in my studio, restored in 2023, I was able to prepare this recording on that instrument, playing it regularly for a year, achieving a kind of familiarity with its action and timbral response that I have grown fond of. - from the linernotes of the album, by Robert Prosseda

Contents and tracklist

I. Allegro
Track length5:14
II. Adagio
Track length4:51
III. Minuetto. Allegretto
Track length2:40
IV. Prestissimo
Track length4:23
I. Allegro vivace
Track length6:54
II. Largo appassionato
Track length6:03
III. Scherzo. Allegretto
Track length3:36
IV. Rondo
Track length7:14
I. Allegro con brio
Track length10:22
This track is only available as an album download.
II. Adagio
Track length7:24
III. Scherzo
Track length3:27
IV. Allegro. Assai
Track length5:28

Awards and reviews

January 2025

Beyond the quality and variety of sound Prosseda achieves, Beethoven’s articulation markings emerge with greater definition than commonly heard on a modern piano. Prosseda’s readings shed new light on the essential character of each of these sonatas, and quite vividly so.

Prosseda’s interpretations […] are noteably personal and individual. He is never less than authoritative in slow movements but comes into his own in lighter-hearted passages such as the three scherzos or the capering finale of Op 2 No 3. Rubato is applied liberally but without ever feeling merely applied.
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