Roberto Prosseda - Beethoven Sonatas Op. 2 [CD]

<p>For his debut release on Challenge, Roberto Prosseda has chosen to record the three Sonatas opus 2 by Beethoven, and for a more personal interpretation, he has selected to perform on a Graf forte piano dated 1820.</p><p>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.<br>-<i> from the linernotes of the album, by Robert Prosseda</i></p> <p>'"Can something new, interesting and 'true' still be said about the interpretation of Beethoven sonatas?" is the rhetorical question Prosseda poses in the booklet notes. This recording resoundingly answers in the affirmative, while offering plentiful listening pleasures.' – <i>Gramophone</i></p> <p>'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.' – International Piano</p>