... Beethovenian Pianism

Effectively, the performance is a bit "sentimental." From what can be heard, however, the touch is pleasant and the final result is very beautiful.

Personally, I find the association "period instrument = intransigent philology" a bit annoying.

I think that the recent attention to period instruments, and to philological copies in particular, is an achievement and should not be considered merely a matter of pure philological taste, and certainly not a fad.

They are criticized for their lesser dynamic possibilities, weakness of timbre, less resistance to tuning, greater delicacy... Their voice, however, is something else entirely (not better, nor worse, just different) compared to that of the nineteenth-century descendants.

Scarlatti on the fortepiano... Bach's BWV 1067 suite on the traverso... Frescobaldi on an Italian harpsichord... W. Byrd on a virginal...

The authentic voice of the instrument and, through it, that of the composer who wrote for that instrument, comes back to life.

Interpretative choices are irrelevant. Everyone has their own... certainly today, in a very un-philological way, there is a sort of "urgency" to do something different from what has already been done and heard.

Anyway, W [blessed] is whoever plays Beethoven on the fortepiano (and especially blessed is he who can afford it).

In my opinion, philology is worth it until it becomes a limitation.

Thanks to those who have already intervened.

Hello everyone!

I attended a series of concerts in Genoa in May of this year. The program included all 32 piano sonatas (?) by Beethoven. The musicians were Gregorio Nardi, Alessandro Commellato, Massimiliano Genot, Riccardo Zadra, Costanza Principe and Edoardo Torbianelli.

The fortepianos used at Palazzo Ducale were a Jean-Louis Dulcken (Germany, 1796-----magnificent!!!), a Joseph Bohm (Austria, 1825---- beautiful), a John Broadwood (England, 1829 "THE" instrument of B.) and a Karl Stein (Austria, 1829 --- this one a bit weak). In light of this listening experience, I would say that Rotore's statement could be "rotated" from "In my opinion, philology is valid until it becomes a limit" to "Knowledge of a work is valid until it becomes a limit". That is, if we listen ---- a trivial example ---- to Für Elise, Nohl version, (listened to at least 255345345 times) our experience can falter when listening to the other Für Elise --- unpublished ---- from 1822; quite simply, one does not expect the unexpected! (Heraclitus?) Likewise, my listening of the magnificent Sonata Opus 7 (always too neglected) on the Dulcken electrified me like a first listen. Speaking of sounds, in 2010 I had fun sampling the sound of Beethoven's Graf at the Beethoven Haus in Bonn, key by key. If you wish, you can listen to the C major scale here. A practical example of what kind of instrument our [predecessor] could have used up to opus 19-27!

A Presto!

OrlandiArmando wrote:

In light of this listening, I would say that Rotore's statement could be "rotated" from "In my opinion, philology is worthwhile until it becomes a limit" to "Knowledge of a work is worthwhile until it becomes a limit".

True on the part of the listener, but their knowledge passes through the performer who, in turn, can remain constrained... what do you think?

Interesting, a bit like it were a "listening posture."

Eh, yes. The issue of mediation cannot be resolved. Furthermore, we have precisely two mediations: that of the interpreter and that of the instrument. (to say nothing of the ear-brain group which would lead us too far). In effect, music, compared to other arts, requires more interlocutors.... But if the Banda Comunale Bassotti plays Egmont for me, then the wretched execution (how beautiful the word "execution" is, standing both for performing and for the act of killing) is, so to speak, replaced by experience; that is: The Bassotti tormented me with that piece, but I still recognize in it the seed (the Κοινὴ Ἑλληνική) of the composer's thought... much like what happens with those wretched MIDI files that I also use. In this case, but perhaps only in this one, knowledge is not a limit but an aid to appreciating music: the saving power of experience. Perhaps, just as infinite stars exist, infinite Ninth Symphonies exist, always the same yet always different. In fact, looking at the metronomic indications of good L., which wavered so much in his final years, I truly believe that even he was convinced that, in reality, all music was merely fallacious perception. Anyway, I too say "long live" those who play fortepianos, harpsichords, chordophones, clavichords and their graceful family!