In addition to modern-piano performances, there are plenty of readings of Beethoven's sonatas on fortepianos from Beethoven's own time. The solution chosen here by the young Russian historical-instrument specialist Olga Pashchenko, recorded at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, is rarer: she plays an 1824 Graf fortepiano, an instrument from 15 or 20 years later than the three famous sonatas recorded here. With this instrument it's plausible to claim (more plausible than with a modern grand) that this is what Beethoven would have ...
Read More
In addition to modern-piano performances, there are plenty of readings of Beethoven's sonatas on fortepianos from Beethoven's own time. The solution chosen here by the young Russian historical-instrument specialist Olga Pashchenko, recorded at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, is rarer: she plays an 1824 Graf fortepiano, an instrument from 15 or 20 years later than the three famous sonatas recorded here. With this instrument it's plausible to claim (more plausible than with a modern grand) that this is what Beethoven would have wanted if he could have it, and Pashchenko achieves impressive results. Her piano's most distinctive feature is that it has five pedals: the usual soft and sustaining pedals, plus a bassoon pedal, a moderator pedal (dampening the sound), and even a "Janissary stop." This makes an awesome variety of sounds possible as Pashchenko traverses the keyboard, and she exploits her options to the hilt. Sample especially the first movement of the Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53...
Read Less
