This two-disc release may be unique in its concept: it offers a group of five Haydn keyboard sonatas, played on fortepiano (a copy of a 1784 Walter instrument) on the first disc and on a modern Steinway grand on the second. Keyboardist Eva Mengelkoch, a professor at Towson University in Baltimore with training on both modern and keyboard instruments, doesn't write the last word on this approach, but as the cost of musical reproduction approaches absolute zero, it's an approach that is sure to become more common, and hers is ...
Read More
This two-disc release may be unique in its concept: it offers a group of five Haydn keyboard sonatas, played on fortepiano (a copy of a 1784 Walter instrument) on the first disc and on a modern Steinway grand on the second. Keyboardist Eva Mengelkoch, a professor at Towson University in Baltimore with training on both modern and keyboard instruments, doesn't write the last word on this approach, but as the cost of musical reproduction approaches absolute zero, it's an approach that is sure to become more common, and hers is a worthy opening shot. Her aim is not simply to draw a contrast between the two pianos for listeners unfamiliar with historical instruments (although that too might be a worthwhile exercise if applied to the right repertory). Nor is she crusading in favor of the use of the fortepiano. Instead, she writes, "Finding the most expressive and stylistically satisfying interpretation requires a continuous process of mutual interrogation between the capabilities of each instrument and the...
Read Less
