This is the final volume of Kemp English’s pioneering world première recording of Leopold Koželuch’s complete solo keyboard sonatas. It is played, once again, on appropriate authentic instruments and charts just how profoundly Koželuch’s style changed over the decades, from the charming early Sonata No. 47 for harpsichord to the three late romantic sonatas. The virtuosic Sonata No. 49, with its pedal effects and extended compass, shows techniques derived from the English Piano School and in the final sonata he encapsulates to perfection the sound world of early nineteenth-century Vienna.
This recording was made on period instruments: Original harpsichord by Longman and Broderip (built by Thomas Culliford), 1785 (tracks 1–2); Original grand fortepiano by Joseph Kirckman (London), c. 1798 (tracks 3–7); Original grand fortepiano by Johann Fritz (Vienna), c. 1815 (tracks 8–9)
Tracklist
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, P. XII:42 () (00:08:54 ) 1 I. Adagio * (00:06:15) 2 II. Allegro * (00:02:33)
Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, P. XII:43 () (00:18:17 ) 3 I. Adagio maestoso - Allegro molto * (00:11:57) 4 II. Rondeau: Allegretto * (00:06:19)
Piano Sonata in A Major, P. XII:44 (after 1810) (00:20:17 ) 5 I. Allegro * (00:08:51) 6 II. Andante sostenuto * (00:04:14) 7 III. Rondeau: Allegretto * (00:06:52)
Piano Sonata in E Minor, P. XII:45 (after 1810) (00:15:57 ) 8 I. Adagio - Allegro molto con fuoco * (00:09:39) 9 II. Larghetto - Rondo: Presto * (00:06:16)
