Dussek: Sonatas, Op. 9 & Op. 75, Vol. 6 Viviana Sofronitsky

• Johann Ladislaus Dussek (1760 - 1812): Piano Sonata No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 1:
• 1 Piano Sonata No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 1: I. Allegro non tanto 08:32
• 2 Piano Sonata No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 1: II. Rondo - Allegretto grazioso 04:20
• Piano Sonata No. 2 in C Major, Op. 9 No. 2:
• 3 Piano Sonata No. 2 in C Major, Op. 9 No. 2: I. Allegro con spirito 08:53
• 4 Piano Sonata No. 2 in C Major, Op. 9 No. 2: II. Larghetto con espressione 04:15
• 5 Piano Sonata No. 2 in C Major, Op. 9 No. 2: III. Presto assai 06:30
• Piano Sonata No. 3 in D Major, Op. 9 No. 3:
• 6 Piano Sonata No. 3 in D Major, Op. 9 No. 3: I. Allegro ma non troppo 08:38
• 7 Piano Sonata No. 3 in D Major, Op. 9 No. 3: III. Prestissimo 06:30
• Piano Sonata No. 27 in E-Flat Major, Op. 75:
• 8 Piano Sonata No. 27 in E-Flat Major, Op. 75: I. Allegro ma non troppo 16:33
• 9 Piano Sonata No. 27 in E-Flat Major, Op. 75: II. Andante moderato 07:02
• 10 Piano Sonata No. 27 in E-Flat Major, Op. 75: III. Rondo - allegro moderato grazioso 08:00
• Total Runtime 01:19:13

Info for Dussek: Sonatas, Op. 9 & Op. 75, Vol. 6

Brilliant’s critically acclaimed Dussek sonata cycle continues with a pairing of early and late works. Viviana Sofronitsky, daughter of the great Russian pianist Vladimir Sofronitsky, followed in her father’s footsteps by becoming a ‘formidable pianist’ (Fanfare). Early years in Russia were followed by a move to the United States to study early music at Oberlin Conservatory and further studies in fortepiano and harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. An active performing career across Europe – from Leipzig and Utrecht to Oslo and London – included competition prizes at the Bach Tage Berlin and the Musica Antiqua competition in Bruges. Her discography includes solo music by Schubert and the complete piano concertos of Mozart, which drew praise for her ‘superb articulation’ in Fanfare. As on those earlier albums she plays a modern fortepiano by Paul McNulty, based on a Viennese model by Anton Walter, for these new recordings of sonatas by the Czech-born contemporary of Beethoven, Johann Ladislaus Dussek. The three sonatas gathered under Opus 9 are arrangements of works originally conceived for piano and violin: most of the violin’s melody line was originally doubled by the right-hand part of the piano, making the transformation from chamber to solo work seamless and straightforward, and the character of these late-18th-century works corresponds to similarly conceived violin sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven, where the spotlight falls on the keyboard. So it does in a quite different fashion in the penultimate piano sonata by Dussek, Op.75, which is cast in an early-Romantic vein. An expansive first movement is led by a gentle, exploratory opening melody which fractures and multiplies into passionate figuration across the entire range of the keyboard, and back again: the journey from Beethoven to Schubert in a nutshell. This is followed by a stately, minuet-like Andante moderato and a gracefully turned Rondo finale, both again bearing apparently Schubertian characteristics though written at a time (1811) when the master of song was but a teenager.

Viviana Sofronitsky, fortepiano

Viviana Sofronitsky
explores the rich, complete world of sound available to classic and romantic composers with their then-new pianos! Viviana performs with two, three, four or five pianos on stage, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the music performed on instruments as strong and colourful as they were at the time when they inspired young classical and romantic composers to write their masterpieces. The pianos used in the performance are newly built “clones” of the favourite instruments of great composers, produced by the world’s most prolific modern fortepiano maker, Paul McNulty.

Viviana Sofronitsky has followed in the footsteps of her father Vladimir Sofronitsky, a distinguished Russian pianist. She earned a DMA from the Moscow Conservatory and received historical fortepiano and harpsichord performance degrees from the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag. She won prizes at the "Bach Tage Berlin" and "Musica Antiqua" competitions. Viviana Sofronitsky has recorded with “AVI”, ”ETCetera”, “Centaur“, “Suoni e colori”, “Globe”, “Pro Musica Camerata” (11 CD of complete Mozart concertos) and “Passacaille” lebels. Her current projects include recording Chopin and Liszt on romantic fortepiano. Russian-Canadian citizen Viviana Sofronitsky is based in Prague, from which she travels Europe to perform with her fortepianos.

Booklet for Dussek: Sonatas, Op. 9 & Op. 75, Vol. 6