Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonatas Op. 2 Roberto Prosseda

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Sonata Op. 2, No. 1 in F Minor:
• 1 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 1 in F Minor: I. Allegro 05:14
• 2 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 1 in F Minor: II. Adagio (Fa maggiore) 04:51
• 3 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 1 in F Minor: III. Minuetto. Allegretto 02:40
• 4 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 1 in F Minor: IV. Prestissimo 04:23
• Sonata Op. 2, No. 2 in A Major:
• 5 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 2 in A Major: I. Allegro vivace 06:54
• 6 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 2 in A Major: II. Largo appassionato 06:03
• 7 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 2 in A Major: III. Scherzo. Allegretto 03:36
• 8 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 2 in A Major: IV. Rondo 07:14
• Sonata Op. 2, No. 3 in C Major:
• 9 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 3 in C Major: I. Allegro con brio 10:22
• 10 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 3 in C Major: II. Adagio 07:24
• 11 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 3 in C Major: III. Scherzo 03:27
• 12 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2, No. 3 in C Major: IV. Allegro. Assai 05:28
• Total Runtime 01:07:36

Info for Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonatas Op. 2

For his debut release on Challenge, Roberto Prosseda has chosen to record the three Sonatas op. 2 by Beethoven, and for a more personal interpretation, he has selected to perform on aGraf fortepiano dated 1820.

Can something new, interesting and 'true' still be said about the interpretation of Beethoven's sonatas? I believe so, provided we break out of the conventions created by the tradition of interpretation and discography, where in 98% of cases a modern piano is used. Therefore, I thought that the choice of recording Beethoven on a historical instrument could also be a way for a more individual interpretative investigation, free from the models that listening to famous recordings on a modern piano risks accustoming us to.I do not believe that there is a 'right' and a 'wrong' instrument on which to perform Beethoven's Sonatas Opus 2. What matters is the musical result. It depends on the alchemy that is created between the performer and the instrument.Before I came to choose the Graf No. 429, I tried at length various modern copies of fortepiano from 1795 - 1800, trying to get closer to the sound and expressive world of early Beethoven.However, having the opportunity of having a Graf fortepiano (No. 429) in my studio, restored in 2023, I was able to prepare this recording on that instrument, playing it regularly for a year, achieving a kind of familiarity with its action and timbral response that I have grown fond of. (from the liner notes of the album, by Robert Prosseda)

Roberto Prosseda, piano

Roberto Prosseda
born in Latina, Italy, in 1975 is a leader DECCA artist.

His Decca albums dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn, including the Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly, have won much acclaim in the press, including the CHOC from Le Monde de la Musique Classique, the Diapason d'Or and Chamber Music CD of the Month in the UK's Classic FM magazine. In 2010, Deutsche Grammophon selected twelve recordings by Prosseda to add to the box set, "Classic Gold". In 2014 Prosseda completed his 10-year project of recording all of Mendelssohn's piano works for Decca in 9 CDs.

Roberto Prosseda has performed regularly with some of the world's most important orchestras, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Moscow State Philharmonic, Accademia Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala, Bruxelles Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, Netherlands Symphony, Berliner Symphoniker, Staatskapelle Weimar, Calgary Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus. He performed under the baton of David Afkham, Marc Albrecht, Christian Arming, Harry Bickett, Oleg Caetani, Riccardo Chailly, Pietari Inkinen, Yannik Nezeit-Seguin, George Pehlivanian, Dennis Russel-Davies, Tugan Sokhiev, Jan Willem de Vriend, Jurai Valcuha.

Other than Mendelssohn, whose piano music he is considered to be a leading interpreter of today, Prosseda's interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Chopin have been particularly praised, and these composers have in fact featured in Prosseda's recent Decca recordings. In 2015, Prosseda started the complete recording of Mozart's Piano Sonatas with a modern piano tuned with unequal temperament. An active proponent of Italian music, Prosseda also recorded the complete piano works of Petrassi and Dallapiccola.

In September 2011 Prosseda gave his debut on the pedal piano, performing the Concerto for Pedal Piano by Gounod in the world premiere version for modern instrument. Concerts are planned in the coming seasons on this instrument, rediscovering the original compositions by Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt and Charles Valentin Alkan.

Several composers, including Ennio Morricone, have already written new pieces for pedal piano for Roberto Prosseda, and a recording of Gounod's four pieces for pedal piano and orchestra with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by Howard Shelley, was released on the Hyperion label in fall 2013. Roberto Prosseda is also very active in musical divulgation. He wrote the book "Il Pianoforte" for Curci Editori (2013) and made three documentaries dedicated to Mendelssohn, Chopin and Liszt (Euroarts).

He is currently artistic advisor at Cremona Musica International Exhibitions and president of the Associazione Mendelssohn.

This album contains no booklet.