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dussek Sonatas Op.35 Nos.1-3 Leรงons
Naruhiko Kawaguchi fortepiano Rome Fortepiano International Competition 2013
Affetti and Innovation Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812) played an important role in the history of the pianoforte. His contribution regarded both the material development of the instrument as such, and the music and studies written for it. Born into a family of musicians, he received his musical education within the school of C. Ph. E. Bach. His life was anything but tranquil, however, and he found himself travelling widely for personal as well as professional reasons. He thus became familiar with many European countries, absorbing a range of different cultural elements and getting to know the conditions in which musicians pursued their profession in these different places. Throughout his life he focused on exploring the expressive potential of the pianoforte. Working closely with John Broadwood, while living in London he certainly contributed to the extension of the size of the instrument, which brought about change in range and timbre. The additional keys were not simply a commercial prerogative, but a way of exploring the new consequences that derived from the theory of harmonics. Dussek’s compositions speak eloquently for the theory of Affetti, which pertained to the basic rules of musical rhetoric and the Gallant taste that was particularly evident in London, largely due to the presence in the city of J. Ch. Bach. Affetti play an important role in Dussek’s genre pieces, such as the Variations on Rosline Castle, where each rhythmical development of the initial subject invests the various parts of the composition with a specific mood. The sonatas provide us with telling insights into the way the composer developed the form and number of the individual movements, perfecting the expression of concepts and meanings through his music. The Sonatas Op.35 (1797) that Dussak dedicated to Muzio Clementi are representative of his varied approaches to the Sonata. They exemplify certain signature elements, such as the choice of key, the apparently decorative figurations, the harmonic nature of certain sections alternated with the extreme variability of modulations, 2
and the use of the resonance and tone of the instruments, especially of those built in England. Dussak paid close attention to balance, and this clearly contributes to the pleasantness of his style, a often misunderstood feature that accounts for the fact that his compositions have not always been held in the highest esteem. The Op.35 Sonatas contain a wide variety of styles that underscore the remarkable range of timbre that the pianoforte could produce. The orchestral crescendos in the first movement of Sonata Op.35 No.1, for example, alternate with what come across as decorative passages in the slow tempi that actually derive from the clavichord tradition. In the intermezzo of the Third Sonata, the keyboard is used in a manner that can be described as discursive, which is why critics have often likened it to Beethoven’s Sonata Op.13. Granted, this latter work was published in 1799, so it is possible that Beethoven was actually acquainted with the earlier piece. This is purely hypothetical, however, the only evidence being a certain similarity of approach and mood, and indeed key. Dussek was also important as a teacher, publishing a Piano Method that he co-authored with Pleyel. At the time it was customary for such Methods to be accompanied by at least one volume of Lessons or Sonatas, which provided examples of the rules and suggestions contained in the theoretical part. These Lessons were thus essentially designed as a teaching aid, even when they were published separately, as in the case of Dussek’s Op.16, which appeared as an Étude. They contain Airs from different countries, and aim not only at training the pianist to cope with the various and progressive difficulties of the instrument, but also at making him or her familiar with the appropriate spirit of each piece, an aspect that contributed to the beauty of performance along with the right mood, or Affetto. © Costantino Mastroprimiano Translation: Kate Singleton
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Naruhiko Kawaguchi was born in Marioka, Iwate, and grew up in in Yokohama. He took a BA in Musicology at Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo-Geidai) in 2012 and an MA in Early Music at the same university, winning the Acanthus Prize in 2015. He studied fortepiano under Kikuko Ogura and Christine Schornsheim, and harpsichord under Asami Hirosawa. Playing a modern piano, he won first prize at the 2nd Competition of Spanish Piano Music for Youth (Japan), and the third prize at the Yokohama- Open Port 150th Anniversary Piano Competition. Playing a fortepiano, he won the first Rome Fortepiano International Competition - “Muzio Clementi Prize�, as well as second prize at the 27th International Competition for Early Music Yamanashi. He given fortepiano recitals in Rome, Florence and Palma, and has also performed in a concert at Wunderkammer Trieste 2013. Particularly interested in Spanish music, he gave his first fortepiano recital in Tokyo in 2014 playing works by Spanish composers of the classical period. He also plays in various ensembles and as an accompanist with singers.
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Also available on Brilliant Classics
Recording: 29 - 30 October 2014, The Fenice Studio, Rome Recording producer: Associazione Culturale THE FENICE, Antonello Amodio, Costantino Mastroprimiano Sound engineer: Pitch Audio Research - Perugia Fortepiano: built by Ugo Casiglia (copy after Walter 1795) Tuning: Ugo Casiglia Cover image: The Summer 1807, by Caspar David Friedrich p & Š 2015 Brilliant Classics 6
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