Beethoven wrote the sonata about 1801. Do you think he ever played it on a Graf piano? I think he didn't own a Graf piano until the late 1820s by which time he had serious hearing difficulties. Do you happen to know which piano Beethoven was using in 1801 when the sonata was first composed? I think the sonata sounds wonderful on this magnificent replica of a Graf piano and of course, you play the sonata beautifully. Thank you for playing for us.
Thank you for your comment. This reply is from the artist herself, Mélisande McNabney. "Thank you for your nice comment! Yes you are absolutely right, Beethoven would have composed Op. 27 no.2 on his Walter 5-octave piano. As a historically informed performer, I allow for some flexibility in the stance I take. If I approach the piece from the perspective of the composer creating the work, I would play it on a Walter. This perspective is extremely interesting, but it does mean you need as many as 7 different fortepianos to play all of Beethoven's sonatas, which are not always at hand. You might even need two different pianos for one single sonata (fortepianist Tom Beghin makes an excellent point that the Hammerklavier was written on two different pianos, Streicher and Broadwood: hdl.handle.net/1813/111270) In the present performance, playing on EMV's beautiful Graf, I approached the piece from a socio-historical perspective. I imagine that I am, say, a viennese woman in her forties, and have just received a new fortepiano by Conrad Graf, perhaps bought for my daughter who is also a pianist. As I sit down at the instrument with some nostalgia, I start playing my favorite sonata, which I had learned in my youth... Did Beethoven ever play this sonata on his Graf? Maybe, maybe not, but many people in the general public must have done so at home!"
Thank you for your response. Of course, there would have been people who heard and played music on older instruments and then later on graduated to better pianos like the Graf. I'm sure there must have even been people during Beethoven's lifetime who played the Moonlight Sonata on the special double strug piano that Graf made especially for Beethoven. I've been following the resurgence of interest in period pianos for a few years and have made a point to watch videos of the first and second Warsaw competitions on period instruments. Paul McNulty's replica pianos have been an interest of mine for the last couple of decades. Until I first heard his replications I thought actual period pianos sounded the way they do becasue they were old, it didn't occur to me that they sounded like that when they were new and that their sound hadn't really changed all that much from when they were first made many generations ago. It was a revelation for me. I've developed a kind of addiction to the beautiful sound of period pianos and that includes Paul McNulty's copies. I'm so happy that EMV was able to purchase one of his special instruments. @@EarlyMusicVancouver
@mabdub, just a quick note to say that we have another new video coming out this week that features Mélisande speaking about our Graf copy by Paul McNulty. She takes us through the characteristics of the fortepiano, in comparison with harpsichord and the modern piano, and speaks about the sound of the Graf. This video will be released on Tuesday, March 12. Please do come back and let us know what you think!
