September 22, 2021
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Mozart's Augsburg Fortepiano Experience Revisited
Mozart: Solo Keyboard Works
Keiko Shichijo, piano
Bridge 9570
Total Time: 76:24
Recording: ****/****
Performance: ****/****Musicologists love to speculate about what music sounded like in former eras. In the Classical Period, in particular historians are given a variety of details about what courts had what instruments and the possible performance practices that may have occurred there. It is also hard to realize that this could be quite regional which lends a whole other dimension to rediscovering many familiar works. Mozart’s keyboard music is an endless source of speculation in this regard as artists gain access to the different keyboards developing into the modern piano. The instruments themselves often have quite distinct characters and sounds which can lead to endless variety as different performers apply their own interpretive skills and techniques to these repertoire pieces. They do allow us to hear them with new ears and often this can be quite striking.
For this recording, Keiko Shichijo is performing on a Stein fortepiano ca. 1802 (restored by Sietse Kok). Mozartean’s may recall that Mozart met Johann Andreas Stein (1728-1792) in 1777 while in Augsburg. Stein’s new piano had an improved action that allowed the hammer to move rapidly to the string allowing for a lighter action translating into a performer’s opportunity to create more subtle performances. It also made rapid passagework a bit easier. All told, it allowed for a quite different experience from a traditional harpsichord, though admittedly the instrument does have moments where that ancestor can be discerned in its sound still. The middle register has the most “piano-like” quality. The restored keyboard here does allow for a crisper sound and one can also hear how one can also shape and add more emotional flexibility in playing. There is a nice resonant quality to the instrument as well. Other period pedagogical approaches have also been explored for this performance which makes it a fascinating listen.
This new collection of Mozart’s keyboard music brings two shorter works and three full sonatas that allow for a blend of technical finesse and poise as well as interpretive flexibility. The opening Fantasia in d, K. 397 allows for an easing into the sound of the fortepiano that Shichijo is using and that helps set the stage for the rest of the program. The substantial Rondo in a K. 511 also provides an interesting piece to add some flair. The Sonata in D, K. 311 allows for an “Allegro con spirito” that can move along at a nice clip and there is some rather striking passage work here that helps elevate the performance. Shichiko’s shaping of phrase and her ability to bring out the accented left-hand material is quite impressive. Slow movements also have a nice flow and subtle beauty that reaches that sublime quality which is a hallmark of Mozart’s music. The Sonata in G, K. 283 and Sonata in a, K.310 provide some additional opportunities to hear some of the interesting ways rhythmic vitality can be achieved on this particular instrument.
Bridge’s production matches the excellent performances here as well. The accompanying booklet focuses more on the instrument and less on the overall structure of the music to help provide some historical context for Shichijo’s approach. The performance space captures the sound well with just a touch of room ambience to warm the sound a bit. The crystalline quality of the instrument does come through well and the repertoire allows ample moments to show off the unique qualities of the instrument itself. The instrument adds its own character as a result which will likely delight fans of period performance while giving an interesting alternative sound for the more familiar of these sonatas.