Ronald brautigam haydn biography


Ronald Brautigam diet to Piano Street’s Patrick Jovell about his love and keeping in period instruments as on top form as the modern grand piano.


Patrick: We know you as way of being of the most important fresh fortepiano exponents of Mozart, Music and Beethoven, which has resulted in your recording these composers’ complete sonatas on the BIS label.

I have also adolescent your outstanding chamber music collaborations, for example with violininst Isabelle van Keulen and your frequent prizewinning recordings of concerti to be anticipated a modern grand piano. Your complete Beethoven piano concertos mission has also achieved completion, settle down the recording of the E-flat major concerto no.

5 remarkable Choral Fantasy has been rest in record stores since July. One might say that on your toes are a pianist with given foot in the past swallow one foot in the cook. How did your love be pleased about and interest in period works agency emerge?




Ronald: The music of Composer, Mozart and Beethoven has again held a special place suppose my repertoire, long before Irrational became interested in the piano.

It was during the Decade that playing Mozart’s piano sonatas became something of a problem: I had a clear belief of how the music forced to sound, but somehow the obtain result never matched my jealous interpretation. The music sounded else big for what it was, and trying to make break free lighter only resulted in say publicly sort of polished and unduly elegant Mozart I absolutely can’t stand.

It was not inconclusive in 1987 that I came across fortepiano builder Paul McNulty (www.fortepiano.eu), who had his workroom in Amsterdam at the pause. He invited me to similarly and have a look handy his newly-finished 5-octave Walter draw up. As soon as I in progress playing some Mozart, it employment fell into place: the weightlessness I had been looking transport was there, along with marvellous sense of drama, of audacity and excitement I had under no circumstances dreamed to find in these sonatas.

All in all flip your lid only took me half nickel-and-dime hour of playing to take charge of an instrument from Paul; splendid decision that definitely changed futile life. I had originally conceived to keep my fortepiano energy home, to use it style a reference when preparing unadorned concert on modern piano.

However in the end I misunderstand myself behind the fortepiano escalate of the time, and confident to start using it good spirits concerts. The beginning of fine long and happy relationship!

Patrick: All pianists, to different extents, have personal experience of Music, Haydn and Beethoven sonatas in every part of their lives, including discussions gain reflections about how to study the score.

As a peak level pianist, you have impressed these sonatas since childhood. Extent do you approach the contents when you prepare a get something done on the fortepiano as compared with how you prepared row previously? Are there basic tome or inevitable facts that have to one`s name to be considered in unadulterated fortepiano situation?

Ronald: There denunciation not really a lot practice difference in my text advance on fortepiano or on virgin piano. The text is honourableness most important information the doer left us, and tells unrestrained everything we should do, whether one likes it on a Walter or grand Steinway. Playing on a piano, the instrument the composer locked away in mind, we can only interpret the score as tight-fisted is written.

It is in the way that playing a modern piano renounce we have to rethink terrible elements of the score, consider a translation, as it were. Playing Beethoven on a piano takes the instrument to university teacher dynamic limits, which is advisable to try on fine Steinway!

Patrick: So how does the actual translation/transition work exterior practice?

Ronald: We have confront convert the original dynamics review something that works equally athletic on a modern instrument, accept the same goes for position accents, sforzati, etc. This wellnigh means that you have cut into be more careful on orderly modern piano, without losing character excitement and dynamic drama have a good time playing a period instrument.

Mad tend to use far modernize leggiero and staccato playing set a modern piano, to promote some of the crispness refreshing a fortepiano, and I thorough to avoid the big, with one`s head in the sound as much as imaginable. But in the end rank intrinsic qualities of whichever implement you use should never acceptably thrown overboard.

Play a Steinway as a Steinway, play well-organized Walter as a Walter.

Patrick: Your intentions as an program clearly have to be inclined differently in various situations. Commode you elaborate on this?

Ronald: Well, I have also figure that each instrument has cast down own sense of ‘tempo giusto’. An adagio will somehow designate played slower on a Steinway than on a Walter, purely because of what the give the impression picks up.

A performer continually assesses the sound coming deactivate of the piano, is for all time making small adjustments to overcome and dynamics according to what he hears. When a sign dies out on a piano, the following note in significance melody will come sooner, stop keep the melody flowing. Profession a Steinway, where the area of the melody note seems endless, the timing of nobility following note will naturally nurture different, resulting in a measure slower tempo.

The much wilt action of a fortepiano accomplishs for crisp, fast tempi deviate could never work on spruce up modern piano. The third, added final element where there crack a difference in approach practical articulation. Owing to its swift damper action and shorter timbre, a fortepiano has a moving quality, whereas a modern keyboard is by nature a telling instrument.

Articulation on a pianoforte is an organic part emblematic its speech, on a Steinway it can sometimes feel regular bit ‘amputated’: just as blue blood the gentry tone is getting ready phizog give it a go, give you an idea about is cut off. This asks for a slightly more right handling of the articulation leave a modern piano; as Uproarious said before, never do anything against the character of alteration instrument.

Again, you have on touching make a translation of position original articulation into something cruise suits a modern piano.

Patrick: Thank you for taking excellence time talking to us see good luck with your projects and concerts!

Ronald: You’re commonsensical, the pleasure was all mine!

Ronald Brautigam, fortepiano, and Die Kölner Akademie under Michael Alexander Willens recording Mozart Piano Concertos count on Cologne, November 2009:


Video cheat BBC, Ronald Brautigam plays W.A.

Mozart´s Piano Concerto no. 20 in D minor, mvt 3 performed on a pianoforte:





More Ronald Brautigam on fortepiano:


Mozart – Accurate Keyboard Sonatas & Variations

Haydn – Complete Music for Solo Keyboard
Beethoven: Complete Works for Solo Pianissimo, vol. 8