Wednesday, 9 April 2008, 7.45pm
Fortepiano recital at Letchworth Music Club
Howgills, 42 South View, Letchworth
CPE Bach & All That Followed…
Recital by Sharona Joshua Schantz fortepiano
I heard Sharona play this programme in the intimate concert venue of Howgills, which ideally suited the quiet volume of the Schantz fortepiano. Listening to works for early piano requires a lot of practice, but for those, like me, who prefer pre Romantic music played on period instruments, true period performance is a rare delight, even allowing for the discontinuities engendered by inherently low sustainability in experimental compositions by CPE Bach. I found the performance of the early Beethoven sonata absolutely fascinating; to hear his music, written for fortepiano, probably the very Schantz he owned, without dicontinuity but even less notes, and the power reserved for posthumous performance, told us so much about the genius of that composer and why his music transcends all styles and invention. Bravo Sharona…encore.
David Erdman
