| About
This CD
The works presented
here were composed between 1783 (the probably date for
KV 332) and 1789 (KV 570). The invention of the pianoforte
by Bartolomeo Cristofori had already taken place some
decades before (1698), yet the triumphant advance of
the "fortepiano" only started during the second
half of the 18th century. The idea of a total recording
of Mozart's work for solo clavier on a fortepiano, which
was the starting point for this recording, therefore
produced two different results: it brings us closer
to the instrument which was responsible for clear stylistic
turning points in the composition for keyboard instruments
during the 18th century and therefore places a pendant
in dialogue form at the side of the recordings of Mozart's
clavier works on the modern concert grand piano, which
recordings have proliferated in the meantime.
Richard Fuller
continues his Mozart cycle on a 1795 fortepiano replica,
the piano of Mozart's time, with his graceful articulation
complemented by the instrument's rich tonal colour.
"The performances
are light, touching, unaffected, as on the first movement
of K330, a sonata that many students have played. Fuller
follows its naturally joyous flow, never exaggerating
expressive devices, while showing some flexibility of
tone and tempo." - Fanfare Magazine, May/June
2002.
Richard Fuller
was born in Washington State (USA), studied piano and
musicology at Central Washington University and the
University of Oregon. He studied harpsichord and fortepiano
in San Francisco and Vienna. The emphasis of his artistic
work lies in the interpretation of the piano, chamber
music and the Lied repertoire of the Viennese Classical
and early Romantic periods, performed on the fortepiano
and clavichord.
Richard Fuller
is one of the few who has sought to address himself
exclusively to the interpretive potential of the fortepiano
- the sensitivity and delicacy of an earlier keyboard
culture - and who succeeds in convincingly projecting
these qualities to the listener. His artistic work has
provided a decisive impulse to the Fortepiano revival
in Germany and Austria.
Since 1982, his concert appearances have led him to
the musical centers of North America and Europe where
he appears as soloist, accompanist and member of various
chamber music ensembles. In addition he has collaborated
with James Levine (and the Vienna Philharmonic), Emma
Kirkby, Andrew Manze, Klaus Mertens, Claus Ocker, Festetics
String Quartet (Budapest), Vienna Academy Orchestra,
Musica Aeterna Bratislava, and the Vienna Fortepiano
Trio.
Live concerts
in radio and television, film, broadcast productions
for German Radio (Cologne), North German Radio (Hamburg),
Austrian National Radio, BBC and the Hungarian National
Radio as well as numerous CD recordings document the
artist's versatile achievements.
He was honoured
in 2002 by the University of Oregon School of Music
as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.
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