Dussek: Sonatas, Op. 39 & Op.25 No.2 Piet Kuijken

• Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812): Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 25 C.127:
• 1 I. Adagio maestoso - Presto 06:04
• 2 II. Larghetto 02:39
• 3 III. Rondo. Allegremente 03:29
• Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 39 C.166:
• 4 I. Allegro 07:32
• 5 II. Andantino ma moderato e con espressione -Allegro ma non troppo 05:53
• Sonata No. 2 in C Major, Op. 39 C.167:
• 6 I. Allegro moderato 07:39
• 7 II. Andantino quasi larghetto 02:27
• 8 III. Rondo. Allegretto 03:54
• Sonata No. 3 in B-Flat Major, Op. 39 C.168:
• 9 I. Allegro con spirit 07:37
• 10 II. Rondo. Andante sostenuto cantabile 07:16
• Total Runtime 54:30

Info for Dussek: Sonatas, Op. 39 & Op.25 No.2

These sonatas date from a high-point in the career of the Czech-born Jan Ladislaus Dussek (1760-1812), at a time when he was established in London as a sought-after performer and fashionable piano teacher. His partnership with the instrument-maker John Broadwood resulted in significant technical developments to the fortepiano which would be imitated abroad and capitalised upon in Vienna by Beethoven, notably the extra power and larger range.

The Sonata Op.25 No.2 in D has become famous under the name ‘La Matinée’: a subtitle which conveys the lively spirit of the sonata and its irresistible sense of good cheer even in the lyric simplicity of the third-movement Larghetto. The three Op.39sonatas are more elaborate in conception and design without forsaking the earlier work’s transparency and grace. The first movements of Op.39 abound in brilliant figuration which evidently played to the composer’s strengths as a performer, but they are strongly rooted in a sonata-form structure which contrasts a pressing and vivacious first theme with the more tripping, light-hearted character of the second. The concluding Rondos tend to be the highlight, alternating some surprisingly passionate and even stormy episodes with the kind of unpretentious folk-like theme that Schubert would go on to perfect.

This is the second in a projected eight-album series to be published by Brilliant Classics, surveying the complete keyboard sonatas of Dussek. The series was launched in fine style by the Dutch fortepianist Bart van Oort (BC95599), and it is attracting much critical attention which this addition to the series is sure to share. Piet Kuijken contributes valuable booklet notes; born in 1972, the fortepianist has been professor of piano and fortepiano at the Royal onservatoire in Brussels since 2002 and is a guest professor for the fortepiano at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp.

The continuation of an exciting new project: the recording of the complete piano sonatas by Dussek!

Johann Ladislaus Dussek (1760-1812) was born in rural Bohemia. He led a restless life, travelling Europe as a keyboard virtuoso and settling in several European capitals, notably Paris and London, where he became a fashionable pianist and teacher. His close connection to piano manufacturer Broadwood resulted in important innovations, notably the extension of the keyboard to 6 octaves. Dussek’s style is rich, harmonically expressive and pianistically challenging, Classicism on the brink of Early Romanticism.

This second issue features the Sonatas Op. 25 No. 2 and the three Sonatas Op. 39 Nos. 1-2-3, written in Dussek’s London period from 1789 till 1799, inspired by the new and rich possibilities of the English pianos of the time.

Belgian fortepianist Piet Kuijken has a busy solo and chamber music career, he is much in demand as lecturer and teacher, and he is Professor of piano and fortepiano at the Brussels Conservatory. His recordings have been awarded a Diapason d’Or and a Choc de la Monde de Musique.

Piet Kuijken, fortepiano

Piet Kuijken
is a student of Jan Vermeulen; he studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels under Jan Michiels, Arie van Lysebeth and André De Groote. He graduated with the highest honours from the piano and chamber music classes. In 1994, he received the CERA ‘Youth and Music' award, beginning an eminent career.

Having received a BAEF scholarship, he continued his studies at the University of Indiana with Menahem Pressler, pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio (2000/01). He obtained a diploma at this university, and has participated in numerous masterclasses, including with Leonard Hokanson, Edward Auer, Victor Rosenbaum, Paul Crossley, and Jean-Philippe Collard. He has cooperated with the renowned New Music Ensemble, and won the Schumann Concerto Competition.

He has appeared at solo recitals, played with chamber ensembles and orchestras under the baton of conductors such as Avim Ostrovski, Zeeve Dorman, Robert Groslot, Norbet Nozy, Etienne Siebens, Silveer van den Broeck, Robert Casteels and Wieland Kuijken. He has performed in many European countries, as well as Japan and the United States. His wide repertoire spans from the Baroque to modern music; he performs on the harpsichord, pianos of various historical periods, and on modern instruments. He has participated in the Flanders Music Festival, the Chopin festivals of Ghent and Mariánské Lázně (Czech Republic), Ars Musica, De Nacht van Radio 3, Juventus, Fêtes Musicales de Savoie, Musicales Internationales Guil-Durance, Bach en Bauges, Bach en Combrailles, Berliner Tage für Alte Musik, Musica Antica in Magnano, and Organi Antichi in Bologna.

Since 1988, he has been linked with the Prometheus Ensemble, and has appeared in duos with pianist Bart Meynckens, clarinettist Henk Soen, cellist Karel Steylaerts, and his father Wieland Kuijken. He has also on numerous occasions played with the Oxalys, Ictus and Ensor ensembles, as well as Anne Cambier, Olga Pasiecznik, soloists of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, and the Cinque Venti ensemble.

His discography includes works by Luc van Hove which he recorded with the Prometheus Ensemble (René Gailly), the chamber works of Debussy recorded with the Kuijken family for the Arcana label (this CD was awarded the Prix Choc 2000 from Le Monde de la Musique magazine), as well as the complete viola da gamba sonatas of Johann Sebastian Bach (with Wieland Kuijken). With Karel Steylaerts, he recorded the complete cello and piano works of Joseph Jongen for the Phaedra label (In Flanders Fields).

Piet Kuijken is a lecturer at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels and the Music Academy in Anderlecht.

Booklet for Dussek: Sonatas, Op. 39 & Op.25 No.2