Clavicembalo o Piano-Forte

The first version of bars 161-166 in the 3rd movement of the [original title] SONATA quasi una FANTASIA per li Clavicembalo o Piano-Forte composta e dedicata alla Damigella Contessa Giulietta Guicciardi da Luigi van Beethoven Opera 27, No. 2 • published in 1802, Vienna

From today's perspective it is difficult to imagine that many of Beethoven's piano sonatas were either written for harpsichord or fortepiano. Sure, at that time many only had a harpsichord at home instead of the newly developed fortepianos. Even if Beethoven considered the fortepiano to be an authentic instrument for his sonatas, at least in order to remain faithful to society, he had to list the "harpsichord" in the title.

Indeed, the interpretation of his piano sonatas such as Grande Sonate Pathétique or Sonata quasi una fantasia - known as Moonlight Sonata - on the harpsichord makes it much more exciting in reference to the phrasings through agogics (!), without which the whole thing would only act mechanically like an automaton.

We pianists could learn enormously from the harpsichord, on which we would need to shape a phrase a lot more freely and clearly, most notably with regard to the sence of time, since just before or after or even during a phrasing there should be countless possibilities to distinguish something for each single instance of execution. Herein lies the true meaning of the tonal art.

​Today's trend is quite so far that everyone plays metrically very precisely, technically anyway, but hardly individually in the art of phrasing. A bit hyperbolic, but everyone and his dog is something like an exemplary bureaucrat of the notation. We have to learn more to deal with the musical time and to be courageous to draw the most expressive rubati from our own perceived timing.

One other thing.. I have to honestly confess to both today's harpsichord players and pianists that I've been missing lately that you guys are playing Johann Sebastian Bach in a more imaginative and inspired way. Everything sounds even, but nothing more than that. Where has the artistic freedom gone? (No wonder that the robot and similar stuff shall give concerts soon. Do we really appreciate that?)
​