I was set up for false expectations.  I think. As I sit listening to a recording of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 23 in F minor, I cannot go without wondering if I was set up for false expectations. Piano recordings sound huge, and so do a lot of the orchestral recordings readily available. Many of the recordings, of Haydn, Mozart, Handel, etc., are almost explosive.

While running the usual click here and there through Youtube, I came across a strange video put out by Viviana Sofronitsky playing on “period correct” pianos built by Paul McNulty.  In the video, excerpts of five composers are played on piano copies similar to the ones used by each composer.  What a thought, most of the recordings that I would gravitate to by any of these composers would probably be played on Steinway and Sons concert grands.  I’m not saying that this is a problem or misleading, but for a bit of ignorance Mozart sounds like Mozart on a beautiful and powerful grand piano.  To hear his music on a “piano forte” doesn’t seem to sound right at all.  It almost sounds like a spinet in somebody’s living room and not anything that would have been played by Mozart in a concert hall.

Some years ago, I attended a “piano forte” concert. The instrument was tiny in comparison with today’s concert pianos. Three guys effortlessly brought it in. Then the pianist did a quick touch up to the tuning on stage, just before the concert. The stage swallowed up the little thing, as well as the sound. The same can be said of orchestral recordings.  …Sit in a Haydn orchestra as compared to a Wagner or Stravinsky orchestra, and you may find yourself asking if the rest of the musicians are staging a strike.

History tells that the creative imagination of composers such as Bach, Haydn and Beethoven were never confined to the instruments they played and composed on.  Bach composed his cantatas on a clavichord, and the thing sounds like a toy.  It is, however, fascinating to hear their music on period instruments, and it can be almost puzzling to imagine how music and music composers were held in such high regard in society.  Today we have great concert halls, modern instruments, amplified acoustics and sound effects that almost dazzle the imagination.

Before I take another vinyl for a spin, I think that I’ll consider listening to some more music played on period instruments.