Especially in his late sonatas, Leopold Kozeluch's keyboard music belongs no less to the quickly evolving cultural landscape of late 18th- and early 19th-century Vienna than the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. It can even at times be hard to tell which composer influenced whom; Kozeluch is his own man, not gifted in the final analysis with Beethoven's feeling for dramatic expression, Mozart's subtlety of formal innovation or Schubert's melodic inspiration, but sharing a portion of these qualities while bringing to the table something of his own, not least a mood of deceptive simplicity which belongs to the world of his native Bohemia. Kozeluch (1747-1818) seems to have worked with uncommon ease and fluidity, in command of all the technical possibilities of his instrument, writing in the popular galant style and testing both performer and instrument with moto perpetuo passagework, double trills, sudden contrasts and, in the minor-key sonatas, a brooding chromaticism that belongs to the most powerful expressions of Sturm und Drang. In the hands of Kozeluch, as in those of all fine composers, they produce a musical whole that seems far greater than the sum of it's parts; and, as in the creations of all geniuses, there is a profundity that cannot be explained merely by description of the processes at work. Jenny Soonjin Kim is a specialist in performances of Classical-era repertoire on instruments of the period. For this recording she performs on a modern copy of an Anton Walter fortepiano from Vienna in 1795.

Tracklist:

Piano Sonata No. 34 In E-Flat Major, Op. 38 No. 1: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 34 In E-Flat Major, Op. 38 No. 1: II. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 34 In E-Flat Major, Op. 38 No. 1: III. Rondeau
Piano Sonata No. 35 In C Major, Op. 38 No. 2: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 35 In C Major, Op. 38 No. 2: II. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 35 In C Major, Op. 38 No. 2: III. Rondeau. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 36 In F Minor, Op. 38 No. 3: I. Largo-Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 36 In F Minor, Op. 38 No. 3: II. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 37 In G Major: I. Moderato
Piano Sonata No. 37 In G Major: II. Menuetto
Piano Sonata No. 37 In G Major: III. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 38 In E-Flat Major, Op. 51 No. 1: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 38 In E-Flat Major, Op. 51 No. 1: II. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 38 In E-Flat Major, Op. 51 No. 1: III. Rondeau. Vivace
Piano Sonata No. 39 In C Minor/Major, Op. 51 No. 2: I. Largo
Piano Sonata No. 39 In C Minor/Major, Op. 51 No. 2: II. Allegro Molto
Piano Sonata No. 39 In C Minor/Major, Op. 51 No. 2: III. Rondeau. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 40 In D Minor, Op. 51 No. 3: I. Largo-Allegro Molto E Agitato
Piano Sonata No. 40 In D Minor, Op. 51 No. 3: II. Rondeau. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 41 In G Major, Op. 53 No. 1: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 41 In G Major, Op. 53 No. 1: II. Andante Espressivo
Piano Sonata No. 41 In G Major, Op. 53 No. 1: III. Rondo. Allegretto
Piana Sonata No. 42 In F Major, Op. 53 No. 2: I. Poco Adagio. Allegro Molto
Piana Sonata No. 42 In F Major, Op. 53 No. 2: II. Rondeau. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 43 In E-Flat Major, Op. 53 No. 3: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 43 In E-Flat Major, Op. 53 No. 3: II. Rondeau. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 44 In F Major: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 44 In F Major: II. Andante Espressivo
Piano Sonata No. 44 In F Major: III. Finale. Presto
Piano Sonata No. 45 In A Major: I. Arietta Con Variazioni. Andante
Piano Sonata No. 45 In A Major: II. Menuetto. Vivace
Piano Sonata No. 45 In A Major: III. Rondeau. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 46 In C Major: I. Arietta Con Variazioni. Andantino
Piano Sonata No. 46 In C Major: II. Allegro Ma Non Tanto
Piano Sonata No. 47 In E-Flat Major: I. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 47 In E-Flat Major: II. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 48 In B-Flat Major: I. Adagio Maestoso
Piano Sonata No. 48 In B-Flat Major: II. Allegro Molto
Piano Sonata No. 48 In B-Flat Major: III. Rondeau. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 49 In A Major: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 49 In A Major: II. Andante Sostenuto
Piano Sonata No. 49 In A Major: III. Rondeau. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 50 In E Minor: I. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 50 In E Minor: II. Allegro Molto Con Fuoco
Piano Sonata No. 50 In E Minor: III. Larghetto-Rondo. Presto

UPC: 5028421959801
Label: Brilliant Classics
Release Date: 9.18.20
Format: CD

Kozeluch / Kim - Complete Keyboard Sonatas 4 (CD)