The strong desire for knowledge and musical honesty sends musicians to the fortepiano—looking back to impact how to move forward. This book uncovers and examines eighteenth-century philosophical beliefs and fundamental principles surrounding Classical Era performance practices, c. 1750–1800. Affekt and “good taste,” the foundation on which the style is based, set the tone throughout the book. The Viennese five-octave fortepiano is introduced and compared to the modern piano. Eighteenth-century music notational language is examined and explained, as well as compared and contrasted to modern und ... More

The strong desire for knowledge and musical honesty sends musicians to the fortepiano—looking back to impact how to move forward. This book uncovers and examines eighteenth-century philosophical beliefs and fundamental principles surrounding Classical Era performance practices, c. 1750–1800. Affekt and “good taste,” the foundation on which the style is based, set the tone throughout the book. The Viennese five-octave fortepiano is introduced and compared to the modern piano. Eighteenth-century music notational language is examined and explained, as well as compared and contrasted to modern understanding. Tools (rather than rules) are revealed to get at the heart of an eighteenth-century sound aesthetic. These relevant tools make comprehensible what may have been baffling: application to modern playing. This book provides synthesis of primary sources and scholarly interpretations of eighteenth-century performance practice; specific answers to performance questions regarding period influences on the modern piano, including technique, dynamics, articulation, rhythm, ornamentation, and pedaling; and sample model lessons to demonstrate application of the style on the modern piano. Over a hundred music examples are presented to illustrate concepts. Each music example has been recorded and is presented in three instructive versions: (a) an uninfluenced modern interpretation on a Steinway M piano, (b) an influenced rendition on a 1978 Belt-Walter fortepiano replica of a c. 1780s five-octave Anton Walter fortepiano, and (c) a reconciled version demonstrating how the book influences delivery on the modern piano. The goal is to afford modern performers the freedom to craft an authentic, personal, historically informed performance style.