Complete Piano Sonatas Vol.5: Sonatas Op.18 & 45

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 new instalment contains the early Piano Sonata Op. 18 No. 2 and the three Sonatas Op. 45, substantial works of a successful and mature composer. Played by Wolfgang Brunner, a veteran in the Early Music movement. A student of Glen Wilson and Nikolaus Harnoncourt he won First Prize in the Hamburg CPE Bach Competition. He is the founder and leader of Salzburger Hofmusik, playing on period instruments. On this recording he plays an historic 1804 Broadwood piano.