Dittersdorf: Ovid Sonatas for Fortepiano, Four Hands

Tibbles, James, Tsalka, Michael

8.573740

During his lifetime, the Vienna-born Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was best known as a highly prolific composer of comic operas most exceeding Mozart in popularity. Outside of the theatre, his major project, and one of the most ambitious of the era, was to compose fifteen symphonies using the words of Ovid’s Metamorphoses as his inspiration. That the project was completed is hardly in doubt, but his publisher decided that after the first six, the whole concept was a financial risk too great to undertake, though six were performed in public in that format.
Maybe it was as an effort to rectify his monetary loss, Dittersdorf set about arranging the unpublished works for four hands at the fortepiano, in the hope that he would recoup some of his loss by the sale of sheet music. What happened therein is unclear, but three of them did appear in that format, and there is evidence that he might have arranged all fifteen for the keyboard in duo format. What is puzzling about the present issue is the description on the outer-part of the packaging that offers Three ‘Ovid’ Sonatas for Fortepiano, Four Hands, when the enclosed booklet acknowledges the fact that they are four movement symphonies. Confusion, but the works themselves are hugely enjoyable, and the fortepiano used—a copy of a Walter from 1801—made by Downe in New Zealand, packs the punchy sound the composer obviously wanted. It is played by the New Zealand historic keyboard specialist, James Tibbles, and the critically acclaimed Michael Tsalka.
Clean articulation and perfectly balanced playing adds to my unqualified commendation. • © 2017 David’s Review Corner

CD x 1

Naxos

18/08/2017

0747313374076