Trendsetters

Trendsetters

Late in the eighteenth century the instrument known as a piano forte, forte piano or ‘square’ piano was brand new technology. At first developing in fits and starts, like the car or the telephone, the piano forte soon became a ‘must have’ for all and sundry. And composers grabbed the opportunities that the new technology offered with pieces that recognized their different qualities.

Come and see what we mean as we transition from the old to the new, from the ‘baroque’ to the ‘classical’.

Tested the waters but still old-school – Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, ‘Sonata for viola da gamba and continuo’

Maybe/maybe not – Carl Friedrich Abel, Sonata in F major from Six Sonatas for Harpsichord Op. 2 with Accompaniment for a Violin and a Violoncello (viola da gamba)

Setting the trend – Johann Christian Bach on a Zumpe, the first public performance, London, 1767.  

Compare directly his ‘Sonata for Harpsichord and viola da gamba obbligato’ with ‘Sonata for Piano forte and viola da gamba‘ from the same collection.

In the swing and recognizing a business opportunity – Ignace Pleyel, Sonata in G major for Harpsichord or Piano Forte with an accompaniment for violin.

Shaun Ng (viola da gamba), Tara Hashambhoy (violin), Diana Weston (harpsichord, piano)

Saturday May 22 at 4 pm, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman Saturday June 12 at 3 pm, Wesley Music Centre, Canberra