Fantasies & Illusions: Bach's Sons and the Fortepiano

Featuring

Slobodan Jovanović
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

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Compositional Technique

The technical complexity and density of structure in Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's Polonaises were unprecedented in his time, and even later with Haydn and Mozart.

Performer Biography

Slobodan Jovanović has performed as a continuo player with notable conductors like Reinhard Goebel and Radoslaw Szulc, and with various ensembles and orchestras across Europe.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of the composers featured, often felt constrained by commissions, preferring pieces he composed "purely for myself."

Performer Biography

Slobodan Jovanović, the performer on this album, studied harpsichord, clavichord, fortepiano, and chamber music, and is also a professional organist.

Composer Biography

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, another composer on this album, lived much of his life as a freelance musician, often in poverty and dependence, but as a free artist.

Instruments

This recording features a fortepiano built by Susanne Merzdorf in 2017, modeled after an Anton Walter instrument from 1782.

Compositional Technique

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's Polonaises, featured on this album, were considered technically too difficult and musically too demanding for the audience of his time.