Kemp English, the performer on this album, was awarded a PhD for his pioneering recording work and associated historically informed Koželuch scholarship.
Interpretation
The performer, Kemp English, used original and replica instruments from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to record Leopold Koželuch's sonatas.
Recording & Production
This album is the final volume in a complete cycle of Leopold Koželuch's solo keyboard sonatas, which are world premiere recordings.
Instruments
This recording features a harpsichord by Longman and Broderip (built by Thomas Culliford) from 1785, a grand fortepiano by Joseph Kirckman from c.1798, and a grand fortepiano by Johann Fritz from c.1815.
Composer Biography
Leopold Koželuch declined Mozart's former post as court organist for the Archbishop of Salzburg in 1781, citing the Archbishop's treatment of Mozart as a deterrent.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Leopold Koželuch was a strong supporter of the fortepiano, believing the harpsichord's 'monotony and muddled sound' could not accommodate the clarity and expressiveness he demanded in music.
Composer Biography
Leopold Koželuch, a contemporary of Mozart, changed his name from Jan Antonín to avoid confusion with his older cousin, also a musician, and his Czech family name Koželuh became Koželuch to be more manageable in German.
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