Persichetti: Harpsichord Sonatas Nos. 1, 3, 5, 8 & 9

Featuring

Christopher D. Lewis
Vincent Persichetti

Did you know?

1/7

Composer Biography

Vincent Persichetti, an American composer, teacher, and pianist, was born in Philadelphia to an Italian father and German mother.

Performer Biography

Christopher D. Lewis, a Naxos recording artist, is a contemporary harpsichordist who moved to North America in 2005 to study the instrument.

Recording & Production

This recording was made possible by a grant from the Thomas J. and Gerd Perkins Foundation and was recorded in March 2016 at the Belvedere Estate.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Persichetti's compositions cover a wide range of styles, from diatonic simplicity to complex contrapuntal atonality, often combining divergent materials.

Instruments

The Pleyel harpsichord, developed with virtuoso Wanda Landowska, was a new design with a heavy case, cast-iron frame, and a deep 16-foot register, making it a "plucked piano."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Vincent Persichetti described his music as often going 'from gracious to gritty' and 'always enigmatic,' sometimes incorporating serial techniques.

Instruments

The album features two harpsichords: a 1930s Pleyel harpsichord from the Eaton Auditorium in Toronto and a 1997 Flemish double harpsichord by Kevin Fryer.