From Muffat to Beethoven: Richard Egarr and Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya

Duo Pleyel

Richard Egarr and Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya are both harpsichordists and pianists. The Pleyel was Frédéric Chopin's preferred instrument, and is closely linked to the sound world of the Paris salon and domestic music-making. Over the last four years Duo Pleyel has been performing and recording Carl Czerny's four-hand arrangements of the Beethoven symphonies: repertoire Egarr knows from the podium, here brought to the piano.

From Muffat to Beethoven

The first half features solo harpsichord works by Muffat and Handel, followed by two movements for four-hand harpsichord, one by J.C. Bach and one by Mozart. A selection of dances from the Suite in G minor opens the programme, drawn from Gottlieb Muffat's Componimenti Musicali (1739): a collection of harpsichord suites notable for their density of ornament and French-influenced style. Handel's Suite in E major (HWV 430), which includes the Air and Variations (the Harmonious Blacksmith), is one of the most widely recognised pieces in the harpsichord repertoire, but almost never programmed in concert. The second half features the Pleyel piano for Czerny's four-hand arrangement of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony.