Concert Information:

In 1817, when Beethoven was 47 years old and considered the greatest living composer of the time, a group of former students and colleagues then living and working London commissioned a piano from the illustrious firm of John Broadwood and Sons.

They signed and packed up the instrument for delivery to the composer's residence in Vienna. After two months on the road the piano arrived safely and barely out of tune.

Beethoven was overjoyed by the gift. Becoming increasingly deaf, he was frustrated by the weaker Viennese instruments. A now-famous account by one of his visitors describes broken hammers and strings in the composer's piano, as he thrashed at it trying to play louder.

The new Broadwood was a revelation. It provided new functionality, with its clever pedal mechanism and powerful but refined action. John Broadwood's grand pianos had a revolutionary design, larger size and a strong personality that gave Beethoven renewed energy in his compositions for the instrument. From this historic relationship, he developed a style of solo writing that changed the way it was done forever.

Susan Adams commemorates this moment in musical history with a rare performance on her restored Broadwood from 1809, virtually identical to the one which inspired Beethoven. The instrument is 200 years old this year!

The piano was is very poor condition after being stored in a London attic unplayed, its soft wool and leather parts eaten by moths, the exterior filthy with generations of soot. The restoration took nearly a year to complete and required major surgery. The soundboard, which is the heart of the instrument, was removed and repaired. The bottom was taken out, the case re-joined, the strings replaced and the action renewed with leather and cloth.

After two years of playing-in and constant adjustment, the piano is being presented in public only for the second time, after an inaugural recital in 2008.

Pianist Adams comments: "You don't just start it up again right out of the crate. There is a long period when all the string tension must be taken up by the frame.  The action, which is quite simple, but not really adjustable like a modern piano's, has to be played. It's a long project. The whole thing wakes up quite slowly. Besides that, the player has to find the instrument's voice--how it will react to certain ideas in the music. The player must show the listener what the instrument can do."

The programme will focus on the music which Beethoven wrote in the period around when he received the piano, notable for it new effects and whirling imagery. Included is a piece by Haydn, who lived in London at the time the piano was made.

Tickets are $20 at the door.  The concert is not recommended for children under 12.

Programme:

Sonata in D H:XVI:51 Andante; Finale-Presto 
by Franz Joseph Haydn

Sonata in G Op. 31 #1 Allegro Vivace; Adagio grazioso; Rondo Allegretto  by Ludwig van Beethoven

Eight Variations on a Romance by Andre Grétry by Ludwig van Beethoven

Sonata in D minor Op. 31 # 2 (The Tempest) Largo-Allegro; Adagio; Allegretto by Ludwig van Beethoven