Ronald Brautigam is one of the world's leading players of historical pianos: hearing him play on a vintage instrument or replica is an enlightening experience, bringing out aspects of the music that pass one by when it is performed on modern pianos.
DK: We loved seeing you perform Beethoven at last year’s BRQ Vantaa Festival on a replica of a Conrad Graf [a fortepiano owned by Beethoven himself]. Can you tell us about the experience of playing on that instrument?
RB: More than a year later, I only remember that it was a lovely instrument in a wonderful setting. I have played many other Grafs since then, and they remain amongst my most favourite Viennese fortepianos. As for Vantaa, there is nothing to beat playing a historical piano in a great sounding church: the extra acoustic really helps the sound of the piano.
What started your interest in performing/recording on historical pianos?
In the 1980s, having experienced Rudolf Serkin's inspirational teaching, I wanted to delve as deep as possible into the music of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, so apart from studying autographs and early editions I became fascinated by their sound world, what did they hear and feel when they played their pianos. I accidentally met fortepiano maker Paul McNulty, who at that time lived and worked in Amsterdam, my home town, and played one of his pianos. It was love at first sight (hearing?), and the rest is history.
How much of your technique has been learned from teachers, and how much have you developed by your own study?
I owe my modern piano technique largely to my old teacher at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Jan Wijn and to this day, I am greatly indebted to him.
As soon as I had my first fortepiano, a 5-octave Walter copy by Paul McNulty, I realised that modern piano technique wouldn't do on such an instrument. But then I hadn't bought the instrument to use for concerts: I only wanted a “reference” instrument sitting next to my modern piano in order to understand the music better.
However, after two years of discovering how to get the best result out of my little Walter, there was no way back: I'd fallen completely in love with the fortepiano and decided to play Mozart's sonatas and at a later stage to record them. And after Mozart came Haydn. And after Haydn came Beethoven...
But to come back to your question: I taught myself the different fortepiano technique through trial and error.
You've recorded music on a variety of replica instruments by Paul: tell us about him...
As previous answers show, Paul has been a key factor in my fortepiano career. From our first meeting on, we became very good friends and I loved sitting in his workshop with a beer watching him build a piano from scratch. And just as in Beethoven's time when builders went out of their way to accommodate him, Paul has been involved in the BIS recordings from the very beginning, bringing pianos which he thought would be perfect for the music to be recorded. Mozart and Haydn was rather simple: the perfect music for his Walters. But when it was Beethoven's turn, Paul decided that he also wanted to be involved with the later compositions and built his first Graf copy.
Do you have a favourite instrument?
My very favourite fortepiano is still the 5-octave Walter. There is nothing to beat its crispness, transparency and sparkle when playing late 18th-century music.
The 5-octave Walter is at the end of a exciting development from harpsichord to fortepiano, a perfect instrument in itself. And the sheer physical pleasure of playing these tiny light keys... there is nothing in the world to beat that feeling.
Your acclaimed Beethoven concerto recordings for BIS are on a modern instrument. Tell us about that choice.