The
Dussek family – like the Benda family – has a long history
as professional musicians, stretching from Jan’s grandfather
until the 1970s. Jan’s mother was an harpist and this explains
why he wrote so much music for that instrument. He commenced
his studies in Bohemia, then moved to the Netherlands and
Germany, where he may have studied with CPE Bach. For
a time he lived in St Petersburg where he was a favourite
of Catherine the Great. He subsequently was music
director for Prince Antoni Radziwill in Lithuania and travelled
as a virtuoso on both piano and glass harmonica. In France
he was favoured by Marie Antoinette and on the outbreak
of revolution he escaped to London with the wife of composer
Jean–Baptiste Krumpholtz, who was an harpsit, and he drowned
himself in the Seine. Dussek continued his career as a
virtuoso in the English capital, where he received praise
from Haydn, and set up a publishing form with Domenico
Corri which went bankrupt and Dussek dumped Madame Krumpholtz
in favour of Corri's young daughter, Sophia, whom he married.
Amongst other things, Sophia Dussek was an harpist! After
the bankruptcy Dussek retruend to Germany, leaving his
family behind and his father-in-law in a debtor's jail.
Returning
to the concert platform it is said that Dussek was the
first pianist to turn the piano sideways on the stage "so
that the ladies could admire his handsome profile." He
returned to Paris, in 1807, in the employ of Talleyrand,
who was widely regarded as one of the most versatile
and influential diplomats in European history. Dussek
spent the remainder of his life performing, teaching
and composing. His personal beauty fading and becaming
grossly fat, eventually being unable to reach the piano
keyboard, he developed a fondness for strong drink which
hastened his death.
He
wrote 34
Piano Sonatas, a number of
Piano Concertos and
Violin
Sonatas. He loved picturesque titles and his sonata
for piano, violin, cello and percussion is called
The
Naval Battle and Total Defeat of the Dutch by Admiral
Duncan (1797). A strange title indeed and the work
is also one of the very rare examples of pre–20th century
chamber music to include percussion.
The huge four
movement
Sonata in F minor,
L’Invocation,
is Dussek’s final
Piano Sonata. It is a bold and
imposing statement, full of virtuoso writing for the keyboard
and the language is dramatic and, quite often, forceful,
but the end is quite and subdued. This Sonata points the
way into the romantic era, still some twenty years hence,
and it sounds remarkably modern because of its strength
and construction.
The three
Sonatas from
opus 9 are simpler pieces – the first and last in only
two movements and the middle one in three. The second
Sonata has
an hair–raising barnstorming finale which never lets go,
once it’s grabbed you by the throat! In his most informative
notes in the booklet - although I wish he wouldn’t use
the word
namely so often - Lorenz Luyken gives the
history of these sonatas and their publication in Paris,
during Dussek’s first sojourn there, and the change of
instrument from clavecin to fortepiano. It’s a fascinating
essay and an interesting story in its own right. Whichever
instrument they were written for they work perfectly well
on a modern concert grand.
Markus Becker
gives strong and very musical performances of all these
works. His use of light and shade is most impressive, colouring
the music and aiding the romantic outlook of the music.
He makes no concessions for the earlier Sonatas, treating
them with the same virtuoso approach as the later work – surely
they cannot ever have been given this way in the French
parlours of the late 18
th century! But his approach
suits the music for it is bold and forthright.
The recording
is bright with the piano well forward and the cover of
the booklet displays François Boucher’s
Landscape Near
Beauvais (1740). This is music well worth investigating
and if Dussek is the missing link between the classical
and romantic periods we should be looking at him more closely.
This disk is a good step in that direction.
Bob Briggs
Markus Becker (piano) 
