For many classical music lovers, historical pianos are relegated to museums and the pages of history books. However, for Moscow-born pianist Dmitry Ablogin, performing on historically accurate instruments has fostered a deeper connection with both composers and the instrument makers who contributed to the evolution of music.
Ablogin will make his Canadian debut on March 29 at the Vancouver Playhouse, in a performance presented by the Vancouver Chopin Society and Early Music Vancouver. He will play a Conrad Graf fortepiano, crafted by master builder Paul McNulty, reflecting the instruments used by composers and performers in the 19th century.
“The year is 1819, a time marking the end of the Classical era—the so-called Viennese Classical period, during which Beethoven composed his final works for piano—and the beginning of the Romantic period, with Mendelssohn’s early piano pieces,” Ablogin explains during a Zoom interview. “The program includes works from other significant composers of the time, like Hummel and Field, who were no longer young, and whose music embodies a transition from classical to Romantic. I knew I would be playing on this particular Graf, and I crafted the program around the instrument and the era.”
Ablogin’s repertoire includes Beethoven’s Six Bagatelles, Mendelssohn’s Sonata in E Major, Hummel’s Sonata in F-sharp Minor, and nocturnes by John Field. Rather than merely emphasizing the historical aspect of the works, Ablogin aims to capture the energy of the period’s rapid artistic evolution, where classical music gave way to Romanticism.
“It’s a common misconception that composers of this era were isolated geniuses,” Ablogin says. “In reality, they were interconnected. Hummel was friends with Beethoven and taught Mendelssohn. Chopin admired Field and played his works often. I find it fascinating to explore these connections and see how they influenced one another.”
This network of connections continues to influence musicians today, with Ablogin being a prime example. After graduating from the Gnessin Academy in Moscow and the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, he has devoted his career to studying fortepianos and historically informed performances. Ablogin won the inaugural International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments and became a professor of fortepiano at the Cologne University of Music and Dance in October. His latest album, Frédéric Chopin: Last Works, was recorded on a historical Pleyel fortepiano, the instrument Chopin used in his final years.
“Although I also perform on modern pianos, I find that switching between different models highlights how distinct they are,” Ablogin admits. “In the past, composers like Mendelssohn experimented with the design of the piano—changes in the number of keys, the shape of the body, the number of pedals, the action, and even the size of the keys—all these elements were radically different back then.”
Commissioned by Early Music Vancouver for its 50th anniversary, the fortepiano Ablogin will use is based on Austrian-German maker Conrad Graf’s design, originally crafted for Beethoven. With a 6.5-octave range, it offers more than the previous 5-octave instruments and showcases Beethoven’s demands as a composer, along with Graf’s innovative craftsmanship. Ablogin’s performance also highlights the often-overlooked relationship between composers and piano makers, such as the German piano maker and composer Nannette Streicher.
“For women at the time, it was exceptionally difficult to achieve such a position,” Ablogin acknowledges. “Streicher, who played for Mozart at the age of eight, founded her own piano-making workshop and became a close friend of Beethoven. Her son, Johann Baptist Streicher, also made significant contributions to piano-making and collaborated with the next generation of composers, including Chopin’s favorite student, Friederike Müller.”
A pre-concert chat will offer the audience an opportunity to dive deeper into the historical context of the repertoire. Ablogin encourages listeners to approach the performance with a historical perspective.
“We perform a lot of music written for instruments very different from the modern piano,” Ablogin reflects. “When played on modern instruments, it can sometimes sound a bit like a museum piece. For me, performing on historical instruments, especially ones that are well-suited to the music they were designed for, is like bringing the music back to life.”
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