Complete Piano Sonatas Vol.4: Sonatas Op.5, 24, 43, 61

The continuation of an exciting new project: the 4th volume of the complete piano sonatas by Dussek! Dussek was born in rural Bohemia. He led a restless life, travelling Europe as a keyboard virtuoso and settling in several European capitals, notably Paris and London, where he became a fashionable pianist and teacher. His close connection to piano manufacturer Broadwood resulted in important innovations, notably keyboard extension 6 octaves. Dussek's style is rich, harmonically expressive and pianistically challenging, Classicism on the brink of Early Romanticism. The 4 sonatas on this disc all come from different periods: the earliest dates back to 1788, the threshold of the French Revolution, the last one was composed in 1807, in the midst of the turmoil of the Napoleontic Wars. The B flat major Sonata reflects Dussek's time in London, and the A major the period of his hasty departure from there.

Tuija Hakkila is one of Finland's foremost pianists. She studied in Paris with Jacques Rouvier and Claude Helffer, and in the USA with Malcom Bilson and György Sebök. Her repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the 20th century and she specializes in the playing on period instruments.