A native of Bohemia, Leopold Koželuch made his name in Vienna, a thriving musical centre dubbed ‘the land of the Clavier’ by Mozart. The sonatas in this volume all appeared in 1784, meeting the challenge of Mozart’s popularity head-on. Koželuch was singularly adept at producing what was considered the ideal fortepiano sonata of the time, his high reputation making him an influential supporter of a new instrument capable of accommodating ‘the clarity, the delicacy, the light and shade he demanded in music’.

This recording was made on a period instrument: Fortepiano by Thomas and Barbara Wolf (USA), after Anton Walter (c. 1795)