Piano Sonatas

" There is a zesty blend of virtuosity and gracefulness at work here, and the music teeters intriguingly between the impulses of the Classical and Romantic periods. Nakamatsu's playing is brisk and thoughtful."
- San Francisco Chronicle

"A mature and self-possessed artist...a pianist to be reckoned with"
-Gramophone

In 18th-century Austria, pianist and composer Joseph Wölfl was admired throughout Europe and even rivaled Beethoven's fame as a keyboard virtuoso. Three hundred years later, pianist Jon Nakamatsu rediscovers four of Wölfl's unjustly neglected sonatas. The Austrian pianist and composer rubbed shoulders with the greatest musicians of his day. Here and on tour throughout Europe he established twin reputations as a composer and as a performer - a virtuoso pianist the equal of his Viennese neighbor Beethoven, with improvisational skills favorably compared to those of C.P.E. Bach. Wölfl's compositions were widely performed for 30 years after his death, and then seem to have fallen into the shadow of his more illustrious contemporary. Jon Nakamatsu, who has been performing Wölfl's sonatas in concert, brings a lively intelligence and masterful touch to these neglected works.