Beethoven: The Early Piano Variations

- Ronald Brautigam's recording with six sets or Mozart Variations (GLO 5087) Was one of the best-sellers from the Globe catalogue In 1992. There was also unanimous praise from critics all over the world for this CD, and tbe artist was highly praised for his very natural approach to tbe music as well as to the fortepiano.

- This recording with no less than 8 great Variation cycles by the young Beethoven, is in all respects a worthy successor to tbe earlier CD. For these performances we once more used a copy (by Paul McNulty) of an original Viennese fortepiano by Anton Walter, this time however from 1795, also precisely the sort of instrument that Beethoven himself had at his disposal when he came to live in Vienna in 1792. For this instrument he wrote all of these Variations and with them he established his reputation as pianist and composer.

- There is no other recording completely devoted to these relatively 'early' works by Beetboven in the current CD catalogue, so there is absolutely no competition. But even if there were, these performances would without any doubt come out as winner!

Ronald Brautigam was born In Amsterdam In 1954. He studied at the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatory, the Royal Academy of Music in London and with Rudolf Serkin In the USA. In 1979 he won the Ellsabeth Everts Prize for highly talented young Dutch artists, and four years later he was awarded the official Netherlands Music Prlze. Ronald Brautigam performed with all the leading Dutch orchestras, the Royal Coneertgebouw Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philbarmonic Orchestra among them, with such conductors as Riccardo Chailly, Sergiu Commisssiona, Charles Dutoit, Bernard Haitink, Ferdinand Leitner, and Simon Rattle. He also regularly performs in recital. Ronald Brautigam appeared in England, France, Germnny, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia and Switzerland. In October 1984 he made his very successful debut In tbe USA with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto In A Major, K 488. In 1988 be played for the first time in Japan, with orchestras in Osaka, Sapporo and Nagoya. With the Royal Conccrtgebouw Orchestra and Frans Brüggen as conductor, he played Mozart in Salzburg in December 1991. Ronald Brautigam is Professor of piano at the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatory.