Seattle Chamber Orchestra presents "Mozart and the Fortepiano"

• Tamara Friedman, fortepiano
• Lorenzo Marasso, fortepiano & conductor

A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th Century. Most typically, however, it is used to refer to the mid-18th to early-19th Century Viennese instruments, for which composers of the Classical era, especially Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, wrote their piano music.

Starting in Beethoven's time, the fortepiano began a period of steady evolution, culminating in the late 19th Century with the modern grand. The earlier fortepiano became obsolete and was absent from the musical scene for many decades. In the later 20th Century, the fortepiano was revived, following the rise of interest in historically informed performance. Fortepianos are today built for that purpose, in specialist workshops.

The fortepiano has leather-covered hammers and thin, harpsichord-like strings. It has a much lighter case construction than the modern piano and, except for later examples of the early 19th Century (already evolving towards the modern piano), it has no metal frame or bracing. The action and hammers are lighter, giving rise to a much lighter touch, which in well-constructed fortepianos is also very expressive. The range of the fortepiano was about four octaves at the time of its invention and gradually increased. Mozart wrote his piano music for instruments of about five octaves.

Unlike its older brother, the harpsichord, a fortepiano can vary the sound volume of each note, depending on the player's touch. The tone of the fortepiano is quite different from that of the modern piano, however, being softer, with less sustain.

For this concert we would like to present several works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in particular two of his piano concertos (K. 449 and K. 488), performed on a fortepiano similar to the one that Mozart used to compose and perform these pieces. The instrument we will use is part of the collection of historical keyboards of Prof. George Bozarth and Tamara Friedman, who is performing in this concert.

Join us at 7:15pm for a pre-concert talk. Concert begins at 8pm. Admission includes the pre-concert talk, the performance, accompanied by drinks and appetizers.

A Note Regarding Parking: You can park in the Plymouth Church's own parking lot, accessible at 515 University St, Seattle, WA 98101.

About Seattle Chamber Orchestra

Founded in 2021, Seattle Chamber Orchestra seeks to bring music lovers tantalizing combinations of the traditional and modern, performed by world-class professional musicians. Brought to life through thoughtful programming that educates as much as it inspires, SCO seeks to reinvigorate live classical music, which has suffered most of all during the pandemic, by providing opportunities musicians and audiences to explore new music and challenge established boundaries.

About Tamara Friedman, fortepiano

Pianist Tamara Friedman has been praised for the depth, wit, and humor of her lively performances (Seattle Times) and appreciated as "the magnificent pianist" whose "way with Mozart reached my heart as well as my intellect" (Journal Tribune, Portland, Maine). Tamara attended the Oberlin Conservatory and received her master’s degree from the Mannes College of Music (NYC). She has collaborated with such international artists as Stanley Ritchie, Jaap Schröder, and Vicki Boeckman, and appears with violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock as Duo Amadeus. In the Pacific Northwest she has performed on the Seattle Camerata, Allegro Baroque and Beyond, Belle Arte, Early Music Guild, Gallery Concerts, and Mostly Nordic series and for the Governor’s Chamber Music Festival.

Tamara has been a featured performer in early piano workshops for Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, WA), Seattle, Edmonds, and Washington State Music Teachers Associations, and the Western Early Keyboard Association. She maintains a private studio in La Conner, WA, where she teaches modern piano and fortepiano on her collection of 18th- and 19th-century keyboard instruments, which is on display at SEKM!—the Skagit Early Keyboard Museum.

Tamara spends her summers in Bath, Maine, where she also has a group of historical pianos and performs on the Kennebec Early Music Festival.

About Lorenzo Marasso, fortepiano & conductor

Lorenzo Marasso is an impassioned and sympathetic conductor, concert pianist, chamber musician, educator and radio host. Dubbed the "king of repertoire," Lorenzo's creative programming reveals lesser known masterpieces and rarely performed arrangements. Lorenzo's performances have been broadcast in numerous media outlets, including Seattle's 98.1 Classical King FM and NPR. In 2021 Lorenzo founded the Seattle Chamber Orchestra and is serving now as the ensemble's music director. In the same year he also started hosting a weekly radio program called Dress Rehearsal on 107.3FM KBFG Seattle. Equally inspired by contemporary music, Lorenzo has commissioned and performed world premieres of new works by several international composers who have written and dedicated pieces to him. In July 2020 he completed the Invention Project, a commission of new pieces for piano inspired by J.S. Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias. Further commissions included works composed by Michael Finnissy, Edward Cowie and Bernhard Lang.