On October 4, 2024, the Dutch label Challenge Classics released Roberto Prosseda's new CD, which represents the pianist's recording debut on a historical instrument. Prosseda, in fact, recorded the three Sonatas op. 2 by Beethoven on a Graf fortepiano from 1820, no. 429, at the Musicafelix studio. The CD is already available on Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music and all the main platforms. Roberto Prosseda will also hold recitals on the fortepiano in the coming months, with music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn.
"Can something new, interesting and ‘true’ still be said about the interpretation of Beethoven’s sonatas? I believe so, provided we break out of the conventions created by the tradition of interpretation and discography, where in 98% of cases a modern piano is used. Therefore, I thought that the choice of recording Beethoven on a historical instrument could also be a way for a more individual interpretative investigation, free from the models that listening to famous recordings on a modern piano risks accustoming us to. I do not believe that there is a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ instrument on which to perform Beethoven’s Sonatas Opus 2. What matters is the musical result. It depends on the alchemy that is created between the performer and the instrument. Before I came to choose the Graf No. 429, I tried at length various modern copies of fortepiano from 1795 - 1800, trying to get closer to the sound and expressive world of early Beethoven. However, having the opportunity of having a Graf fortepiano (No. 429) in my studio, restored in 2023, I was able to prepare this recording on that instrument, playing it regularly for a year, achieving a kind of familiarity with its action and timbral response that I have grown fond of."
- from the liner notes of the album, by Roberto Prosseda