Three farewells

Perhaps even less widely appreciated nowadays than his contemporaries Clementi and Hummel, Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760 Caslav, Bohemia – 1812 Paris) was one of the most famous and respected musicians of his time. Indeed, listening to the three technically, harmonically, and structurally progressive sonatas on the current disc, one is likely to question the preoccupation with Beethoven as the musical revolutionary of the period.

To quote the booklet notes, "Dussek’s dates situate him in the generation of classical composers, but much in his best compositions points far beyond his times, to Chopin, Schumann, or Smetana". In this generously filled (77 minutes) release from CPO, Dussek seems to have found an almost ideal advocate in Markus Becker, whose admirably controlled yet sensitive readings allow the fascinating music to speak for itself.