Vorísek: Piano Music – Michele Bolla

If the name of Jan Václav Voříšek (1791-1825) rings any bells, it is likely because of his reputation as the first composer to write a piece entitled ‘Impromptu’. In fact the title was likely coined by a shrewd publisher after the composer’s early death, from tuber-culosis at the age of 34, when presented with the opportunity to profit from a collection of short and captivating, self-contained piano pieces which do not answer to the conventions of establis-hed genres such as the suite or sonata. Michele Bolla naturally opens this generous, 80-minute survey of Voříšek’s output for solo piano with the Op.7 set of six Impromptus. What distinguishes his performance from those scant rivals on disc is his use of instruments from the composer’s time: an 1830 fortepiano by Johann Paridon, and a modern copy of an 1800 fortepiano by the doyen of Viennese piano-builders, Anton Walter.