Volume VII of the A Tempo project approaches the subject of tempo from a new angle. Following in the footsteps of the great Beethoven interpreter Franz Liszt, Bernhard Ruchti presents three piano sonatas by Beethoven, inspired by instructions given by Liszt in his master classes in Weimar in the 1880s. These master classes are richly documented. It is fascinating to join Liszt’s circle of students, as it were, through the eyes and ears of contemporary witnesses! The interpretation follows neither a metronome marking nor a documented duration, but takes purely musical aspects into account.

Bernhard Ruchti plays on an original Érard concert grand piano from 1839.

• Ludwig van Beethoven: Grande Sonate Pathétique in C minor Opus 13
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor Opus 27 No. 2 “Moonlight”
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata in E minor Opus 90
• English and German Introductions
• Bonus: Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne in G minor Op. 37 No. 1

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Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier Sonata” in B-flat major, Opus 106, is one of the core works regarding tempo research. Its original metronome markings were questioned already in the 19th century. It is all the more significant that one of the most authoritative Beethoven interpreters of the 19th century, Franz Liszt, indicated the duration of the Sonata in a private letter: “presqu’une heure” – almost an hour. This duration – together with in-depth research on historical editions of the work – is the basis and inspiration of Bernhard’s interpretation.

• Ludwig van Beethoven: Grosse Sonate für das Hammerklavier op. 106
• English and German Introductions
• Bonus: Ludwig van Beethoven’s famous “Für Elise” in two different interpretations

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The suite “Années de Pèlerinage: Deuxième Année: Italie” is one of Franz Liszt’s most inspired piano works. The famous three Petrarch belong to the suite as well as the groundbreaking Dante Sonata. Bernhard Ruchti’s interpretation of the seven piano pieces is inspired by a fascinating research on Liszt’s own playing. The aspect of slowness plays a surprising role. The magic of the sound itself becomes the source of interpretation. The recording venue is the picturesque Belvedere Palace near Weimar.

• Franz Liszt: Années de Pèlerinage. Deuxième Année: Italie
• German and English introductions
• Music, Tempo and Interpretation. Tom R. Schulz in conversation with Bernhard Ruchti
• Bonus: Bernhard Ruchti: To An Angel

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Frédéric Chopin’s 12 Etudes Opus 10 belong to the most significant pieces of piano music. Bernhard Ruchti sheds new light on these highly virtuosic works and presents a decelerated interpretation full of poetry and richness of detail. Recorded in the famous Herkulessaal at Munich Residence.

• Frédéric Chopin: 12 Études Opus 10
• Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne in C sharp minor
• German and English introductions
• Historical metronome markings and tempo: an introduction
• Rolf Basten: Tempo in the context of music history

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Robert Schumann’s Fantasy in C Major Opus 17 is the focus of the third part of the “A Tempo Project”. In Bernhard’s interpretation, the visionary and groundbreaking work shows a new character full of lyricism, intimacy and power. The recording venue is the famous KKL in Lucerne. 

• Robert Schumann: Fantasy in C major Opus 17
• Robert Schumann: Träumerei from the Kinderszenen 
• Bernhard Ruchti: Love Poem for S.
• German introduction
• English introduction

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Discover Franz Liszt’s magnificent Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam” for organ! Recorded on the same organ at Merseburg Cathedral on which Liszt and his students worked, Bernhard’s recording is the first one to reach the original duration of the piece under Liszt’s very own direction, which can be reconstructed from numerous historical sources. A unique journey to a major musical event in 1855…

• Franz Liszt: Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam”
• Franz Liszt: Requiem for organ
• German Introduction
• English Introduction
• Bonus

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The album offers a fascinating journey into the piano music of Beethoven. Two piano sonatas are recorded and filmed in the late Gothic church of St. Laurenzen in St. Gallen (Switzerland). Extensive background videos on the history and interpretation of the sonatas in German and English accompany the recording.

• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata in F Minor Op. 2 No. 1
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata in A flat major Op. 110
• German Introduction Videos
• English Introduction Videos
• BONUS

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“Echoes from Chrysospilia” for piano, named after an ancient initiation cave in the Greek Cyclades, forms the album’s titular centerpiece. Working with gradations of consonance and dissonance, the highly expressive fantasy is framed by other piano works as well as Ruchti’s 2014 organ triptych, a three-part piece integrating minimalist elements. Franz Liszt’s monumental Introïtus for organ – one of his last compositions ever – marks the beginning and end of the album.

• Franz Liszt: Introïtus (I. Interpretation)
• Bernhard Ruchti: Orgel-Triptychon
• Bernhard Ruchti: Ouessant 
• Bernhard Ruchti: Morgenstern / Anpowicahpi / Morning Star
• Bernhard Ruchti: Echos von Chrysospilia / Echoes from Chrysospilia / Αντίλαλοι της Χρυσοσπηλιάς
• Franz Liszt: Introïtus (II. Interpretation)

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Contrast the passion, the uncompromising and visionary power of Franz Liszt’s piano repertoire with the Black Hills, the ancient, austere mountains of South Dakota: these extremes inspire the music of expressive pianist Bernhard Ruchti on the album “Liszt & The Black Hills”. Bernhard Ruchti’s compositions reflect the Swiss artist’s experiences during a one-year sabbatical in the U.S. from 2010 to 2012. The search for the familiar and the impulse for something new, within which the continuing search for his own musical language manifests. Experience this milestone on the exciting journey of the pianist, organist, and composer Bernhard Ruchti.

• Franz Liszt: Vallée d’Obermann
• Bernhard Ruchti: Five Songs of The Wind
• Bernhard Ruchti: Zwei Zeitstücke
• Franz Liszt: Recueillement
• Bernhard Ruchti: Sternenlied

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Bernhard Ruchti’s debut CD with piano works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin and Claude Debussy.

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Chromatische Fantasie und Fuge in d-moll
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Klaviersonate in As-Dur Opus 110
• Frédéric Chopin: Etüde in c-moll Opus 10 Nr. 12
• Claude Debussy: Images

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