Six sonates faciles pour le Piano Forte (I)

The first of six easy sonatas by Jan Ladislav Dussek, a Bohemian pianist and composer whose historical importance is far greater than his current obscurity suggests. He was among the first to cultivate a genuinely singing tone on the piano and to write with the sustaining pedal in mind, developments that fed directly into Field and then Chopin. He also persuaded the Broadwood firm to extend the keyboard's range, and his later sonatas exploit the extra notes.