Hyperion Knight - Beethoven / Stravinsky: Hyperion Knight / Sonata In C Major, Op. 53

Hyperion Knight was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He received his first piano lessons at the age of four and made his professional debut at the age of fourteen in San Rafael,

California, playing Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto. He received his bachelor's degree in music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and his master's degree from the Cleveland Music

Institute, where he also earned his doctorate at the age of 22, writing his dissertation on Beethoven's "Waldstein" Piano Sonata for this recording. In 1983 he was appointed principal pianist of the

Erie Philharmonic Orchestra.

A custom-built nine-foot concert grand was used for this recording. This unique instrument, built by Sheldon Smith in his workshop in Berkeley, California - where the recording took place - has a powerful

lower register that provides a solid foundation for the left hand. The upper registers are less muted and have a brighter sound than is common on contemporary pianos.

A pair of Schoeps omnidirectional condenser microphones with precisely balanced spacing were used in conjunction with vacuum tube recording amplifiers to capture an accurate and harmonically rich sound.

Title

Side One

Beethoven

Sonata in C Major, Oop. 53

Allegro con brio

Adagio molto

Allegretto moderato

Sie Two

Stravinsky

Trois Movements de Petrouchka

Danse russe

Chez petrouchka

La semaine grass