When I was an undergraduate, decades ago, performance majors in harpsichord--and most other people--would regard the idea of playing Rameau and the other clavicinistes on piano with utter horror. Imagine playing Brahms on harpsichord in reverse. But now, it seems more and more pianists are playing Rameau on piano and doing a very fine job of it.
I have posted Grigory Sokolov playing Rameau several times, but he is no longer alone. Here is Víkingur Ólafsson with some lovely Rameau:
Why the decline in opprobrium? I think the piano was always capable of the delicacy and sensitivity--it was just that performers had to learn how to elicit the kinds of sounds appropriate to harpsichord music.
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