Wanda Landowska - Dances of Poland: A Treasury of Harpsichord Music (2005)

It doesn't bother me that Landowska didn't use a traditional harpsichord made entirely of wood. She had special harpsichords made by the French piano manufacturer Pleyel because at the time she began concertizing, the diminutive sound of the original wooden harpsichords couldn't fill a concert hall. The cast iron harp of the piano was one of the things that made pianos instruments of choice for concertizing because they could fill a concert hall with sound due to the extreme tension the strings were placed under, resulting in greater volume -- not to mention all the great literature written for the instrument. Her solution was practical and solved the issue for her concert career; she had the music but needed the volume. Her virtuosic playing and the fact that she was the only harpsichord act in town -- and that she was a woman -- helped fill those concert halls and caused a revival of interest in the instrument. An instrument that was a museum artifact until she virtually singlehandedly brought it back to life.

She has been criticized for the instruments she used and for various interpretive choices she made but these criticisms are the province of small-minded critics, in my opinion. Is her music alive and joyful, does she move you?! Those are the important questions to ask. She was a great creative artist with monster technique and she brought the music of the past to life by her energy, scholarship and superior performance abilities. Just listen to her play and you will be beguiled by the music, the life in it and the consummate skill with which she executes it. This album is pure delight in its variety and liveliness; I think it is a masterpiece of the instrument and a joy to listen to. It is pure, unadulterated fun for the person who enjoys great music, beautifully performed.