Cyrill Ibrahim explores Beethoven’s piano with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

In 2022, concert pianist Cyrill Ibrahim paid a trip to the Netherlands with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to explore some of the inspiration behind Beethoven’s greatest work.

Beethoven composed with fortepianos in mind and so his work truly comes to life when played across their authentic keys, as Cyrill found out first-hand during his trip. 

As an Ambassador for the OAE, Cyrill documented his trip and his time on the fortepianos for a film, which can now be viewed online. He managed to get his hands on a very special fortepiano from the great Viennese maker, Conrad Graf. 

Thanks to the heavier construction than many of the pianos of the time, Graf’s instruments had a rather different sound when compared to those used by the likes of Mozart, Haydn, and even Beethoven for much of his career. The sound is often described as heavier with less tinkling. 

Cyrill, who played some Beethoven Bagatelles on Graf’s fortepiano, described the experience as ‘utterly thrilling’. However, there was some confusion with the pedals due to the sheer number of them. Even a professional concert pianist like Cyrill Ibrahim had to take a minute to figure all four pedals out. 

Sir Andras Schiff went on to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concertos on the very same fortepiano for the OAE in the summer of 2022. 

You can watch Cyrill’s entire film with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on YouTube now.