«“Blending performance research and organology, Beethoven’s French Piano demonstrates how historical instruments can alter our interpretation and appreciation of music from the past. The complex story of Beethoven’s acquisition of and subsequent experimentation with his Erard piano has never been told with such verve and subtlety. Beghin’s insights challenge us to listen anew to many of Beethoven’s keyboard works.”»

Robert Adelson, author of 'Erard: A Passion for the Piano'

«“Beethoven’s French Piano is a synthesis of historical, organological, stylistic, and aesthetic considerations. Beghin has given us keen insights into the relationship between the acquisition of Beethoven’s Erard and its influence on his musical language. Pianists, historians, and piano builders will be enlightened by this fascinating book.”»

Robert Levin, Harvard University

« “Expert . . . the book is lavishly illustrated with printed music examples, complex diagrams and pictures.”»

BBC Music Magazine

"For their doughty efforts, Tom Beghin and his team of researchers and instrument builders deserve every piano lover's thanks."

International Piano Magazine

"When a leading fortepianist-scholar teams up with a world-renowned piano builder plus experts in various scientific and technical fields, and a group of talented and curious students to investigate every imaginable artistic significance of the Erard fortepiano Beethoven received in 1803, the results are revelatory. . . Beghin exhibits his research discoveries with total commitment, imbuing every moment of his playing with vital conviction to produce a Beethoven unlike any you’ve heard before."

Early Music America

"This significant contribution to historical performance studies and organology offers an extremely detailed examination of Beethoven’s Erard piano and the author's own replication of it . . . Recommended." 

Choice

"For those of us who perform, teach, study, and above all, love Beethoven’s piano works, Tom Beghin’s Beethoven’s French Piano is a gift of insight and inspiration."

Quarterly Journal of the Music Library

«“In this one-of-a-kind book, Beghin presents a detailed study of Beethoven’s Erard piano and its significance for Beethoven’s music. This is a tour de force of organological research. Beghin’s association with the Orpheus Institute has given him the resources to conduct extensive research on a replica of the Erard instrument under controlled conditions. Beethoven’s French Piano achieves something truly remarkable, inviting us to rethink the now-receding paradigm of absolute instrumental music—serenely detached from any dependence on the physical world—through some of the very music on which that paradigm depends.”»

Robin Wallace, author of 'Hearing Beethoven: A Story of Musical Loss and Discovery'