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Scholars' Abstracts, Biographies, & Websites
Beethoven Conference
27-30 March 2026, London
TERENCE CHARLSTON
Harpsichordist | Professor Royal College of Music
ABSTRACT: Beethoven on the clavichord: a performer’s view
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Players in recent times have shown an increasing interest in performing Beethoven’s claviermusik on the clavichord. I too have been drawn to the potential of the clavichord for conveying Beethoven’s music and enlivening technique. While clearly unsuited to the sort of concert performance we currently expect, I feel the clavichord can still bring its own valuable insights concerning intimacy, isolation, proximity to the inaudible and one's inner experience of music.
The clavichord was part of the milieu of keyboard instruments available to the young Beethoven. Alongside harpsichords, organs and, eventually, the fast-evolving pianos which would eclipse all, its
ubiquity was taken for granted. The clavichord’s sound aesthetic and unique playing style, however, continued to have influence and it is curious that Beethoven’s later music contains occasional, tantalising glimpses of its 18th-century idiom, notation and special techniques.
Drawing on my experience of playing Beethoven on the clavichord, I will survey style, performance and technique, and present a personal view of how this might change the way we listen to and hear his music.
BIOGRAPHY
Terence Charlston is a specialist performer on early keyboard instruments, particularly harpsichord, clavichord and organ. His fascination with surviving instruments and musical sources as witnesses of lost performances have made him a frequent performer at collections of early keyboard instruments worldwide. In recent years, he has developed a close affinity with the clavichord, on which he has recorded early French music, the complete fantasias and canzonas of Froberger, and 20th- and 21st-century music including his own compositions.
An advocate of European keyboard music of the 17th and 18th centuries, he has initiated many pioneering concerts and recording projects. Through his teaching, he has given a significant lead for the training of younger players and for the development of practice-led research at several prestigious British conservatoires and universities. He is Chair of Historical Keyboard Instruments and Professor of Harpsichord at the Royal College of Music, London. He was awarded the honorary Fellowship of the RCM in 2020. RCM webpage