The piano sonatas by Markus Christfried Grosse (1732/33-1799) represent hitherto unnoticed compositions by a central German musician ‘in higher education’ who had to find his way between southern German and Berlin influences. Grosse worked as an organist and music teacher at the Pädagogium in Kloster Berge near Magdeburg. Free of schematism in movement sequence and form, his sonatas exhibit finely differentiated dynamic progressions. Musically and pianistically, they enrich the repertoire for clavichord and fortepiano and have also been played on organs. In addition, the performance power of an organist who was associated with the vanished era of Schnitger organs in Magdeburg's churches becomes apparent.
