Hailed as a “very accomplished and sensitive musician,” Mélisande McNabney returns with her latest album, Fantasias, performed on fortepiano. Fantasias includes works by Bach, Mozart, Koželuch, and two improvisations by McNabney herself after C.P.E. Bach. The album was recorded on a fortepiano made in 2019 by Rodney Regier, after an instrument by the 18th-century Viennese maker Anton Walter.

The concept of fantasy has a long history in music, and keyboard instruments are its main conduits. In the 18th century, composers were not only also performers, but also improvisers who would deploy their creative spirit for the public in real time by extemporizing on the keyboard.