Haydn - Piano Sonatas

Alfred Brendel pf

Philips 478 1369DOR Buy now

(3h 25’ · ADD/DDD)

Piano Sonatas, HobXVI – Nos 20, 32, 34, 37, 40, 42 & 48-52; HobXVII – No 4, Fantasia, ‘Capriccio’, in C; No 6, Sonata (un piccolo divertimento: Variations) in F minor; No 9, Adagio in F 

These sonatas are magnificent creations, wonderfully played by Alfred Brendel. Within the order and scale of these works Haydn explores a rich diversity of musical languages, a wit and broadness of expression that quickly repays attentive listening. It’s the capriciousness as much as the poetry that Brendel so perfectly attends to; his playing, ever alive to the vitality and subtleties, makes these discs a delight. The sophistication innate in the simple dance rhythms, the rusticity that emerges, but above all, the sheer joie de vivre are gladly embraced. Brendel’s continual illumination of the musical ideas through intense study pays huge dividends. The recording quality varies enormously between the different works: though the close acoustic on some of the later discs could be faulted for allowing one to hear too much of the keyboard action, it certainly brings one into vivid contact with the music.