Piano Sonatas Vol.2 : Hamelin (2CD)

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Piano Sonatas, Vol. 2
Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano)

CD1
Piano Sonata in E major, Hob XVI:31
Piano Sonata in D major, Hob XVI:42
Piano Sonata in C major, Hob XVI:35
Piano Sonata in E minor, Hob XVI:34
Piano Sonata in A major, Hob XVI:26
Fantasia in C major 'Capriccio', Hob XVII:4
CD2
Sonata 'Un piccolo divertimento' 'Variations' in F minor, Hob XVII:6 [12'45]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Hob XVI:49
Piano Sonata in D major, Hob XVI:33
Piano Sonata in G major, Hob XVI:39
Piano Sonata in C major, Hob XVI:48

Recording details: August 2008
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon

Marc-Andre Hamelin's first set of Haydn Piano Sonatas was Hyperion's best-selling release of 2007, and had the critics jostling to acclaim his performances in the highest terms, in particular his expression of the ‘physical exhilaration of Haydn's playful inspiration in a way unmatched by any pianist past or present'. His second volume, released in a year where new Haydn recordings are prominent, should surely match the critical and commercial success of the first.

Some of Haydn's most alluring and appealing keyboard works are recorded here. The surprising (to some) emotional range of the composer is fully evident in the extraordinarily sensitive and intimate Sonata in E flat major No 49, written for Maria Anna von Genzinger, and the profoundly felt Andante con variazioni in F minor, the composition of which coincided with her death. ( Hyperion )