The Haydn keyboard sonata series of pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has been one of the great joys of the 21st century, for Haydn fits this artist's playful personality to a T. He can be said to have elevated the sonatas, previously thought to make up a minor part of Haydn's output, to a new plane. All of the virtues that have made Bavouzet's series great are present here. He makes a strong case for playing the early sonatas (there are two here from before 1760) on a piano even though they were undoubtedly intended for a ...
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The Haydn keyboard sonata series of pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has been one of the great joys of the 21st century, for Haydn fits this artist's playful personality to a T. He can be said to have elevated the sonatas, previously thought to make up a minor part of Haydn's output, to a new plane. All of the virtues that have made Bavouzet's series great are present here. He makes a strong case for playing the early sonatas (there are two here from before 1760) on a piano even though they were undoubtedly intended for a harpsichord, finding the wit and economy of the mature Haydn in them in incipient forms. Most of the volumes have included one of Haydn's late sonatas, whose influence on Beethoven has not yet been fully appreciated. Here, Bavouzet's reading of the Piano Sonata No. 60 in C major, Hob. 16/50, captures the work's total originality. There is an odds-and-ends quality to this program. The two early sonatas are rather slight, perhaps not by Haydn at all, and the piece designated as the Piano...
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