Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Click cover art to view larger version
Track(s) taken from CDA67710

Piano Sonata in E major, Hob XVI:31

composer
c1773/4; issued as part of a set of six in 1776

Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Recording details: August 2008
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: August 2009
Total duration: 12 minutes 20 seconds

Cover artwork: Portrait of Joseph Haydn engraved by F A Andorff by Carl Jäger
The Cobbe Collection Trust, UK / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘One of the outstanding releases of the Haydn celebratory year’ (International Record Review)

‘A marvellously polished collection of performances … he is a model of correctness, with enough wit, exuberance and the most exquisite lightness of touches to keep the music buoyant’ (The Guardian)

‘Hamelin is most associated with virtuoso fireworks for piano, but he can also miniaturise himself exquisitely to suit Haydn's wit and elegance … the spring in his fingers is delightful’ (The Times)

‘As always, Haydn's originality astonishes and delights in his piano music as much as in his symphonies and string quartets. Hamelin revels in the tongue-in-cheek high jinks of the finale to the E minor sonata (No 34) … and is especially compelling in the great C major (No 48) … works that rank with the finest creations of the Viennese Classical period. An unmissable bargain at two-discs-for-the-price of one’ (The Sunday Times)

‘The continuous outpouring of beautiful tone; it's mesmerizing … these performances are beyond criticism’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘They sound absolutely superb, in the right hands, on the modern grand piano. And Marc-André Hamelin has the right hands, as his first two-disc set showed … playing of crisp clarity and deep feeling, superbly recorded’ (Dominion Post, New Zealand)

‘This Hyperion double set contains some of the finest performances of Haydn sonatas I have heard. Hamelin's playing overflows with ardent lyricism and I especially enjoyed his naturalness of rubato. The close sound quality from the Henry Wood Hall is impressive and the booklet essay by Richard Wigmore is helpful too’ (MusicWeb International)
No 31 in E major is one of a heterogeneous bunch of six sonatas (Nos 27–32) issued privately in manuscript copies in 1776, though it probably dates from two or three years earlier. The first movement contrasts a lyrical theme in three-part counterpoint, expressively varied in the course of the movement, with cascading sextuplets that generate a powerful climax in the central development. The most striking part of the sonata is the second movement, a neo-Baroque E minor Allegretto that suggests both a chorale prelude and a three-part invention. As in No 33, the finale—a dashing theme and variations with a contrasting E minor episode—follows without a break. Haydn was to remember the strangely haunting Allegretto two decades later in the middle movement of the great E major Piano Trio, No 28.

from notes by Richard Wigmore © 2009

La no 31 en mi majeur appartient à un ensemble hétérogène de six sonates (nos 27–32) parues à titre privé, en copies manuscrites, en 1776, même si sa composition fut probablement antérieure de deux ou trois ans. Dans le premier mouvement, un thème lyrique en contrepoint à trois parties, expressivement varié au fil du mouvement, est opposé à des sextolets en cascade générant un puissant apogée dans le développement central. Volet le plus saisissant de la sonate, le second mouvement est un Allegretto néobaroque en mi mineur, évoquant à la fois un prélude de choral et une invention à trois parties. Comme dans la no 33, le finale—un thème et variations pimpant avec un épisode contrastif en mi mineur—embraye directement. Deux décennies plus tard, Haydn se rappellera cet Allegretto étrangement lancinant dans le mouvement central de son grand Trio avec piano en mi majeur no 28.

extrait des notes rédigées par Richard Wigmore © 2009
Français: Hypérion

Nr. 31 in E-Dur ist eine von sechs vermischten Sonaten (Nr. 27–32), die 1776 privat in handschriftlichen Kopien veröffentlicht wurde, entstand aber wahrscheinlich zwei oder drei Jahre früher. Der erste Satz kontrastiert ein lyrisches Thema in dreistimmigem Kontrapunkt, das im Lauf des Satzes ausdrucksstark variiert wird, mit kaskadierenden Sextolen, die zu einer gewaltigen Steigerung in der Durchführung anwachsen. Am bemerkenswertesten ist der zweite Satz, ein neobarockes e-Moll-Allegretto, das sowohl Anklänge an ein Choralvorspiel als auch eine dreistimmige Invention hat. Wie in Nr. 33 folgt das Finale—ein verwegenes Thema mit Variationen und einer kontrastierenden e-Moll-Episode—ohne Pause nahtlos. Haydn sollte sich zwei Jahrzehnte später im Mittelsatz des großen E-Dur-Klaviertrios Nr. 28 an dieses seltsam ergreifende Allegretto erinnern.

aus dem Begleittext von Richard Wigmore © 2009
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

Waiting for content to load...
Waiting for content to load...