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Track(s) taken from CDA67710

Piano Sonata in C major, Hob XVI:35

composer
published in 1780 as part of a set of six dedicated to Franziska and Maria Katherina von Auenbrugger; 'Per il Clavicembalo, o Forte Piano'

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: 19 minutes 6 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)
Sonatas Nos 35 and 39 were both published in 1780, in a set of six (35–39, plus No 20 in C minor) that inaugurated Haydn’s long relationship with the Viennese publisher Artaria. They were dedicated to the talented sisters Franziska and Maria Katherina von Auenbrugger, whose playing drew the admiration of both Leopold Mozart—never one to go overboard about fellow-musicians—and Haydn himself. Whereas all Haydn’s earlier sonatas were conceived essentially for harpsichord, the ‘Auenbrugger’ sonatas carried the designation ‘Per il Clavicembalo [harpsichord], o Forte Piano’, and call for the dynamic flexibility only possible on the newer instrument. By far the easiest of this disparate group, technically and expressively, is No 35 in C major, Haydn’s equivalent to Mozart’s famous C major ‘Sonate facile’, K545. In all three movements the material is simple in the extreme. Though shorn of Haydnesque surprises, the first movement has an insouciant charm, and characteristically evolves entirely from its tripping opening theme. After a decorous F major Adagio underpinned by rippling Alberti figuration, the sonata ends with a jocular minuet enclosing a brief C minor episode.

from notes by Richard Wigmore © 2009

Les nos 35 et 39 furent publiées en 1780, dans un corpus de six sonates (35–39, plus la no 20 en ut mineur) qui inaugura la longue relation de Haydn avec l’éditeur viennois Artaria. Elles furent dédiées aux talentueuses sœurs Franziska et Maria Katherina von Auenbrugger, dont le jeu suscita l’admiration de Leopold Mozart—qui ne fut pourtant jamais homme à s’enthousiasmer pour d’autres musiciens—et de Haydn lui-même. Contrairement aux sonates antérieures conçues essentiellement pour clavecin, les «Auenbrugger» portent la désignation «Per il Clavicembalo [clavecin], o Forte Piano» et exigent une flexibilité dynamique que seul autorisait le nouveau pianoforte. La sonate la plus facile de ce groupe, techniquement et expressivement disparate, est, et de loin, la no 35 en ut majeur, l’équivalent haydnien de la fameuse «Sonate facile» en ut majeur K545 de Mozart. Chacun de ses trois mouvements présente un matériau simplissime. Sans surprise haydnesque, le premier mouvement n’en a pas moins un charme insouciant et, comme on pouvait s’y attendre, il se développe entièrement à partir de son premier thème sautillant. Passé un Adagio en fa majeur très convenable, étayé par une ondoyante figuration d’Alberti, la sonate s’achève sur un menuet badin enclosant un bref épisode en ut mineur.

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

Nr. 35 und 39 wurden beide 1780 in einem Band von sechs Sonaten (Nr. 35–39 und Nr. 20 in c-Moll) veröffentlicht, und mit ihnen begann Haydns lange Assoziation mit dem Wiener Verleger Artaria. Sie waren den talentierten Schwestern Franziska und Maria Katherina von Auenbrugger gewidmet, deren Spiel sowohl Bewunderung von Leopold Mozart—der sich selten überschwänglich über seine Musikerkollegen äußerte—als auch Haydn selbst fand. Während alle früheren Sonaten Haydns im Wesentlichen für Cembalo konzipiert wurden, werden die „Auenbrugger“-Sonaten als „Per il Clavicembalo, o Forte Piano“ beschrieben und erfordern dynamische Flexibilität, die nur auf dem neueren Instrument möglich ist. Nr. 35 in C-Dur ist technisch und ausdrucksmäßig bei Weitem die leichteste dieser disparaten Gruppe und Haydns Äquivalent zu Mozarts „Sonate facile“ K545. In allen drei Sätzen ist das Material extrem schlicht. Obwohl aller haydnischen Überraschungen beraubt besitzt der erste Satz dennoch einen unbekümmerten Charme und entwickelt sich charakteristischerweise vollständig aus seinem trippelnden Anfangsthema. Nach einem schicklichen F-Dur-Adagio, das von plätschernden Albertifiguren untermauert wird, schließt die Sonate mit einem lustigen Menuett, das eine kurze c-Moll-Episode umrahmt.

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

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