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Track(s) taken from CDA67710

Piano Sonata in D major, Hob XVI:33

composer
possibly as early as 1773; first published, without Haydn's knowledge, by Beardmore & Birchall of London in 1783

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: 17 minutes 24 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)
With most of the autographs lost, the exact dating of Haydn’s sonatas is often speculative. Although it was first published (without Haydn’s knowledge) by the London firm of Beardmore & Birchall in 1783, the D major sonata No 33 was circulating in manuscript copies several years earlier, and could even date from as early as 1773. While modest in its technical demands (a contemporary reviewer remarked that Haydn seemed to have taken special care to make it easy), it is a thoroughly delightful piece. Its opening Allegro, launched by a ‘rocketing’ arpeggio figure, begins in prompt, no-nonsense style, but later develops a vein of waywardness with its whimsical hesitations and pauses. The second movement is a gravely eloquent D minor Adagio that combines the outlines of sonata form with the spirit of a free fantasia. As with many of C P E Bach’s slow movements, the music never comes to a full close but dissolves into the finale, a minuet that varies in turn a pair of related themes, one in the major, the other in the minor.

from notes by Richard Wigmore © 2009

La plupart des autographes étant perdus, la datation précise des sonates de Haydn relève souvent de la spéculation. Bien qu’ayant été publiée pour la première fois (à l’insu de Haydn) en 1783 par la maison londonienne Beardmore & Birchall, la sonate en ré majeur no 33 circulait déjà en copies manuscrites depuis plusieurs années et pourrait bien avoir été rédigée dès 1773. Modeste d’exigence technique (un critique contemporain fit observer que Haydn avait semblé particulièrement veiller à la rendre facile), elle n’en est pas moins délectable. Son Allegro initial, lancé par une figure d’arpèges «montant en flèche», s’ouvre dans un style rapide, qui va droit au but mais développe bientôt une veine d’imprévisibilité, avec hésitations et pauses saugrenues. Le second mouvement est un Adagio à l’éloquence grave, en ré mineur, mêlant contours de la forme sonate et esprit d’une fantaisie libre. Comme dans maints mouvements lents de C. P. E. Bach, la musique ne s’arrête jamais complètement: elle se dissout dans le finale, un menuet qui varie successivement deux thèmes apparentés, l’un en majeur, l’autre en mineur.

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

Da die meisten autographischen Handschriften verloren sind, ist die genaue Datierung von Haydn Sonaten oft Spekulation. Obwohl die D-Dur-Sonate Nr. 33 vom Londoner Verlag Beardmore & Birchall (ohne Haydns Kenntnis) 1783 zuerst veröffentlicht wurde, waren handschriftliche Kopien bereits mehrere Jahre früher im Umlauf und könnten sogar bis 1773 zurück datieren. Obwohl sie in ihren technischen Ansprüchen eher bescheiden ist (ein zeitgenössischer Rezensent bemerkte, dass Haydn sich scheinbar besonders bemüht hatte, sie leicht zu machen), ist sie ein ganz und gar bezauberndes Stück. Ihr einleitendes Allegro, das von einer raketenhaften Arpeggiofigur eingeführt wird. Sie beginnt in zügigem, nüchternem Stil, entwickelt aber später eine Ader von Eigensinn mit launischem Zögern und Fermaten. Der zweite Satz ist ein majestätisch-eloquentes d-Moll-Adagio, das die Konturen der Sonatenform mit dem Wesen einer freien Fantasie verknüpft. Wie in vielen langsamen Sätzen von C.Ph.E. Bach kommt die Musik nie ganz zum Ende, sondern löst sich in das Finale auf: ein Menuett, das abwechselnd zwei verwandte Themen variiert—eines in Dur, das andere in Moll.

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

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