Haydn: The London Sonatas

Pianist Gottlieb Wallisch is the perfect exemplar of the Viennese piano tradition. Wallisch launched his international career by winning the ‘Joseph Haydn Prize’ as well as first prize at the prestigious Stravinsky Awards at the age of sixteen. He celebrated Haydn’s anniversary year in 2009 by giving a critically acclaimed cycle of concerts in the Musikverein, Vienna dedicated to the composer. Here he performs Haydn’s London Sonatas.

These works can be viewed as the distillation of the composer’s entire sonata-writing experience. Sonata No 60, Hob XVI:50, was written for an instrument of greater tonal range than the Viennese instruments of the day, with a wider palette of specified dynamic possibilities and pedal effects. With a striking two-movement format, asymmetrical phrases and unusual accents Sonata No 61, Hob XVI:51, was ahead of its time, breaking the limits of traditional sonata form.

Often described as a symphony for the piano, Sonata No 62, Hob XVI:52, has frequently been praised as Haydn’s ‘opus summum’ due to its large-scale form, diversity of expression and its virtuoso requirements.

A 24-bit 192 kHz studio master for this album is available from the Linn Records website.

CKD464  74 minutes 23 seconds
'Fluent, rhythmically pointed and heartfelt rendition' (Gramophone)
Pizzicato, Luxembourg