The Complete Haydn Piano Sonatas (2008)

The Haydn Piano Sonatas By Jeno Jando

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Haydn's death (1732 - 1809), I decided to get better acquainted with his piano sonatas. With its usual enterprise and flair, the budget-priced Naxos label has been releasing complete cycles of Haydn's symphonies, quartets, oratorios, concertos, and masses in this anniversary year together with the cycle of piano sonatas performed by their much-recorded artist, Jeno Jando. Jando recorded the sonatas during the 1990s on ten separate CDs, but they were released as a box set only in 2009. The individual CDs also remain available, but they are numbered differently than in the box which arranges the sonatas in their generally accepted chronological order. I was attracted to this set in part because it allowed me to focus my attention on each individual CD.

Although not frequently performed in recitals, Haydn's sonatas have been well-served on recordings. There are worthy recordings of individual works and complete sets ranging from period performances on harpsichords and fortepianos to extraordinary virtuoso performances on modern instruments. Jano's Haydn has received almost universal acclaim. He plays on a modern concert grand and makes full use of the sonorities and capability of the instrument. He plays in a self-effacing style which shows that he has thought through these pieces in terms of feeling, organization, dynamics and phrasing. Jando does not sentimentalize these works, or try to give the impression of performance on an 18th Century instrument, but neither does he try to overwhelm the listener with sheer brilliance. He offers instead beautifully realized contemporary readings of Haydn. Jano sometimes hums while he plays, but I did not find this distracting. Regardless of its budget price, this set is an excellent way to get to know Haydn's keyboard sonatas.

Haydn composed for the keyboard throughout his long career. For listeners with the patience and interest, it is rewarding to work through this set to follow Haydn's developing mastery of the sonata form. The earliest sonatas date from the early 1760s, or possibly even earlier, while the final works date from Haydn's second visit to London in the mid-1790s. Probably over one-half of the sonatas were written for harpsichord. Many of them are called "divertimentos" or "partitas" and resemble a Baroque suite more than the classical sonata. The final five or six sonatas are large-scale masterpieces and use to the full the resources of what was, at the time, the modern piano. Between the first works and the last lies much delightful music.

The earliest ten sonatas, included on the first CD, are short and were probably written as teaching pieces. The authenticity of some of these works has been questioned. The next several CDs include larger suite-like works for harpsichord in which Haydn does a great deal of experimenting with the number of movements and with their order and tone. Many of these works are highly impressive. For me, they culminate in the A flat major sonata, Hob 46 and the D major sonata Hob 19, which conclude the fourth CD.

The sonata in C minor, Hob. 20, which appears on disk 5 is a turning-point in that it appears to be the first sonata Haydn wrote expressly for the piano. It is a tragic, angular masterpiece on the level of the minor-key symphonies Haydn wrote during the early 1770s. The three following disks (6-8) include three sets of six sonatas that Haydn published during the mid 1770's to 1780 but which he probably wrote earlier. These works are highly varied and include some deeply expressive music together with works in a galant style.

The final two CDs include Haydn's sonatas from the late 1780s to the mid 1790s. Many of these works are grand and stunning, including the two movement sonata in C major, Hob 48 and the f minor variations, (Sonata Un piccolo divertimento) from CD 9. CD 10 includes the lovely E flat major sonata written for Maria Anna von Genzinger, a woman for whom Haydn cared deeply, together with the three final sonatas in C major, Hob. 50. D major, Hob 51, and E flat major, Hob. 52, written in London for a famous pianist of the day, Therese Jansen.

Haydn's music has been aptly characterized as being composed "fur Kenner und Liebhaber" - for connoisseurs and amateurs. This description captures Haydn's writings for the keyboard. Many of these sonatas, ranging from the earliest to some late works, were written as teaching pieces with amateurs in mind. Other works, including some of the early pieces, and many of the works before the final set for Jansen were written for highly proficient amateurs, playable but with moments of difficulty and brilliance. (The general level of proficiency for those who studied the keyboard in Haydn's day seems to me higher than it is today.) Other works were composed for the virtuoso performer. There is a similar range of intensity of feeling and musical complexity shown in these pieces. But in many of these works of whatever level, Haydn took the materials he was working with to write music of broad appeal. Taken as a whole, the sonatas show the slow, sure movement of a composer from rather slight, conventional works to music of great depth, feeling and originality.

Haydn's sonatas will amply reward attention by listeners who love the piano and the classical style. I was pleased to have the opportunity to learn more about them by listening to this set and gathering my thoughts here.

Robin Friedman