Haydn Keyboard Sonatas

[Geo Dude]

Gurn:

I'm also interested in PI recordings, so these recommendations are all fine.  Also, this is your list when away from home?  It would be fascinating to see what you come up with when at home.  The results (in mass quantity) could be almost as shocking as the fact that all of these discs are in print!

[Gurn Blanston]

Gurn:

I'm also interested in PI recordings, so these recommendations are all fine.  Also, this is your list when away from home?  It would be fascinating to see what you come up with when at home.  The results (in mass quantity) could be almost as shocking as the fact that all of these discs are in print!

  Well, PI is all I have except for 2 things; I also have an Emanuel Ax disk like Neal is rec'ing, although not the same one. It was my first Haydn keyboard disk and I like it too. Plus, I also have the John McCabe box set on Decca:
[asin]B0000041KC[/asin]

Being a "go big or go home" kind of guy, once I decided I liked Haydn's sonatas, I went big.   Until PI came along, I was happy. McCabe uses his modern piano in such a way that it doesn't sound like a monster grand, much as Ingrid Haebler does in Mozart.

I really make an effort to only rec stuff you can actually buy. One of my pet peeves over the years stems from the folks here who always rec stuff that you can only get from 1 South Sea island in leap year, and for just $1000/disk. What good does that do me?     Anyway, I think you might like those, and I'll have a couple of others here in a bit.



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Now playing:

  Arion Baroque Orchestra \ Gary Cooper - Hob 01_041 Symphony in C 2nd mvmt - Un poco andante

[Gurn Blanston]

Here are a few more of my favorite keyboard disks. They are all PI, since I wore out the MI I have by posting the McCabe and that Ax disk. Some of you are down with that, others, not so much. But hey, try it, you might like it!   

I don't know that putting these in a particular order will be of any value. By and large, I either like it or I don't, so if it's here, I like it.


OK, I lied, but only this once. B-S is King of the Viennese Piano. He absolutely reeks of old Vienna.



Then, these that I rec'd the other day, as a reminder. OK, well I lied again then; I don't really have that 3 disk set of Staier, I have these 3 1 disk sets...



and of course, the inimitable Robert Hill on the cembalo;





Bearing in mind that 90% of Haydn's keyboard works were composed for and/or dedicated to ladies, it is a natural thing to look for recordings of ladies playing. So a lot of my disks are just that. These 3 I like because they span a nice range of time (not, like 6 sonatas from a set) and they involve different instruments, harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano. All very good players too.



I like the clavichord, it was what Haydn composed on and what all of these sonatas first saw the light of day on. These 2 disks cover a pretty wide range of time, and are very fine for either discovering or else savoring the clavichord.

In addition to Badura-Skoda, there are a couple of other fortepiano gods in my estimation.

Bilson is top drawer in my book. I enjoy his playing from Haydn to Schubert. I note that a lot of the next generation (like Oort for example) studied under Bilson at Cornell. Wise choice.   I don't know as much about Burnett other than that he has been around for years, is a pioneer in the fortepiano movement, and really plays well. I like this disk, nice sounding pianos.


Certainly there are others, but they can't all be my favorites! I still like them though. And I am totally leaving out the 4 full sets I have. These are just singles and doubles. A couple of other to tack on to the end here, lest they suffer undue neglect, are these;



The Leach is a special favorite, her English Square Piano has a most suitable sound and she is an excellent player.

Anyway, give one or another of these a try, or dig up some others. The music is made for this sound, IMO, and it's hard to go wrong with anyone who specializes in this repertoire, not just coming in for a visit now and then.

[Bogey]

[asin]B0000041KC[/asin]

[Geo Dude]

Now THAT is a set of Haydn keyboard recommendations!  I think it will provide me plenty of supplements to my Beghin set.  Many thanks.

Based on the samples, that Robert Hill recording is excellent.  It may even supplant Kristian Bezuidenhout's Mozart sonata recording on my next order.  (If you care to listen to the samples you'll see that that is one hell of an accomplishment.)

[Gurn Blanston]

Now THAT is a set of Haydn keyboard recommendations!  I think it will provide me plenty of supplements to my Beghin set.  Many thanks.

Based on the samples, that Robert Hill recording is excellent.  It may even supplant Kristian Bezuidenhout's Mozart sonata recording on my next order.  (If you care to listen to the samples you'll see that that is one hell of an accomplishment.)

Well, Bezuidenhout's Mozart is a fine disk, no question about it. The Stürm und Dräng disk is one of my favorites by any composer. But Hill is one of the premier cembalists ever. He even makes Bach sound good!        (I joke, I joke). When I first saw that disk I couldn't resist the allure, and it lives up to the expectation.

I am pleased that this served you well.  0:)

Yep, no doubt, Bill. Even way back in the beginning when I got my start, I was never deprived of fine Haydn keyboard playing. I don't see me ever parting with that box.

[Florestan]

Great job, Gurn! Much appreciated.

Just for fun: a 1-star Amazon review of McCabe's box.

I have listened to all 62 sonatas for keyboard and perhaps 3 of them rise to the level of wonderful composition. If you listen to them you hear he doesn't really "get started " until about sonata 32, compared with say Beethoven who except for 3 or 4 composed 32 of the greatest piano sonatas the world will ever hear. I have attempted to give Haydn a fair hearing for symphonic ( boring ) and keyboard works but for the most part he must get the award for not really being able to put 2 consecutive asthetic notes together. The Nelson Mass is very nice. And I know in his last years, Europe just adored him. He was earning upward in todays dollars of $85,000, which just galled Mozart.Finally the sonatas are performed and recorded well.Before purchasing these sonatas listen to the clips and see if you dont want to run screaming into the night, but if you are a boring person with absolutely no musical asthetic, these sonatas cant be beat!

[Gurn Blanston]

Great job, Gurn! Much appreciated.

Just for fun: a 1-star Amazon review of McCabe's box.

I have listened to all 62 sonatas for keyboard and perhaps 3 of them rise to the level of wonderful composition. If you listen to them you hear he doesn't really "get started " until about sonata 32, compared with say Beethoven who except for 3 or 4 composed 32 of the greatest piano sonatas the world will ever hear. I have attempted to give Haydn a fair hearing for symphonic ( boring ) and keyboard works but for the most part he must get the award for not really being able to put 2 consecutive asthetic notes together. The Nelson Mass is very nice. And I know in his last years, Europe just adored him. He was earning upward in todays dollars of $85,000, which just galled Mozart.Finally the sonatas are performed and recorded well.Before purchasing these sonatas listen to the clips and see if you dont want to run screaming into the night, but if you are a boring person with absolutely no musical asthetic, these sonatas cant be beat!

I feel it is vitally important for someone trying to put on superior airs to be able to spell and have some grasp of grammar.   I love Amazon for those sorts of things, it's an open forum.

Comedy gold! 

You ought to hear my '5 Minutes on Mahler' bit.

[Mandryka]

Bilson is top drawer in my book. I enjoy his playing from Haydn to Schubert. I note that a lot of the next generation (like Oort for example) studied under Bilson at Cornell.

I agree about Bilson.

And yet Oort doesn't appear to be one of your favourites -- or maybe you just didn't  include a picture.

IMO he's more interesting than many of the ones you picture: maybe the most interesting fortepianist I've heard in Haydn and Mozart.

[Gurn Blanston]

I agree about Bilson.

And yet Oort doesn't appear to be one of your favourites -- or maybe you just didn't  include a picture.

IMO he's more interesting than many of the ones you picture: maybe the most interesting fortepianist I've heard in Haydn and Mozart.

No, I think you are seeing the post out of context. In the thread, we were talking about singles and doubles while avoiding the 4 complete cycles completely. So neither do you see Brautigam, Schornsheim or Beghin, not to mention Oort or any of those in the Brilliant box. In fact, I am quite fond of Oort.

[Karl Henning]

Well, you Oort to be.

(* ducks on way Oort *)

[Mandryka]

No, I think you are seeing the post out of context. In the thread, we were talking about singles and doubles while avoiding the 4 complete cycles completely. So neither do you see Brautigam, Schornsheim or Beghin, not to mention Oort or any of those in the Brilliant box. In fact, I am quite fond of Oort.

Aha -- I didn't check the context it's true.

I'm even starting to get into Oort's Chopin. And his Mozart is wonderful too. I prefer his Mozart to Bezuidenhout's -- he's less aggressive.

[Gurn Blanston]

Aha -- I didn't check the context it's true.

I'm even starting to get into Oort's Chopin. And his Mozart is wonderful too. I prefer his Mozart to Bezuidenhout's -- he's less aggressive.

Yes, moved here from another thread.

I also have his box of Nocturnes by various composers. That is really quite fine to my taste. It's true, his Mozart is more genteel than Bezuidenhout's, but since my only Mozart disk by him is that Stürm und Dräng disk, which isn't hurt by a little aggression, I have no complaint yet.

[Leo K.]

I've been exploring Brendel's 11 Haydn Sonata set, and I now I see (hear) the LIGHT. Amazing. As a listener who is mostly PI when it comes to classical works, I am happy to have this Brendel set in the collection.

[Antoine Marchand]

Here are a few more of my favorite keyboard disks. They are all PI, since I wore out the MI I have by posting the McCabe and that Ax disk. Some of you are down with that, others, not so much. But hey, try it, you might like it!   

Well, dear Gurnie, these are the only gapes, I detect in your excellent collection:


Vol I - Sturm und Drang


Vol II - Le style galant


Vol III - La maturité


Vol IV - L'Apogee   

[Gurn Blanston]

Well, dear Gurnie, these are the only gapes, I detect in your excellent collection:


Vol I - Sturm und Drang


Vol II - Le style galant


Vol III - La maturité


Vol IV - L'Apogee   

Dadgummit, Antoine! Well, you know I didn't even know the existence of those. That one I have on Arcana that was released in the Death Year was the only one I knew! Well, then of course I shall have to find them somewhere. He is the pinnacle!

[Antoine Marchand]

Dadgummit, Antoine! Well, you know I didn't even know the existence of those. That one I have on Arcana that was released in the Death Year was the only one I knew! Well, then of course I shall have to find them somewhere. He is the pinnacle!

Well, I even thought to post this one:



But then I thought it would perhaps be objected. 

It's just a bad joke. Badura-Skoda is a demigod. 

[Gurn Blanston]

Well, I even thought to post this one:



But then I thought it would perhaps be objected. 

It's just a bad joke. Badura-Skoda is a demigod. 

Amazing thing. that great fraud. It even caught the great Robbins-Landon long enough to get published, although he caught it afterwards. Yes, when those 2 hyphenated demigods get caught out, it makes we mortals laugh.

[Geo Dude]

Yes, moved here from another thread.

I also have his box of Nocturnes by various composers. That is really quite fine to my taste. It's true, his Mozart is more genteel than Bezuidenhout's, but since my only Mozart disk by him is that Stürm und Dräng disk, which isn't hurt by a little aggression, I have no complaint yet.

To be fair, if you listen to Bezuidenhout's later recordings of Mozart (the samples I've heard, at least) you'll find that Bezuidenhout is more genteel than Bezuidenhout.   He has acquired a certain elegance over the years without losing all of his edge and I think it makes for a great combination.


Time for thread duty.  Preliminary thoughts on the Beghin set: 

I'm on disc four and having mixed feelings about this set up to now.  On the one hand, the whole concept and execution behind the set is astounding and I'm glad that Haydn has finally been given the proper treatment, more so because it's at a budget price that will draw in new listeners.  On the other hand, Beghin and I seem to disagree on what kind of harpsichord and clavichord (or tuning of those instruments) makes for a good sound.  Thus far, the harpsichord and clavichord that he has used strike me as very bright and thin, even by harpischord/clavichord standards.  (Here are some samples of harpsichords that I love for a point of reference.)  As a result of this, I have trouble stringing together the series of pretty sounds into structured music without a deeper bass end to help put everything into focus.

Fortunately, there are moments of brilliance here and there that I love and I'm sure that in time I'll gain a better understanding of the harpsichord/clavichord section of this set.  Until then, I will be immersing myself in harpsichord and clavichord music.  (Looks like I may be going on a bit of a baroque binge...)  I will note that this set has made me much more appreciative of the Schornsheim set which previously turned me off.  Her darker toned harpsichord and staccato playing don't sound so 'heavy' now that I've heard this, and I would certainly recommend it as a contrasting set for Schornsheim lovers.  For that matter, my feelings on the music up to this point are not all negative:  While I don't particularly like the instruments I do love Beghin's playing style, and I am sure he will come across wonderfully on the works for square piano and the two fortepianos.  All three instruments performed magnificently in the 'making of' documentary on the DVD.

I would recommend this set to anyone interested in Haydn's music for the historical information if nothing else, but I think that one should do some sampling to make sure they like the sound of the keyboards used, or at least be prepared for a set that may take some time to grow on them.

By the way, this set hasn't been reviewed on Amazon yet and I'm sure it would be beneficial for Haydn newcomers.  Gurn?

[Mandryka]

To be fair, if you listen to Bezuidenhout's later recordings of Mozart (the samples I've heard, at least) you'll find that Bezuidenhout is more genteel than Bezuidenhout.   He has acquired a certain elegance over the years without losing all of his edge and I think it makes for a great combination.

I'm glad to hear it. I enjoyed his Beethoven Op 12/3 rather more than the Mozart. Even so, they're far from the most noble and elegant there. I also saw him perform some Schumann last year: that was a nice night out.

Re Haydn, one of my favourite sonatas is No. 30  (Hob 19), which I got to know originally through Ivo Pogorelich's wonderful recording. Schornsheim plays it on a a really characterful instrument and she is very prone to using rhythmic mannerisms, hesitations. I did not enjoy her performance.

Robert Hill is more satisfying. The problem there is that his conception of the music leans towards courtliness, and that's not the way which I really like. 

So the quest for a fun 30, to complement Pogorelich, goes on.