American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, who has accumulated a catalog of outstanding recordings, performs five captivating and stimulating sonatas by Franz Joseph Haydn. In addition to these solo works, McDermott also joins the Odense Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Scott Yoo in two Haydn piano concertos.

“I've long admired Anne-Marie McDermott's unsurpassed performances of Haydn. Her understanding of his music is superb and her playing of it so apt and expressive that I could not resist her invitation to provide cadenzas for one of Haydn's concerti. It was a joy to write them, and reproducing my own thoughts in the language of this ancient composer was exhilarating. It goes without saying that their realization in sound is exactly what I had intended.” - Charles Wuorinen (The noted American composer who wrote the cadenza for Haydn's Concerto No. 4 in G major, Hob.XVIII:4)

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

In 2013, the Attacca Quartet completed a recording project of the complete works for string quartet by John Adams for Azica Records. The review in the New York Times praised this vivacious, compelling set, describing the quartet's playing as exuberant, funky and... exactingly nuanced. The Boston Globe also praised the release, stating: Few [recent recordings] are as consequential as 'Fellow Traveler'... superb performances. The album was the recipient of the 2013 Nat'l Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award. The hope for our version of Haydn's Seven Last Words (a new arrangement by the Attacca Quartet's cellist Andree Yee) is that it sounds organic enough that even one who has heard the piece performed often will not consciously register anything has been done at all. It is further hoped this version retains the spirit and intimacy of a home version for string quartet, while seamlessly incorporating enough depth to deem it worthy of the concert hall.

HAYDN: String Quartets Op. 64, Nos. 4 - 6

"The Kodaly performances are all enjoyable. The B flat major is remarkably successful, with a vigorous opening Vivace assai and a rapt Adagio."

-- Penguin Guide [2003/4 Edition]

The first question here is what’s wrong with this disc? It was recorded in 1996 and released only now.

This is a highly competent selection of Haydn’s keyboard music most of which was written for the harpsichord. Later works were intended for the pianoforte. These variations are in addition to his 47 sonatas. Haydn is undervalued as a piano composer despite the advocacy of masters such as Schiff and Brendel. There are now at least four sets of the complete sonatas and Jando has recorded many of these. Single discs of the variations are rare and the value of this recording is therefore considerable.

The Twenty Variations in G major was written in about 1765 and in 1788-1789 abridged, re-arranged and transposed to the key of A major for publication (Naxos 8.553826).There is also a splendid performance by John McCabe as part of his 12 CD set (Decca). The theme is one of great simplicity in the form of a dance and Jando plays it with just the right amount of charm. The tune reminded me of Mozart’s early divertimento (K131), much loved by Beecham.

Haydn’s Theme and Variations in C major from around November 1790 was written shortly before the composer left for his visit to London for the "Saloman"concerts. This piece is more demanding than "20 variations" and is a teaching work. It is very well played with the odd intrusion of pianist vocalise.

The Capriccio in G major was written in 1765. I’m puzzled why we are jumping about chronologically. The detailed notes tell us it’s based on a folk song which must qualify in the bizarre titles league: Acht Sauschneider müssen sein (There must be eight to castrate a boar!). This is a happy piece and well executed by Jando with no hint of routine.

1768’s Arietta con 12 Variazioni, in the key of E flat major, is based on the Minuet of his Quartet, Op. 9, and No. 2 - dismissed by Hans Keller as a primitive work-splendidly played by the Angeles Quartet on Philips. The development of the variations is inventive and makes me wonder why Haydn’s piano music isn’t better known. This is delightful to listen to and must be fun to play. Some may prefer a harpsichord but I like the sound conjured up here.

The title Variations on "Gott erhalte", will mean little to the general public but the tune will. This is Haydn’s own keyboard arrangement of the variations on the Emperor’s Hymn that he had included in his String Quartet in C major, Op. 76, No. 3, written in 1797. It became the Austrian and later the German National Anthem. The variations are those in the quartet and works very well for the piano. As the standout piece on this disc I don’t understand why the cover doesn’t make it clearer what the music is based on Poor old Haydn!

Haydn’s F major Divertimento: Il Maestro e lo Scolare (The Master and the Pupil), for piano duet is from 1766-1768. The material apparently appears in a Baryton Trio of about 1767. Written for teaching purposes, my first thought was that the theme was reminiscent of Handel’s "The Harmonious Blacksmith". This only adds to its charm as far as I’m concerned. I think this would work well for a teacher and a promising pupil as the master plays first and the pupil follows. This was fun unlike some four hand music.

In summary this is an enterprising selection of music that deserves greater recognition. I loved it and would recommend this disc as a very good introduction to Haydn’s variations. I still don’t know why it’s been "in the can" for ten years!

-- David R. Dunsmore, MusicWeb International [3/2006]

HAYDN Piano Trios: No. 24 in D; No. 25 in G; No. 26 in f?; No. 31 in e? • Kungsbacka Pn Trio • NAXOS 8.572040 (52: 35)


This disc offers an intriguing set of paradoxes. But let’s first state that it is quite wonderful. The Adagio cantabile of Trio No. 26 is that of the Adagio of Haydn’s Symphony No. 102—and yet it is not. The notes are very much the same; one easily follows the symphony’s score during the trio, translating the first violin part to the piano and the winds to the violin. But the movement now makes a totally different impression, sweet and calm instead of solid and intense. This is not just the performance, and the Kungsbacka demonstrates elsewhere that it can be appropriately intense. In its complete set, Haydn Trio Eisenstadt (which I admire greatly) hews close to the symphony’s Adagio, and it just doesn’t work.


As I seem to repeat in every issue, there is no single right way to play Haydn, assuming competence and taste. This ensemble produces the impression of period practice, and yet Simon Crawford Phillips’s piano is clearly a modern grand. He achieves delicate, pearl-like tones in Haydn’s rising and falling phrases, but he sometimes pounds cadences in codas. These performances are thoughtful and relaxed (the andantes are especially lovely), with little of the sparkle of the Beaux Arts Trio’s recordings—which are in turn seldom contemplative and can wear one down with their consistent flash. Each complements the other, and many recordings lie in between; yet the Kungsbacka races through the presto “Hungarian Rondo” of No. 25 as fast as any group. If you prefer one complete set, I recommend Haydn Trio Eisenstadt on Phoenix Edition ( Fanfare 32:5). I prefer the variety of multiple ensembles, and these four trios mesh neatly with a disc of Nos. 21–23 by Trio 1790 on cpo (Complete Piano Trios Vol. 4) and Nos. 27–30 by Robert Levin, Vera Beths, and Anner Byslma on Sony. Add to these PentaTone’s two-SACD set of nine early trios by the Beaux Arts: no duplications, and you get both modern and period instruments.


FANFARE: James H. North

Members of the Mosaiques together with Patrick Cohen reawakened us to the delight of yet another evolving genre in which Haydn, once again, had ‘to become original’, in their piano trio recordings on Harmonia Mundi (11/91, 9/93, 9/95 and 5/96); now the Vienna Piano Trio, following hard on the heels of their own excellent Dvorak and Beethoven Trios (9/97), fill in some of the gaps, in close, sometimes breathy, but always thrillingly true new recordings of four of the Haydn trios.

The Gipsy Trio may have been written in and for London, but this ensemble’s short, snappy bowing, stomping piano accents and, above all, uniquely instinctive fluctuations of tempo and pulse in the finale, locate the work unmistakably in the grape-treading, Romany heart of the Burgenland. The steps of the dance shape and pervade the ETrio, too, in the jauntily sprung rhythms of the opening Allegretto, and the splendidly boisterous and cross-accented Allemande of its finale.

Among countless other delights in these bold and addictive performances is the sensitivity to the power of silence, and the short, hushed half-tones within the long-breathed lines of the Andante of the A major Trio. And, not least, the perceptive understanding and judgement of the shifting qualities of an Allegro which so well supports the structure of the outer movements of the D major, as well as enabling many a clearly articulated yet fanciful variation in the Gipsy Trio.

-- Hilary Finch, Gramophone [12/1997]

Haydn’s Keyboard Trios possess a rich variety of themes and musical inventiveness, with strong demands on the pianist. The C major is dramatic and eventful. Patterns are varied in the E major where Haydn gives the violin major lyrical statements, whilst in the E flat major he uses all his wit and guile to launch the finale’s captivating and joyful dance finale. The E flat major Hob. XV: 30 is notable for is subtle thematic development and commanding drama. Volume 1 (8.572040) of this series has been greatly admired, not least by Gramophone which stated that the Kungsbacka Piano Trio had nothing to fear from any other account.

Joseph Haydn’s long-term employment as Kapellmeister at the palace of Eszterháza in Hungary is reflected in the dedication of his set of three Trios, Hob XV:21–23 to Princess Marie Ermenegild Esterházy, though these were published in London during the second of Haydn’s visits. These delightful works are notable for the dexterity required of the pianist, and all, including the Trio No 14, involve lively and innovative use of tonality. Previous volumes in this series have been acclaimed for their “taste and stylistic insight”. (Daily Telegraph on Volume 1, 8.572040)

Classical Music

HAYDN: Piano Sonatas Nos. 29 and 33-35

"Bavouzet’s Haydn is unmatched in its zest and its wit. But it is also substantial, informed and deeply rewarding."

--The New York Times on Bavouzet's Haydn Sonatas cycle, 2022

Alongside an internationally acclaimed celebration of Debussy’s centenary, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet continues his sumptuous journey through Haydn, the installments consistently praised for their intelligent approach and clear and vivid interpretations. Recorded on a modern Yamaha CFX in the warm acoustic of Potton Hall in Suffolk, the series has now reached Volume 7, which showcases several rarely heard sonatas, some of which have been considered of dubious authenticity or outright apocryphal. With the exception of No. 13 (Hob. XVI: 6), absolutely and unarguably authentic, these sonatas survive only in the form of copies, and to establish a chronology is difficult, even impossible. But through Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s playing, all these pieces are revealed in their purest essence and diversity, from the energetic, witty, and ironic to the graceful, tender, and intimate.

REVIEWS

Extremely well recorded in Potton hall in Suffolk, Bavouzet’s Yamaha enables him to bring ideal clarity to these elegant works.

--BBC Music Magazine

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s Haydn isn’t a comfortable ride but a vivid one. Take his stimulating approach to Sonata 58’s first movement; it has warmth, athleticism and a feel of being improvised while missing nothing of Haydn’s harmonic, rhythmic and dynamic twists. There’s a certain quirkiness about it, but that is exactly Haydn’s.

--MusicWeb International (Michael Greenhalgh)

"Bavouzet’s Haydn is unmatched in its zest and its wit. But it is also substantial, informed and deeply rewarding."

--The New York Times on Bavouzet's Haydn Sonatas cycle, 2022

The highly acclaimed series of Haydn’s complete piano sonatas with multi-award winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has now reached Volume 6, its halfway point. This set opens with the most imposing of Haydn’s early sonatas, No. 11, and follows it with two lesser-known ones, both from the late 1770s, that were published without the composer’s approval: Nos. 34 and 35. Each of Nos. 36 and 43, the last two featured here, opens a new group of six sonatas, and a new world in Haydn’s compositional style. Future volumes will continue to explore the huge variety of style and expression found in Haydn’s sonatas.

As usual the pianist conveys his personal views in the booklet notes, praising ‘the generally very short phrases typical of Haydn, the abundant touches of humor, the surprises, the embellishments,’ and adding: “The five sonatas in this program are not among the most well known. But what treasures they conceal!...I am delighted to dedicate this disc to Professor Erno Nemecz with whom I have shared a love for Haydn’s music for thirty-five years.”

REVIEW

Six volumes into Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s tour through the complete Haydn Piano Sonatas, listeners will have a pretty good idea of what to expect...a witty, urbane, slightly French-accented take on repertoire that has long cried out for a contemporary champion. This is Haydn for, and of, a new generation.

Wisely ignoring chronology, each volume is a musical lucky dip, throwing together a diverse grouping of works. Volume Six is built around the spacious Sonata in B Flat Major, No. 11. The more sedate E-flat Major Sonata No. 43 feels, by contrast, rather anonymous, despite Bavouzet’s frisky ornaments. This gives way with calculated shock to the expansive grace of the central Minuet and Trio. Bavouzet makes his slow movements sing in silky tone and legatos, but it’s the livelier, comic movements where he really comes into his own. I defy anyone to listen to the irrepressible final Rondo from the Sonata in A Flat Major No. 35, or the slinky, near-jazz of the C Major Sonata’s first movement Allegro and not find themselves grinning with delight at such irreverent, instinctive musicianship.

--Limelight (Alexandra Coghlan)

Haydn: Piano Sonatas Nos. 48-52