Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 04/27/2011, uploaded on 11/04/2011

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Joseph Haydn composed this sonata around 1768.  Despite its late number (No. 46 out of 51), it is in fact an early sonata, composed around the time Haydn became acquainted with the piano. The A-flat Major Sonata could have been written even before the famous C Minor Sonata, which reveals more subtle dynamic signs than Haydn’s previous clavier works – an indication that the work was intended to be performed on piano. Subtle dynamic changes such as crescendo or diminuendo were impossible to make on the harpsichord. The opening Allegro moderato contains many rapid runs along the keyboard, and a delightfully playful overall sound. The melody flies up and down, with an almost Mozartian lightness. The charming Adagio is slow and melancholy, and very lyrical, its melodies floating across the keyboard, livened by a series of trills. The Finale, is fast and brilliant.      <em>Inesa Sinkevich</em>