Haydn: Piano Sonatas Vol.6 – Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

   in Piano International (Sep, 2017)
Volume 6 of this series has a playing time of well over 80 minutes. Bavouzet’s zeal for this music is everywhere evident, including in his booklet ‘Performer’s Note’.

The early Sonata No 11 in B-flat is a substantial work for the period, its slow movement punching way above its weight. Bavouzet pinpoints its doom-laden sense of tragedy perfectly, setting the Menuet finale into high relief. No 43’s first movement includes arresting Adagio interpolations, while it is impossible to resist the playful appeal of the finale, an (unlabelled) set of variations.

Bavouzet has a way with Haydn’s simpler textures, while finding both quartet and orchestral textures in the finale of No 35, …