Haydn - Piano Sonatas
Posted by: droodzilla on 30 January 2008
Which box set is the best - McCabe, Buchbinder, or, dark horse, Schornsheim?
McCabe
Buchbinder
Schornsheim
An interesting short comparison of the first two sets may be found here:
Review
Which makes me think I would probably prefer McCabe.
If anyone's heard any/all of these sets I'd be delighted to hear their thoughts.
McCabe
Buchbinder
Schornsheim
An interesting short comparison of the first two sets may be found here:
Review
Which makes me think I would probably prefer McCabe.
If anyone's heard any/all of these sets I'd be delighted to hear their thoughts.
Posted on: 30 January 2008 by Oldnslow
Haven't heard those, but Hamelin's recent two CD set of Haydn sonatas on Hyperion is wonderful.
Posted on: 30 January 2008 by u5227470736789439
I have the McCabe. It is more than satisfactory - in fact it is great - but the only way you will know is to explore more than one reading.
I recommend the McCabe, and its very reasonable price is absolutely no guide to the quality of the contents on any level. It might form your starting point for further exploration of these wonderful pieces.
George
I recommend the McCabe, and its very reasonable price is absolutely no guide to the quality of the contents on any level. It might form your starting point for further exploration of these wonderful pieces.
George
Posted on: 30 January 2008 by Todd A
When it comes to complete sets, I've only heard the McCabe set, which is very fine. I'm not sure I really need another complete cycle, so I prefer individual sets at this point.
The previously mentioned Hamelin set is indeed superb. Other noteworthy discs or sets include a very young Zoltan Kocsis' twofer on Hungaroton, Jean Efflam Bavouzet's hard-to-find disc on Harmonic Records, Fazil Say's amazing single disc on Naive (possibly my favorite single Haydn sonata recording), and Andras Schiff's Teldec set. (Schiff's Denon disc is also excellent.)
--
The previously mentioned Hamelin set is indeed superb. Other noteworthy discs or sets include a very young Zoltan Kocsis' twofer on Hungaroton, Jean Efflam Bavouzet's hard-to-find disc on Harmonic Records, Fazil Say's amazing single disc on Naive (possibly my favorite single Haydn sonata recording), and Andras Schiff's Teldec set. (Schiff's Denon disc is also excellent.)
--
Posted on: 09 February 2008 by droodzilla
Well, I've bought the Schornsheim set, simply because it was available from Amazon market place for the absurdly low price of £8.93 (plus about £1 P&P). Ordered Thursday arrived this morning. Sounds like a lot of fun so far. Interestingly, she moves from harpsichord to pianoforte to piano, as the set progresses. All nicely packaged in a sturdy cardboard box, with 14CDs, and a nice booklet. Based on what I've heard, I can't imagine any Haydn lover being disappointed with this set:
Haydn Piano Sonatas
Haydn Piano Sonatas
Posted on: 20 February 2008 by u5227470736789439
How are they going? I reckon this is a real mine or almost unknown great music!
George
George
Posted on: 21 February 2008 by droodzilla
Hi George
So far, so good! I've listened to CDs 1,2, 12 and 13, covering the earliest and the latest sonatas on harpsichord and pianoforte respectively.
I think it took my ears a little while to get used to Haydn's style on the piano, as I'm only familiar with his string quartets and a few symphonies. The other shock was hearing a pianoforte for (I think) the first time. Weird, and not entirely pleasant for me, until I stopped trying to compare it with harpsichord, on the one hand, and piano, on the other. All 4 CDs I've heard have sustained my interest on repeat play (standard practice with new porchases), and I'm sure there is much more great music to come - the harpsichord used for some of the middle period sonatas is supposed to be especially fine.
It's a shame that CD 14 - an interview with the performer - is in German only, as I'd love to learn more about the music, and the thinking behind this project.
So far, so good! I've listened to CDs 1,2, 12 and 13, covering the earliest and the latest sonatas on harpsichord and pianoforte respectively.
I think it took my ears a little while to get used to Haydn's style on the piano, as I'm only familiar with his string quartets and a few symphonies. The other shock was hearing a pianoforte for (I think) the first time. Weird, and not entirely pleasant for me, until I stopped trying to compare it with harpsichord, on the one hand, and piano, on the other. All 4 CDs I've heard have sustained my interest on repeat play (standard practice with new porchases), and I'm sure there is much more great music to come - the harpsichord used for some of the middle period sonatas is supposed to be especially fine.
It's a shame that CD 14 - an interview with the performer - is in German only, as I'd love to learn more about the music, and the thinking behind this project.
Posted on: 21 February 2008 by u5227470736789439
Dear Droo,
I have fairly mixed feelings about old fortepianos. They can be splendid, but all too many are plainly clapped out old instruments beyong hope. Often I think the best sounding ones are modern copies. Pianos are not like violins, getting better with the decades!
But there is an important issue with the fortepiano, and not least of all in Haydn's music for the instrument. The very lack of sustain is calculated into the music, and unless carefully managed a modern grand piano can even be as inapropriate as it can be for Bach's harpsichord music.
In an way Edwin Fischer manges to play Bach convincingly on the piano, but many do not, so actually having access to recordings the style of instrument Haydn composed for will be very helpful for understanding his evolving style of composition from the early pieces designed for a harpsichord to the later ones designed for the then rapidly developing fortepiano.
One of the nicest Mozart performances I was at was of the Kegelstadt Trio [Clarinet, Viola, and Piano] where a lovely late eighteenth century square piano was used. It was a sublime instrument, but not all of them are!
George
I have fairly mixed feelings about old fortepianos. They can be splendid, but all too many are plainly clapped out old instruments beyong hope. Often I think the best sounding ones are modern copies. Pianos are not like violins, getting better with the decades!
But there is an important issue with the fortepiano, and not least of all in Haydn's music for the instrument. The very lack of sustain is calculated into the music, and unless carefully managed a modern grand piano can even be as inapropriate as it can be for Bach's harpsichord music.
In an way Edwin Fischer manges to play Bach convincingly on the piano, but many do not, so actually having access to recordings the style of instrument Haydn composed for will be very helpful for understanding his evolving style of composition from the early pieces designed for a harpsichord to the later ones designed for the then rapidly developing fortepiano.
One of the nicest Mozart performances I was at was of the Kegelstadt Trio [Clarinet, Viola, and Piano] where a lovely late eighteenth century square piano was used. It was a sublime instrument, but not all of them are!
George
Posted on: 21 February 2008 by droodzilla
quote:having access to recordings the style of instrument Haydn composed for will be very helpful for understanding his evolving style of composition from the early pieces designed for a harpsichord to the later ones designed for the then rapidly developing fortepiano.
That was one of the main reasons I plumped for this set. I'm no HIP purist, as you know, but I thought it would be interesting to track the evolution of Haydn's keyboard music as it adapted to the development of the pianoforte - and so it is!
Incidentally, I have no reason to believe that the pianofortes (two of them, I believe) used on these recordings are clapped out. My initial reaction to their sound was simply "the shock of the new" (or "old", in this case).