"I find Jeno Janos' series of Haydn's Piano sonatas very entertaining. In fact, there is only a small handful of pianist's that have recorded these earliest sonatas and IMHO I couldn't imagine better performances! They are all short and sweet. If you enjoy early Mozart, you will certainly love these works! My only quibble is that tracks 13 and 14 are exactly the same. Maybe the engineers at Naxos should pay more attention!"
Delicate and satisfying
John J. Willoughby | Amherst, MA | 06/13/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jando gives these sonatas a light yet pleasing touch. They certainly glide along and seem to rythmically resonate in some way - they just seem 'right'. Having heard these versions I can't imagine anyone else playing them.
Having heard several of the other volumes of Jando/Haydn, I can say that this is my favourite so far - and at least one co-worker rushed out and bought the CD after I bought it to work.
I highly recommend this disc to Haydn fans and those who would enjoy an hour of sublimely played, elegant piano sonatas."
Charming
Bach fan | Maryland, U.S. | 11/20/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"These attractive sonatas receive beautiful performances from Jando. The previous reviewer had a quibble regarding tracks 13 and 14 being the same; but, in fact, Haydn made the finale to Sonata # 4 the opening movement of # 5."
Jeno Jando Plays Early Haydn Sonatas
Robin Friedman | Washington, D.C. United States | 06/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is a delightful recording of the earliest keyboard sonatas attributed to Haydn. The sonatas are "attributed" to Haydn because scholars have questions about the authenticity of at least some of them. In addition, the sonatas cannot be precisely dated. They are generally thought to be composed with 1766 as an outside limit. More likely, these works were composed in the late 1750s and early 1760s.
These types of questions should not deter you from enjoying these works. They are light, flowing, graceful, and accessible. The sonatas were composed at the beginning of the classical period and exemplify the galant style that developed as a reaction to the difficulties of the contrapuntal music of the baroque era. The sonatas were originally composed for the harpsichord, but they work well on the piano as this CD shows. Jeno Jando beautifully plays these early works as part of his recording of the complete Haydn piano sonatas on Naxos. Jando has recorded prolifically for Naxos over the years. He is at his best in Haydn.
The CD includes ten sonatas, all of which are in the major key. Each work is short, ranging from under five minutes for each of the first two sonatas to about nine minutes for the sixth sonata. Sonata no. 9 consists of two movements while the first sonata consists of four very brief movements. The remaining eight sonatas are in three movements.
The works include some interesting variations in structure. The four-movement sonata no. 1 is in the pattern allegro-minuet-andante-allegro. The sonatas typically open with a fast movement, but two works, no. 6 and 9 begin moderato. One of favorites of these works, no. 7 in D major, opens with a theme and variations. The second movement of most of the works is generally a minuet which ususally, but not always, includes a trio section. In sonatas 5 and 10, a slow movement appears rather than the minuet. The finale is almost always quick and lively. But here again there are exceptions. Sonatas 5, 9, and 10 end with a minuet while sonata no. 3 ends with a scherzo. Furthermore, Haydn cannabalized among these sonata, as he would do throughout his career. The final movement of sonata no. 4 becomes the opening presto of the next work, sonata no. 5.
The circumstances for which these works were composed also is obscure. Some of the sonatas were probably written for drawing-room performance. But several of them likely were composed as teaching pieces, either for Haydn's early young pupils or for family members or courtiers at the Morin or Esterhazy courts. Whatever the case, this is music to be enjoyed rather than to be over-intellectualized.
This CD is lovely to hear and makes an excellent introduction to the early classical style for keyboard. It offers an excellent lead-in to Haydn's mature piano sonatas or to his earliest symphonies that probably date from the time of these sonatas.
Robin Friedman"
Spirited Haydn from a wonderful pianist
Mark Hennicke | A stone's throw from Carnegie Hall | 05/29/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been very fortunate in several Naxos cd purchases lately. I have the Marin Alsop's terrific Brahms Symphony cycle and several volumes in Idil Biret's acclaimed complete Chopin recordings, but I've been most impressed with the Haydn I've heard from Jeno Jando on this compact disc. Remembering that Jando had recorded Haydn's solo piano works extensively, I decided to give this marvelous cd a try. I couldn't be more pleased, as the pianist gives wonderfully spirited performances of the first ten piano sonatas of Franz Joseph Haydn. Jando's readings are world class & quite exciting and the Naxos sound is very sharp & clear. While there are some grand performances of solo Haydn piano works available, I still find these works to be under-represented in the classical cd catalog. Still, Jeno Jando's work on this disc, volume #10 in his survey of Haydn's piano pieces, is so appealing that obtaining the remainder of his FJH cds will quickly become a priority.
This present cd is highly recommended to Haydn devotees & piano afficianados alike. This is joyous music making by a brilliant, gifted musician."
Track Listings (30) - Disc #1