Search - Haydn, Richter :: Piano Sonatas Nos 40 41 44 48 52

SUPERB HAYDN !!!

Ravi | CHENNAI,INDIA | 07/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Richter's Haydn has sparkle and a Gentle old worldly charm.Haydn's sonatas are radiant works,full of surprises and twists.Bombast and pretention just do not find a place.In the excellent DVD 'Richter,The Enigma" Richter explains how he prefers Haydn to Mozart.The Maestro sadly ruminates "Gentle Haydn!What a composer!Alas Pianists are indifferent!".As if to make amends ,Richter plays these sonatas with great affection and depth of feeling.Just listen to sonata HOBS 52 on this CD.There is a clipping of Richter playing this piece on the DVD.A true treat!Grab Richter's Haydn whereever you find!Other pianists just do not come any where near!"

Richter is one of the best interpreters of Haydn's sonatas

Nina Shishkoff | Mount Airy, MD | 07/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Haydn's piano sonatas are not well-known, possibly because many of them are "easy" and therefore not attractive to virtuosi. They also use elaborate ornamentation that can sound fussy to people more familiar with the solo piano pieces of Mozart and Beethoven. They are, however, astoundingly intelligent works, and represent every stage of Haydn's output. If you have to choose only one interpreter of Haydn's piano music, it should be Gilbert Kalish, but Richter obviously knows and admires the sonatas. I doubt he plays the pieces with any historical correctness, but it is interesting to remember that he is the foremost interpreter of Prokofiev's piano works. His interpretation of #52 (the last and most puzzling of Haydn's sonatas) is the best I've heard."

A marvel!

Mark Twain | Florida, MO USA | 04/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These two disks, volumes II and III from the Decca "Sviatoslav Richter" series, are the pinnacle of Haydn piano sonata playing. No better performances exist or, I am afraid, are possible. In Richter's hands, each sonata is like a jewel of different color and shape, rotating slowly in a beam of light. The sound is excellent too, a little better in vol. II, with vol. III sounding somewhat harsh and less natural. Unfortunately, those recordings are not easy to come by in the US. Decca would do well by issuing both disks as a separate set. Then, don't hesitate."