SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce the third volume in Leon McCawley's much praised series of Franz Joseph Haydn's Piano Sonatas. Six Sonatas, spanning the years 1767-84, are featured: the earliest No.31 in A-flat major, the latest No.56 in D major while Robert Matthew- Walker provides fascinating booklet notes describing the multifarious effects on his music of Haydn's enthusiasm for equal temperament. Sonata No.31 in A-flat major is, he says, a continuation of Bach that seems to bypass Mozart and anticipate early Beethoven: "Astonishingly original music, and not just for it's time". The two-movement Sonata No.32 in G minor is a unique and intimate work while No.34 in D major boasts an innovative tonal scheme that disguises it's virtuosity with immediately approachable technique. The F major Sonata No.38, notes Matthew-Walker, is "full of that wonderful combination of inner life and directly human expression that is the essence of Haydn". Two later Sonatas - Nos.55 (B-flat major) and 56 (D major) - arguably saw romantic sonata form tested to it's expressive limits by "Haydn's original genius" and his "thematic developmental-variation technique even today causing surprise for it's profoundly original subtleties". Volume I was recognized with a coveted Diapason d'Or from Diapason magazine, which enthused: "What a range in his interpretation and how many layers of gradation! McCawley ties these together in a special quality of inflexions which make their point with great intelligibility and sensitivity". BBC Music Magazine declared Volume II "should stand high on any list" of quality recordings of Haydn, adding "the sparkle of McCawley's touch is instantly apparent". Gramophone also commended McCawley's playing, describing it as "light of touch, stylistically assured and brimful of intelligence and wit".

Tracklist:

Piano Sonata No. 34 In D Major, Op. 41 No. 2, Hob. XVI:33: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 34 In D Major, Op. 41 No. 2, Hob. XVI:33: II. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 34 In D Major, Op. 41 No. 2, Hob. XVI:33: III. Tempo Di Menuet
Piano Sonata No. 32 In G Minor, Hob. XVI:44: I. Moderato
Piano Sonata No. 32 In G Minor, Hob. XVI:44: II. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 31 In A-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:46: I. Allegro Moderato
Piano Sonata No. 31 In A-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:46: II. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 31 In A-Flat Major, Hob. XVI:46: III. Finale. Presto
Piano Sonata No. 38 In F Major, Op. 13 No. 3, Hob. XVI:23: I. Moderato
Piano Sonata No. 38 In F Major, Op. 13 No. 3, Hob. XVI:23: II. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 38 In F Major, Op. 13 No. 3, Hob. XVI:23: III. Finale. Presto
Piano Sonata No. 55 In B-Flat Major, Op. 37 No. 2, Hob. XVI:41: I. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 55 In B-Flat Major, Op. 37 No. 2, Hob. XVI:41: II. Allegro Di Molto
Piano Sonata No. 56 In D Major, Op. 37 No. 3, Hob. XVI:42: I. Andante Con Espressione
Piano Sonata No. 56 In D Major, Op. 37 No. 3, Hob. XVI:42: II. Vivace Assai

UPC: 748871062429
Label: Somm Recordings
Release Date: 11.20.20
Format: CD

Haydn / Mccawley - Piano Sonatas 3 (CD)