“A great idea from the Henle edition to honor Haydn with 55 pianists and their fingerings!”

Carmen Piazzini

 

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“I think this new edition will be a great chance for us to get to know the other sonatas and to explore the joyful and different music making of Haydn.”

William Youn

 

Piano Sonata c minor Hob. XVI:20

The Sonata XVI:20 in c minor has an unusually long genesis, in light of Joseph Haydn’s manner of composing. He already set to work on the conception of the work in 1771 – while he was still in his “Sturm-und-Drang” phase. An autograph fragment has survived from this time, containing parts of the 1st and 3rd movements. We do not know whether the sonata had been worked out to a large extent at this time or not. It is, however, clear that it was only published almost ten years later. Haydn placed this first “Sonata” – styled thus by the composer and already in his mature Classical style – on a level with the five “Auenbrugger Sonatas” that he had composed in close succession. Haydn wrote to his publisher in 1780 about it: “I am sending the 6th Clavier Sonata because this is the longest and most difficult”. “Haydn’s Appassionata” is the name given to it by the musicologist Richard Wigmore – if you’re interested in following this train of thought, you can listen to:

• Alfred Brendel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwOlGL5GJFU
• Sviatoslav Richter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KjXvXcpbAU
• Christian Zacharias: https://youtu.be/g5eLDt-9aHk

This sonata brings Volume II of our new edition to its close, the fingerings were provided by Paul Lewis: https://www.paullewispiano.co.uk/

Piano Sonata C major Hob. XVI:35

 

The Sonatas XVI:35-39 and 20 are compositions which fall in the period when the harpsichord and the clavichord were being replaced by the fortepiano. The publisher Artaria dedicated them to the sisters Katharina and Marianna Auenbrugger, both of whom Haydn held in great esteem. Thus he wrote to Artaria on 25 February 1780: “The approval of the Misses v. Auenbrugger is most important to me, as their manner of playing and their genuine insight into composition is equal to that of the greatest composers: Both of them deserve to be made known throughout Europe in public papers.” And in a later letter: “I only regret one thing, that I have not been able to enjoy the honour of dedicating these sonatas to the Misses v. Auenbrugger”. You can find out more about the Auenbrugger sisters on the website of the Sophie Drinker Institut (in German). The first of this group, Hob. XVI:35 in C major, is today one of the most popular in piano lessons – you can listen to the following to find out why this is the case:

• Robert Riefling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml2YP8N8OaI
• Fazil Say (1st movement): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRkpH_JUwf8

The Sonata XVI:35 in C major is in Volume II of our new edition, the fingerings were provided by Dénes Várjon: http://denesvarjon.com/

Piano Sonata E-flat major Hob. XVI:49

 

The first movement of the famous Sonata in E-flat major that was composed in 1789–90 “is considered to be a perfect example of the ‘Classical’ principle of simultaneous ‘unity and diversity’”. The work was commissioned by Maria Anna Gerbischek (her name can be found in the surviving autograph) for their mutual friend and the later dedicatee Maria Anna von Gennzinger. The latter thanked Haydn on 11 July 1790 as follows: “The Sonata pleases me extremely well” At the same time, she asks him to change the passage in the second part of the Adagio, in which the left hand has to cross over the right one: “because I am not used to such a thing, I find it difficult”. Despite Haydn’s assurance that he would attend to her request, today we know of no simplified version. By the way: as a gift for presenting the sonata in front of Gerbischek and Prince Esterházy, Haydn received a gold tobacco box on 24 June 1790. He had refused payment. How much would be paid today for a masterpiece such as this? For there is little doubt that this is what it is, as you can, for example, find out here:

• Emanuel Ax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illRA6DMZv4
• Alfred Brendel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWF-48jIrSU
• Alexei Volodin: https://youtu.be/Omn2VUQIDYE

This sonata is in Volume III of our new edition, with fingerings provided by Evgeny Kissin: https://www.kissin.org/