Yevgeny Sudbin, the pianist on this recording, was born in St Petersburg and has been hailed as 'potentially one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century' by the Daily Telegraph (UK).
Composition History
The Andante con variazioni in F minor, Hob. XVII:6, a deeply profound and tragic piece, is believed by some to have been written for the death of Mozart in 1791.
Recording & Production
This Hybrid SACD recording aims to reproduce the natural sound of a concert venue as faithfully as possible using 5.0 Surround sound, with all five channels recorded using the full frequency range.
Composer Biography
Joseph Haydn was affectionately nicknamed 'Papa Haydn' due to his warm, kind, and generous personality, and also for his unmatched contributions to the symphony and string quartet genres.
Compositional Technique
Haydn's keyboard works, unlike most of Scarlatti's, were intended for the piano, and he appreciated the instrument's varied colors and dynamic capabilities, especially the English Broadwood pianos.
Compositional Technique
Haydn's Fantasia in C major, Hob. XVII:4, includes a musical joke where he instructs the performer to hold a sound until it's no longer heard, which on a modern piano results in an extremely long pause.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Haydn's music often incorporates humor, with contemporaries noting his 'innocent mischievousness' and his intention to lure listeners into the comical with 'frivolous twists and turns of the seemingly serious'.
You might also enjoy...
Haydn: Works for Piano
Alfred Brendel - Great Pianists of the 20th Century Vol.12
