Joseph Haydn: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2

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Most impressive throughout the disc is McCawley’s command of subtle nuance and rubato without ever sounding self-conscious or mannered. The impression, so artfully mediated, is that the music... — BBC Music Magazine, December 2019, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Aug 2019
Catalogue No: SOMMCD0602
Label: Somm
Length: 76 minutes

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Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 50 in D major, Hob.XVI:37

Work length10:27

$3.00

$3.90

$5.25

Leon McCawley

I. Allegro con brio

Track length4:22

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Largo e sostenuto

Track length2:34

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Finale. Presto ma non troppo

Track length3:31

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 54 in G major, Hob.XVI:40

Work length11:48

$3.00

$3.90

$5.25

Leon McCawley

I. Allegretto innocente

Track length8:42

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

II. Presto

Track length3:06

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Haydn: Sonata No.19 in E minor, Hob. XVI:47

Work length12:49

$3.00

$3.90

$5.25

Leon McCawley

I. Adagio

Track length4:29

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Allegro

Track length4:41

$1.00

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$1.75

III. Finale. Tempo di minuet

Track length3:39

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 47 in B minor, Hob.XVI:32

Work length10:59

$3.00

$3.90

$5.25

Leon McCawley

I. Allegro moderato

Track length4:37

$1.00

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II. Menuet

Track length3:17

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III. Finale. Presto

Track length3:05

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Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 58 in C major, Hob.XVI:48

Work length11:18

$3.00

$3.90

$5.25

Leon McCawley

I. Andante con espressione

Track length7:02

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

II. Rondo. Presto

Track length4:16

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 59 in E flat major, Hob.XVI:49

Work length19:34

$4.00

$5.20

$7.00

Leon McCawley

I. Allegro

Track length6:53

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Adagio e cantabile

Track length8:28

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

III. Finale. Tempo di minuet

Track length4:13

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

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SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce Leon McCawley’s second volume of Piano Sonatas by Franz Joseph Haydn.

McCawley’s admired first volume, pairing Haydn’s Sonatas and Variations (SOMMCD0162), received a coveted Diapason d’Or for playing of “great intelligibility and sensitivity”. Sonata no.60 from Volume 1 has been selected by Diapason to appear on its next CD, Les indispensables de Diapason, featuring six Haydn sonatas played on different keyboards.

In his authoritative booklet notes, Bryce Morrison makes a persuasive argument for the Piano Sonatas in “celebrating Haydn’s endless innovation, richness and variety and, most importantly, his humanity”. Those qualities are brilliantly realised by McCawley in six sonatas spanning 25 years.

Caught on the cusp of youth and maturity, Sonata no.19 is a work of lyrical and dramatic contrasts with a unique structure and surprising innovation. At odds with the inherited image of Haydn as a prankster, Sonata no.47 inhabits a dark, even menacing world that concludes in abrupt savagery. The Bach-accented Sonata no.50 is a work characterised by scintillating writing, Sonata no.54, in Morrison’s memorable phrase, “falls like balm on the ear”.

Ushering in new approaches and radical thinking, two late Sonatas – nos. 58 and 59 – show Haydn anticipating Beethoven with prescient command of tone and combustible technique.

Leon McCawley’s previous recordings for SOMM have received wide critical praise. Gramophone hailed his complete Rachmaninov Preludes (SOMMCD0143) as “a distinguished issue”, and the “superb collection” of Samuel Barber’s piano music (SOMMCD0108) was an Editor’s Choice.

Fanfare described his playing of Brahms (SOMMCD0116) as “music-making of a very high order” with International Record Review adding: “When all is said and done, it is difficult to know whether McCawley’s refined piano playing, his natural yet cultivated musicality or his boundless imagination warrants the greater praise. You must hear the recording.”

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Reviews

December 2019

Most impressive throughout the disc is McCawley’s command of subtle nuance and rubato without ever sounding self-conscious or mannered. The impression, so artfully mediated, is that the music is being allowed to speak for its witty, turbulent, elegant or serene self. We are beginning to be spoiled for choice amidst a plethora of recent Haydn sonata recordings, but this collection should stand high on any list.

November 2019

Light of touch, stylistically assured and brimful of intelligence and wit, Leon McCawley’s second instalment of Haydn sonatas for Somm fairly sparkles with delight...Haydn’s multifarious moods are captured with the ease of a master portraitist, working with the utmost economy of means...McCawley has a great deal to say in this music, and does so with eloquence and grace. I look forward to hearing a lot more.

November 2019

There is an abundance of joy in McCawley’s sparkling acciaccaturas of the D major Sonata (No 59), maximally contrasted with the central Largo e sostenuto, a dignified post-Baroque sarabande. Perhaps McCawley is at his finest in the enigmatic E minor (No 19), revealing an absolute jewel. The B minor (No 47) is a profound utterance; the great E-flat (No 59) is grand and impressive. Somm’s recording captures every nuance.

November 2019

A sterling addition to an exciting new traversal of the complete Haydn sonatas.

Joseph Haydn: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2

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