Piano Sonata e minor Hob. XVI:34

Only a few of Haydn’s piano sonatas are in the minor mode, and they are all sombre and defiant in tone. This famous sonata in e minor opens with an impatient and insistent motif in what is surely one of the Viennese master’s most passionate sonata movements.

The middle movement in G major, by contrast, transports us into a different world that is flooded with light. The finale sets off in restless manner, and its alternation of major and minor provides a cheerfully ironic close to the work. You can rediscover this pearl among Haydn’s sonatas here, with fingerings by Murray Perahia that combine ergonomics with the utmost sensitivity to the music. The musical text of this practical Henle Urtext edition has been brought in line with the latest research as part of a revision of all of Haydn’s piano sonatas.