Haydn's dazzling sleight-of-hand exuberance

Alain Plainès revolutionises Haydns' rather conventional piano sonatas

Composer: Haydn
Repertoire: Piano Sonatas
Artists: Alain Plainès (piano)
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Instrumental
Label: HMC 901763

It’s no easy thing balancing the cool Rococo inheritance of Haydn’s piano sonatas with their occasional premonitions of the young Beethoven in full swing. Yet somehow Alain Plainès manages to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat, transforming even the most apparently ordinary of gestures into absorbing musical statements. Some might miss the philosophical musings of Brendel, but otherwise this is most distinguished.