Haydn - Piano Concertos: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

Spirited and virtuosic performances of Haydn's best-known piano concertos. Classic FM Drive Featured Album, 15 September 2014.

The French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has already won critical acclaim for his five albums of the piano sonatas of Joseph Haydn. He now turns his attention to the great composer's concerto repertoire, opting for the three best-known of Haydn's 12 forays into the genre.

Two of the concertos are from the composer's early years and Bavouzet keeps things appropriately simple and precise. Haydn's later D major concerto is both witty and dramatic and here the pianist with the Manchester Camerata, led by conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy, clearly delight in the humour of the piece and enjoy its unpredictable twists and turns.

For anyone wanting to discover Haydn's piano works, this is a spirited, intelligent and well-produced offering.