"The 'Sonata in E flat major, XVI:49' in the Hoboken listing of Haydn's works, was dedicated to Anna von Gerlischek, a housekeeper in the service of the Esterházys, who later married the Esterháza violinist Johann Tost, a man whose later business dealings with Haydn have raised various questions. The sonata was in fact intended for Maria Anna von Genzinger, wife of the ennobled physician to Prince Nikolaus and a gifted player, with whom Haydn carried on a playfully teasing correspondence. In a letter dated 20th June 1790 he tells her he has sent her his brand new E-flat Sonata, although it is not entirely new; in fact only the Adagio is new, and he expresses a wish to play the sonata to her himself, something that would make his absence from Vienna more tolerable. Mademoiselle Nanette, Anna von Gerlischek, is not to know that the work she has commissioned for Frau von Genzinger was already half completed. In a letter written a week later Haydn tells Frau von Genzinger that he has played the sonata at Mademoiselle Nanette's in the presence of the Prince and was rewarded by her giving him the present of a gold tobacco-box. Later problems arose over a pirated edition of the sonata, attributed by Haydn to the activities of an unscrupulous copyist. The opening figure of the first movement assumes importance as the work progresses, with a four note figure near the end of the exposition leading, in the central development section, to a brief cadenza before the final recapitulation. The B-flat 'Adagio' is a movement of particular beauty. The final 'Tempo di Minuet' includes a version of the principal theme in the key of E-flat minor, before the re-establishment of the original key brings the sonata to an end.
"The three sonatas listed as Hoboken XVI: 50-52 were written in 1794 or 1795 for Therese Jansen, a pupil of Clementi, who enjoyed particular success in London as a teacher and performer. In 1795 she married the London art-dealer Gaetano Bartolozzi and later moved with him to Vienna and then to Venice, before returning to London in 1800, after losses incurred in the Napoleonic Wars. Problems arose over the publication of these last of Haydn's piano sonatas, the rights to which, the property of Therese Jansen, seem to have been partly infringed by the composer.
"The first of the Jansen sonatas, the 'Sonata in C major', known sometimes as the 'English Sonata', was written in part with the possibilities of the instrument available to Therese Jansen in London in mind, including a passage in the first movement marked 'sopra una corda', on one string, impossible on the pianos then available in Vienna. The extended first movement contains a wide range of dynamic effects, even in the statement of the first subject, while the last movement uses an upper range of the keyboard not then found on continental instruments. The F major 'Adagio', apparently written earlier in Vienna, before Haydn's second journey to England, allows lyrical embellishment of the melody. It is followed by a final rondo that has its surprises, as the principal theme is momentarily interrupted, a recurrent feature.
"The two-movement 'Sonata in D major, Hob. XVI: 51', is firmly based on its opening theme, which appears at the start of each of the three sections of the movement, the second containing a passage in the key of D minor. The second movement, marked 'Presto', is marked by off-beat dynamic accents and carries many of the features of a scherzo, its opening figure later recalled by Beethoven. The sonata leads to the last of Haydn's compositions in this form, the 'Sonata in E flat major, Hob. XVI: 52'. The first movement of this sonata opens impressively with arpeggiated chords, introducing a movement that makes demands on a performer in the elaboration of its central development section and the brilliance of its conclusion. The 'Adagio' shifts to the unexpected key of E major, again exploiting the dynamic and timbre possibilities of the available English piano. The original key is restored in the last movement, which makes its own not unconsiderable demands on a performer. This final sonata was not published in London until 1799, when it appeared with its dedication to Therese Jansen. In December 1798 Artaria had published the sonata in Vienna with a dedication to Madeleine von Kurzböck, also a pupil of Clementi and of Haydn himself. The work received wide acclaim, to become not only the summary of Haydn's own achievement in the keyboard sonata, but to exercise very considerable influence on later composers." (Frédéric Castello. From the liner notes.)
Performer: Jenő Jandó
1. Piano Sonata No. 59 In E-Flat Major, Hob XVI:49: I. Allegro
2. Piano Sonata No. 59 In E-Flat Major, Hob XVI:49: II. Adagio E Cantabile
3. Piano Sonata No. 59 In E-Flat Major, Hob XVI:49: III. Finale: Tempo Di Minuet
4. Piano Sonata No. 60 In C Major, Hob XVI:50: I. Allegro
5. Piano Sonata No. 60 In C Major, Hob XVI:50: II. Adagio
6. Piano Sonata No. 60 In C Major, Hob XVI:50: III. Allegro Molto
7. Piano Sonata No. 61 In D Major, Hob XVI:51: I. Andante
8. Piano Sonata No. 61 In D Major, Hob XVI:51: II. Finale: Presto
9. Piano Sonata No. 62 In E-Flat Major, Hob XVI:52: I. Allegro
10. Piano Sonata No. 62 In E-Flat Major, Hob XVI:52: II. Adagio
11. Piano Sonata No. 62 In E-Flat Major, Hob XVI:52: III. Finale: Presto
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