Jérôme Hantaï - Haydn: Sonates pour Pianoforte (2006)

Right on the heels of a disc of Haydn keyboard sonatas from Malcolm Bilson comes this one from Jerome Hantaï. Hantaï, like Bilson, uses a fortepiano for these sonatas. This one is a 1788 instrument with a very ringing tone, excellently captured in the recording, with a relatively small capability of shading with knee levers to change registers. The fact that none of the sonatas on this disc overlap with those on Bilson's shows that there is a wealth of music in Haydn's keyboard output that is underutilized compared to Mozart's. Hantaï chose sonatas from several periods in Haydn's career, some written for students, some for more accomplished musicians, some in two movements, some in three. The highlights on this disc include the Sonata in A flat major, Hob. 16:46, the Sonata in E flat major, Hob. 16:28, and the Sonata in B flat major, Hob. 16:2. Both the A flat and the E flat sonatas are rich in contrasts and showy ornamentation, with graceful middle movements and happy, speedy finales that end without slowing down. The finale of the E flat is a set of variations that cleverly splits the syncopated theme between the hands. The B flat sonata, one of Haydn's early sonatas, is more of a one-mood-per-movement work, but is no less impressive. Its Adagio is lyrical, almost like a Baroque aria, and has the emotional potentional of a Bach adagio. Hantaï's performance is not as nuanced as Bilson's, but he does approach the sonatas wholeheartedly. There is determination in his allegros, stateliness in his minuets, tenderness in his adagios, and enthusiasm in his prestos. It's an admirable performance of some often overlooked works.