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Haydn at Wigmore Hall 2009

Haydn Trios & Quartets

András Schiff, piano
Yuuko Shiokawa, violin
Miklós Perényi, cello

Quatuor Mosaïques
·· Erich Höbarth, Violin
·· Andrea Bischof, Violin
·· Anita Mitterer, Viola
·· Christophe Coin, Cello

An occasional, always welcome contribution from Nina Drucker - who has no new-fangled electronic equipment, but had played through all the Haydn trios on her piano prior to attending this Wigmore Hall Haydn Celebration weekend !

 


 

 

 

Haydn Sonatas

Haydn Piano Sonatas in E flat, Hob.XVI/49; in C, Hob.XVI/50; in C minor, Hob.XVI/20;
Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII/6; Capriccio in C, Hob.XVII/4

Robert Levin, fortepiano

Queen Elizabeth Hall 29 May 2009

Haydn celebrations are proliferating, with audiences encountering a lot of his music for the first time. Robert Levin is a popular performer and champion of his instrument and there was a decent (though far from full) audience for his piano recital. The instrument does not easily fill large spaces, and the press seats (and most of those sold) were on the preferred keyboard side "to see the hands", where the sound proved to be dry and less than fully involving.

A move to front/right at the interval produced the anticipated transformation; the sound fuller and warmer, making the music far more communicative. It was, nevertheless, questionable whether this programme, each item delectable on its own, made for a good totality.

Peter Grahame Woolf

See: http://www.musicalpointers.co.uk/reviews/liveevents/OAELevinMozart.html#mc

and see also Erica Jeal in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/may/31/robert-levin-haydn-qeh-london-review