Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809)
Sonata No.47 in B minor, Hob.XVI:32 (1774-76) [15:13]
Sonata No.60 in C major, Hob.XVI:50 (1794-95) [20:09]
Sonata No.53 in E minor, Hob.XVI:34 (pub.1783) [13:57]
Fantasia in C major, Hob.XVII:4 (1789) [6:13]
Andante con variazioni in F minor, Hob.XVII:6 (1793-94) [14:44]
Joseph HAYDN (arr. Yvgeny Subdin)
Larking with Haydn - String Quartet in D major, Op.64 No.5 (1790), Finale
[3:08]
Yevgeny Subdin (piano)
rec. February, June 2009, January 2010, St George’s Bristol, England
BIS-SACD-1788 [75:10]
Yevgeny Sudbin was born in St Petersburg and has lived in the UK since 1997.
His previous outings on the BIS label, with recitals of Scarlatti
(reviewed twice
on these pages) and Scriabin
have all been received to great acclaim, as has Sudbin’s concerto
recordings for the same label. Having, I hope, made it through my little hyperlink
minefield, it is clearly apparent that Mr. Sudbin has established an enviable
reputation, and for those to whom his name is already familiar, this release
will be another shot in the arm of fine collections of piano recordings the
world over.
There are quite a few rather special recordings of Haydn piano sonatas, but
with 51 in the catalogue there are few pianists who would even consider tackling
the whole lot, John McCabe on Decca being a distinguished exception, Jeno
Jandó a highly competent if marginally less distinguished budget alternative
on Naxos. There are a few fortepiano recordings both complete and ongoing,
the Brilliant
Classics one offers a different kind of Haydn to that on a modern grand
piano, as does the excellent BIS complete set played by Ronald
Brautigam. A pianist whose recordings have impressed me in recent years
is Ragna
Schirmer, and hers is the kind of cleanly unpretentious and witty playing
with which I would compare Yevgeny Sudbin’s performances here. Schirmer gives
Haydn every chance to shine and blossom in recordings which are crisp and
full of colour, warm and clear at the same time, carrying us away with the
music’s message, alive to the echoes of past music and the surprisingly potent
emotional charge which can be surprising to find in this composer.
This is not so much a ‘better than’ kind of review, but I find it is useful
to have a reference and a starting point from which to evaluate a new recording
of an idiom which is familiar, even if the pieces don’t overlap. Yevgeny Sudbin
has that lightness of touch which is essential for good Haydn, and especially
good Haydn at the keyboard. The opening Allegro moderato movement of
the Sonata No.47 in B minor says much about the rest of this programme,
with richness of contrast and moments of drama fully exploited between music
of almost naive simplicity. This simplicity is as important to Sudbin as every
other aspect of this music. The thinning of texture to two-part lines which
suggest harmony as much as proclaim it are all superbly rendered, sometimes
held to the middle of the keyboard, sometimes turning the left hand into and
orchestral bass section or a driving rhythmic leaping thing which serves multiple
functions. The Minuet of this sonata is a development on this kind
of purity of expression, and Sudbin knows exactly what he is doing, shaping
phrases with elegance and a sense of proportion which seems to provide all
answers: ‘yes, this is how it should sound.’
If I were to compare Sudbin and Schirmer then, by a small margin, Sudbin seems
to explore depths ‘into’ or ‘within’ the notes a bit more, digging a little
deeper where Schirmer sparkles and shines with a more twinkly kind of wit.
This is all by a marginal degree however – Sudbin sparkles and Schirmer digs
as well, just take the Finale: presto of this sonata for some crackling
at the keyboard from Sudbin, with the minor key providing a reason for that
extra layer of dark passion.
Following a minor key with a major, in this case the Sonata No.60 in C
major is a good idea, and Sudbin lifts us high and carries us all the
way in the opening Allegro, which is as full of smiles as a comedy
turn by Michael Macintyre. His own booklet notes tell us something of how
Sudbin approaches Haydn: “Is laughter the best medicine? I certainly hope
so and would not hesitate to prescribe a healthy dose of Joseph Haydn twice
daily.” Haydn’s humour is not to be found in heavy jokes, but in the very
nature of the music itself. Any darkness is more often than not provided as
a foil a contrast to those delightful moments of wit, and sometimes, as in
this movement the ideas are so fun-filled that such moments need only be held
for a few bars in the minor, or a segment of sublime beauty at 6:50 where
the pedal suspends the music on a waft of mist for a mere moment. Sublime
beauty is the essence of the Adagio of this sonata, and Sudbin traverses
its measures with a good deal of freedom, creating a fascinating musical narrative
in which you can become lost for what seems like a good deal longer than its
5:53 duration, but which you would gladly have last for a dreaming while longer.
Sudbin has combined some of the original material from an earlier version
of this movement, which was later revised to fit in with the outer movements
of the sonata. I admire this kind of creative license and research based attitude,
getting the best out of the music by exploring further beyond the notes on
the page than would most musicians. The results certainly speak for themselves.
Elements of Scarlatti appear with the rippling passing ornaments thrown in
with effortless ease by Sudbin in the Sonata No.53 in E minor. The
contrast between the spectacular Presto and the almost invisible following
Adagio could hardly be greater. Sudbin plays the Adagio with
such transparency that light and air shine through the whole time: it’s like
a single mote of dust floating down to land, slowly and gently, onto a crystal
shimmering in a bath of late afternoon sunlight. The sunshine moods anticipate
Beethoven in the final Vivace molto, with quicksilver harmonic twists
and turns which are still pretty breathtaking even 230 years after they were
conceived. About one minute in the mood shifts several gears at once, and
we are taken on a journey far beyond expectations.
The Andante con Variazioni follows and refines the model of C.P.E.
Bach, involving major and minor variations alternately. Some say this was
written as a kind of memorial to Mozart for, although there are smiling moments,
these are as poignant as they are jovial, and the mood of the music is certainly
more tragic than comic. Refinement and poise, sensitivity and grace are all
words which spring to mind for both the piece and this performance, which
is given with admirable restraint, reserving the emotional core of the work
for a penultimate outburst at 12:39.
To end the programme with a flourish, Yevgeny Sudbin gives us an encore in
the form of his arrangement or ‘pianistic impression’ of the finale of Haydn’s
String Quartet in D major, Op.64 No.5. “I find [the string quartets]
all addictive. Just as his sonatas are incredibly communicative and chamber-music
like, his chamber music strikes me as having a very pianistic potential.”
Larking with Haydn is therefore Sudbin’s ‘affectionate tribute’ to
the Great Master, and one which fits in very well with the vibrant nature
of the release as a whole. In fact this whole disc is of course a fine tribute
to Haydn, showing once again how alive and resonant his music even today.
The entertainment factor is high with this disc, but superficial show is never
the basis of the music or the playing. I’m a big fan of the St George’s pleasantly
resonant acoustic, and it works very well for the solo piano and this music,
with the SACD quality transplanting you straight to Bristol’s top chamber
music location. Superbly recorded performances such as these do exactly what
Sudbin hopes, seeing Haydn “taken much more seriously, in an unserious sort
of way.”
Dominy Clements