Anne-Maria Hölscher & Florian Hölscher - Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonatas and Variations (2025) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

On the musical rhetoric of Joseph Haydn in his sonatas and variations: Joseph Haydn’s sonatas and variations for keyboard instruments were long overshadowed by Mozart’s piano compositions. While they are now performed more frequently in concerts, the overwhelming richness of these compositions is still not nearly adequately appreciated by audiences. There are so many aspects to discover, such as cantabile qualities and a broad linguistic palette with rich articulation. Dynamic and agogic agility, wit and intellectual brilliance characterise Haydn’s music, thereby contributing to an extraordinarily incisive narrative style with oftentimes dizzying dialogues. Overarching cheerfulness may alternate abruptly with melancholic, enthusiastic or even stately, symphonic passages: It is almost as though the entire range of human emotions, all variations of behaviour and conduct, all facets of lyrical and dramatic expression are represented in this music, uniting in an inimitable way to formulate a universal musical rhetoric for the late 18th century.

The notion of an up-to-date and appropriately historical interpretation of Haydn’s music has changed in recent decades. One key reason for this is the rediscovery of ornamentation practices, in which it was customary to embellish repetitions and recapitulations at the very least. This was to be done in an individual and, ideally, spontaneous manner using ornaments, variations and other personal “mannerisms” to support the musical, affective and linguistic import of the works. This recording seeks to integrate these practices into the interpretations and offers the listener something that refreshes and stimulates both the mind and the ear.

It is not always clear which keyboard instruments Haydn had in mind for his individual works. A great deal of evidence suggests that he was especially fond of the fortepiano, whose dynamic flexibility and tonal transparency – along with its singing quality – suited his musical language well. Particularly regarding the choice of instrument, it may also be assumed that composers in the second half of the 18th century maintained a certain openness: they included the harpsichord and often the clavichord as potential instruments for their keyboard works.

When composing his keyboard works, Haydn could not have imagined a modern grand piano or an accordion. Can an approach grounded in the principles of historically informed performance practised on instruments that were first developed in the 20th century even succeed? Our interpretation is based on the premise that every representation of Haydn’s musical language requires an instrumental “transference” ‒ in fact, such a transference was already indispensable at the time of its creation. The message and “spirit” of the music already appeared back then in different instrumental guises. In this recording, we accepted the challenge of making a conscious “transference” to modern instruments, hoping that what we see and feel in Haydn’s music can speak to and move us not just despite but also because of the instruments used. Ultimately, a historically informed interpretative approach stands alongside a deliberately non-historical choice of instruments.

Anne-Maria Hölscher, accordion
Florian Hölscher, piano

Tracklist:
01. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:52: I. Allegro: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:52: I. Allegro
02. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:52: II. Adagio: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:52: II. Adagio
03. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:52: II. Adagio: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:52: III. Finale [Presto]
04. Franz Joseph Haydn: Andante con variazioni in F Minor (F-Moll), Hob. XVII:6: Andante con variazioni in F Minor (F-Moll), Hob. XVII:6
05. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:48: I. Andante con espressione: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:48: I. Andante con espressione
06. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:48: II. Rondo (Presto): Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:48: II. Rondo [Presto]
07. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:49: I. Allegro: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:49: I. Allegro
08. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:49: II. Adagio e cantabile: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:49: II. Adagio e cantabile
09. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:49: III. Finale (Tempo di Minuet): Sonata in E-Flat Major (Es-Dur), Hob. XVI:49: III. Finale [Tempo di Minuet]
10. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in B-Flat Major (B-Dur), Hob. XVI:41: I. Allegro: Sonata in B-Flat Major (B-Dur), Hob. XVI:41: I. Allegro
11. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in B-Flat Major (B-Dur), Hob. XVI:41: II. Allegro di molto: Sonata in B-Flat Major (B-Dur), Hob. XVI:41: II. Allegro di molto
12. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in A-Flat Major (As-Dur), Hob. XVI:46: I. Allegro: Sonata in A-Flat Major (As-Dur), Hob. XVI:46: I. Allegro
13. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in A-Flat Major (As-Dur), Hob. XVI:46: II. Adagio: Sonata in A-Flat Major (As-Dur), Hob. XVI:46: II. Adagio
14. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in A-Flat Major (As-Dur), Hob. XVI:46: III. Finale (Presto): Sonata in A-Flat Major (As-Dur), Hob. XVI:46: III. Finale [Presto]
15. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in B Minor (H-Moll), Hob. XVI:32: I. Allegro moderato: Sonata in B Minor (H-Moll), Hob. XVI:32: I. Allegro moderato
16. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in B Minor (H-Moll), Hob. XVI:32: II. Menuet: Sonata in B Minor (H-Moll), Hob. XVI:32: II. Menuet
17. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in B Minor (H-Moll), Hob. XVI:32: III. Finale (Presto): Sonata in B Minor (H-Moll), Hob. XVI:32: III. Finale [Presto]
18. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in G Major (G-Dur), Hob. XVI:40: I. Allegretto e innocente: Sonata in G Major (G-Dur), Hob. XVI:40: I. Allegretto e innocente
19. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in G Major (G-Dur), Hob. XVI:40: II. Presto: Sonata in G Major (G-Dur), Hob. XVI:40: II. Presto
20. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:50: I. Allegro: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:50: I. Allegro
21. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:50: II. Adagio: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:50: II. Adagio
22. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:50: III. Allegro Molto: Sonata in C Major (C-Dur), Hob. XVI:50: III. Allegro Molto
23. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in D Major (D-Dur), Hob. XVI:42: I. Andante con espressione: Sonata in D Major (D-Dur), Hob. XVI:42: I. Andante con espressione
24. Franz Joseph Haydn: Sonata in D Major (D-Dur), Hob. XVI:42: II. Vivace assai: Sonata in D Major (D-Dur), Hob. XVI:42: II. Vivace assai


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