Customer Reviews

Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

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Haydn's piano sonatas were composed over almost 50 years, and range from rather undistinctive rococco pieces to great masterworks of the genre. These are not always so easy to play and require some knowledge of classical style and ornamentation.

I learned several sonatas from these Dover editions, which fit the bill when I was economizing, as they are the cheapest complete edition out there. Unfortunately, they are a reprint of an outdated 19th C. edition, with a layout somewhat difficult to read, and not always well-printed. Much better as an investment is the Henle edition, in three volumes, despite the significantly greater cost.

Haydn sonatas LOOK easy, but to play them well and play them musically takes plenty of work. It's worth the effort.

Though not as musically complex as Mozart, the Haydn Sonatas require good clean technique and attendance to dynamics and tempo. This edition has no fingering; good if you disagree with anyone else's rendering but bad if you need a starting point to either follow or reject.

If you aren't sure if these are worth your time, go listen to Andre Watts or Andreas Schiff play a few of these and I am sure you will be back. While not profound like Beethoven or soaringly beautiful like Mozart, these gems shimmer like little diamonds and are a good way to improve your pianistic skills. And they are always easy on the ear.

Haydn's early sonatas are short. Some are only 2 pages. No fingering is included. Until near the end technically they are easy. Only single notes. It is fairly easy to pick out the melodys and they are very nice. This is much more easy than Mozarts sonatas. These are similiar to Clementi, but much less dificult. They are fun. No peddling indications. Since the piano in this period did not have the range of the modern piano, he did not write these very high, making it somwhat less hard. Low range is good however.

This edition, edited by the great Maurice Hinson, is a must for every pianist. First, it is essentially an Urtext, but it does have performance suggestions that are clearly shown to not be part of Haydn's original. Second, and probably to be the most prized, is that it is edited by Maurice Hinson. His suggestions are outstanding.

While ordinarily, I would not touch an Alfred edition for serious music, in this case, it's well worth the price.

Haydn's sonatas are pretty easy to learn - apart from the many ornamentations one needs to be familiar with. I just started playing again after 10 years and found these to be nice melodies and easy to learn; often both hands can be played together straight away. Feel that intermediary players can definitely have a go at this! They're fun because they don't take hours of practice!

If you are looking for music books that are complete, have few fingering suggestions, are easy to read, and are durable then you can't go wrong with Dover editions. With my teenage son I look for durable. The Dover editions he has have held up. His teacher is a fingering fanatic, so these editions allow them to "hash out" the fingerings together.

I purchased this edition on recommendation from my music-composition tutor. It is a pleasure to utilize since the pages are crisp, clean and readable type.

Also the binding is excellent in withstanding constant use at the piano.

For those piano students (or teachers) not familiar with the sonatas of Franz Josef Haydn, you are missing out on a treasure trove of classical era repertoire suitable for every level from beginning to advanced. Haydn's piano music is melodious, pianistic, and contains a wide variety of textures & moods. As for technical level, several of these sonatas are suitable for the beginner (or near beginner) and several others are more suitable for the advanced student, with every level in between. The Dover edition is, in my opinion, the best available & is reasonably priced. Also, it is important to note that, for those seriously interested in the music of the 18th century, much of Haydn's keyboard music is suitable for the harpsichord, clavichord, and even the organ. I currently play them on my Roland digital harpsichord and alternate between the 18th century "fortepiano" sound and the various harpsichord sounds.