Haydn (1732 - 1809) --- Sonata No. 62 in E flat major Hob. XVI/52 (time) i. Allegro ii. Adagio iii. Presto Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria. Being one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical Period, he was called the “Father of the Symphony and String Quartet”. His main works include the Surprise and London Symphonies. It was curious that Haydn, who was not a pianist, would compose a good sixty sonatas and numerous short pieces for the instrument. Many of these were written before Haydn secured the patronage of the Esterházy family and was earning a difficult score of income as a freelancer musician. Before Haydn, it was C.P.E Bach who systemised a structured keyboard sonata form. Bach’s efforts had a definite influence on Haydn, in whose hands established the classical sonata. Haydn’s piano sonatas are almost daunted by sheer number …show more content…
However, when he published the sonatas in Vienna, he re-dedicated E-flat major Sonata to a noted Viennese pianist and good friend, Magdalene von Kurzböck. This sonata is a forerunner of Beethoven’s early sonatas that were soon to follow. To judge from the variety of pianistic textures and techniques in the piece, especially the rich chords that open the work and introduce each of the themes in the first movement, Haydn must have enjoyed the powerful sound of the Broadwood pianos. He took full advantage of the instrument, exploring the extremes of the keyboard and continued his practice of surprising modulations in the development. In keeping with the extreme modulatory scheme of the first movement, Haydn chose the distant key of E major for the Adagio (a leap from three flats to four sharps). After a darker middle section, Haydn returns to the opening theme, this time elaborately