Haydn: Sonates

My colleague at CTFrance.com, Christophe Huss, raved about this recording, so I snapped it up online with interest. How right he was! Zhu Xiao-Mei has put together a spectacular Haydn recital; it was the highlight of my recent flight to Italy, and made what would have been a pretty miserable eight hours bearable, at least for 70 minutes or so. First, the programming is excellent. Alongside three well-known late works we have two marvelous earlier pieces, including the much-too-rarely-heard E minor sonata. The entire program makes splendid continuous listening, even when you're trapped in coach between rows of screaming children (in two languages). More to the point, Zhu proves once again that the period-instrument people are nuts when they claim proprietary understanding of this music. It sounds fabulous on a modern piano when used, as here, with a full range of dynamics and keyboard color. Zhu strikes a perfect balance between classical poise and Romantic abandon. Beyond her crisp articulation in the quick movements, she really knows how to inflect a phrase. Two examples suffice: the subtle emphasis she gives to the march-like second subject of the E-flat sonata's first movement, and her willingness to take her time in the F minor Variations' harrowing coda. Her sense of timing, so critical in Haydn, also operates at a very high level, particularly in the zany finale of Sonata No. 60. Great sonics make this enlivening recital a must-have for fans of classical keyboard music. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com