Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 44 in F major, Hob.XVI:29

“the playing is outstanding for its crystalline tone, springy rhythms, lively tempos and integral handling of ornamentation...Hamelin is often at his most brilliant where Haydn is at his most eccentric” BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 ****

“The most immediately striking feature of the set is the unfailingly superb, crystalline clarity of Hamelin's sound...Here no detail is obscured and, with the exception of certain legato ligatures that Hamelin consistently chooses not to observe, articulation is within the realm of what Haydn's notation suggests...There is a certain stylistic cohesion to all these performances: everything is unmistakeably stamped 'Hamelin's Haydn'.” International Record Review, June 2012

“the majority of the sonatas, with their volte-face humour and open-hearted delight in the unexpected, reflect a joy in compositional wizardry. Such qualities are dazzlingly articulated by Hamelin, with one performance after another of crystalline brilliance and musicianship...These are magnificent performances and clearly a prime love for Hamelin.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2012

“Hamelin’s fluency amazes but is never ostentatious...Slow movements are delicately coloured, and there’s never a hint of indulgence. Hamelin lets Haydn do the talking.” The Arts Desk, 28th July 2012

“Sviatoslav Richter is at the top of virtually everybody's short list of great pianists, and the reasons are not hard to find. His range was engulfing, even when he took a personal and surprising dislike to the most exalted repertoire, weeding out, for example, those Beethoven sonatas he considered less than convincing. This added spice to his early status, further enlivened by his first, belated appearances in the West.
On his arrival in New York and London in the '60s, anticipation pulsed at fever pitch and in the first of three London recitals, now blessedly released by BBC Legends, his unique quality was unmistakable. It is no exaggeration to say that his Haydn and Prokofiev recital was among the greatest ever heard on the South Bank.
Here, Haydn's mischief is captured with a silken magic and dexterity peculiarly Richter's own, and who else could characterise so acutely the stylised oddity of Prokofiev's Visions fugitives? No one has touched Richter's way with the Second Sonata, its self-consciously prickly utterance resolved in a near-classical transparency.
Everything is taken by stealth rather than storm with an unforgettably lyrical second subject, though with an unflagging impetus reserved for the Scherzo and for the finale's Tom and Jerry cartoon caperings. The underlying menace of the composer's inquieto direction in the Eighth Sonata is frighteningly caught, a dark and introspective journey that leads through the Andante's faux naïf charm to a finale of blistering strength and propulsion.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…Haydn's mischief is captured with a silken magic and dexterity peculiarly Richter's own, and who else could characterise so acutely the stylised oddity of Prokofiev's Visions fugitives? No performance in my experience has touched Richter's way with the Second Sonata, its self-consciously prickly utterance resolved in a near-classical transparency.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2009

“Adlam rattles through the faster movements with aplomb; the Capriccio, for instance, trots along merrily...the instrument is very fine, nicely tuned and is in itself well recorded” International Record Review

“This is a very interesting collection of pieces that shows the Austrian master’s varied prowess as a versatile artist in any sort of repertoire. The opening Capriccio is a great party piece and Adlam treats it as such, handling the variations with considerable skill.” Classical Net, 1st October 2003

“[Jeno Jando] shows himself a complete master of this repertoire.” Penguin Guide