Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 61 in D major, Hob.XVI:51

“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

“Jandó uses a modern piano, making full use of its wide dynamic range and potential for tonal variety, and very persuasive he is too…. Still, every note is in place, clear and unsmudged, helped along by Naxos’s crystal sound. The disc is notable for its refined playing and for Jandó’s unfailing sense of the music’s architecture” BBC Music Magazine (Haydn Sonatas 59-62)

“The keyboard sonatas which Haydn originally intended for piano, such as the four considered here, show hi's exploration of the instrument's capacity for greater dynamic variation. Jandó is sensitive to the relationship between motif and dynamics which is particularly evident in the E flat and D major Sonatas respectively. Aided by clear recorded sound, Jandó's warmth in the lyrical passages provides a dramatic contrast to his crisp, positive approach in the livelier music. Jandó's glittering technique has a high profile in the other two sonatas in the programme. His well-turned readings are uncontroversial, but they lack nothing in excitement. Sample the finale of the E flat Sonata, where the wealth of expressive detail at an extremely fast tempo is breathtaking.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010