Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 60 in C major, Hob.XVI:50

TwoPianists Records is delighted to introduce Lukáš in his first major solo disc that features the Haydn C major Sonata (Hob. XVI:50), Rachmaninoff Corelli Variations and the Prokofiev Sonata no.7. Admittedly, these are standard repertoire, but the playing is absolutely unique. What appealed to us about his playing is Lukáš’ immense musical personality – untamed, fresh, individual and above all, effortless. In an industry filled with talent, Lukáš Vondráček is most certainly a name to watch!

Dianne Baar began playing the piano at the age of three.

She was awarded Austrian citizenship in honour of her outstanding musical performances.

She performs in the the Lichental Trio which won the Gradus ad Parnassum competition in 2011.

After the great success of his recordings of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Medtner Piano Concertos, Yevgeny Sudbin now presents a disc of solo works by Haydn. As Sudbin writes in his liner notes, one of the qualities in this composer which he finds particularly endearing is Haydn’s ‘delight in silliness, outrageous wit and the breaking of all conventions’. The works chosen for this recital are by no means mere light-weight ‘musical jokes’, however; for instance they include the profoundly beautiful Andante con variazioni in F minor, which some have suggested was written in response to the death of Mozart In an affectionate tribute to the composer, Sudbin ends his recital with Larking with Haydn, his own tongue-in-cheek arrangement of the Finale of the Lark Quartet.

The release in 2005 of Yevgeny Sudbin’s first disc, a selection of Scarlatti sonatas, caused a sensation. A number of reviewers compared it favourably to the legendary recordings by Horowitz in the same repertoire, and on the BBC Radio 3 CD Review, the result was described as follows: ‘It's as if he's dragged Scarlatti off a dusty museum shelf and brought him out into the sunshine where both he and the music are happily basking.’

Stefan Vladar continues this series. In 1999 he was appointed as professor of piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 2009 he received the Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria.