Haydn - Piano Sonata in C Major, Hob XVI/21 [Score Recording] -- Joseph Renouf, piano

A particularly novel sonata written relatively early in Haydn's compositional career. This is an audio score recording of a performance from 2012. The first movement has a bouncy effervescence to it, with a dotted-rhythm motif that lasts for the duration, interspersed with triplets. Though marked allegro, it's probably more of an andante con moto in actual tempo, the allegro indicating more the upbeat spirit (many editions also insert a "moderato" in brackets). The second movement has a greater depth of expression than most classical-sonata slow movements Haydn had written up to this point. The deep chords and rich melodic expression, particularly at the outset as well as the culmination of the exposition and recapitulation, presage the more romantic style of Beethoven. One might also note the slightly more virtuosic use of thirds and octaves. The last-movement presto has the feeling of a brisk country dance and is notable for its offbeat accents that create hemiolas (sense of two beats per measure when there are really three). The brief development in C minor has a Spanish flavor, akin to some of Scarlatti’s sonatas.