Description
Belonging to Haydn's early set of keyboard partitas, this piece charms with clear themes and regular phrasing. It carries the practical character of keyboard music favored by courts and the growing middle class of the time, with a more expansive, relaxed touch than his later, denser works. At over thirteen minutes and more than six thousand notes, it tests a player's endurance and care in handling its many embellishments.
Suite-form works from the Baroque era; Bach's Partitas, a sequence of varied dances, are ranked among the greatest keyboard works.
About the Composer
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Franz Joseph Haydn was a leading Classical-era composer from Austria who spent much of his career in service to the Esterhazy family. Often called the "father of the symphony" and the "father of the string quartet," he helped establish the Viennese Classical style with clear forms and witty invention. His numerous keyboard sonatas also served as a bridge to Mozart and Beethoven. This site includes 60 of his works, including movements from Sonatas Hob. XVI:27 and 28.
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