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Gramophone Reviews Leon McCawley’s “Sparkling” Haydn Sonatas

Gramophone Magazine reviews Leon McCawley’s second volume of Haydn’s Piano Sonatas in the November 2019 issue:

“Light of touch, stylistically assured and brimful of intelligence and wit, Leon McCawley’s second instalment of Haydn sonatas for SOMM fairly sparkles with delight. This follows his 2016 recording of four sonatas plus the F minor Variations (2/17) and, while no mention is made of a ‘complete’ Haydn sonata set, one hopes that the series will continue, whatever its purview. … Among these five sonatas are three minuets, each as varied in character as their expressive purpose within the context of their respective sonatas, yet always true to the essential poise of 18th-century dance. And this may be the key to McCawley’s success as a Haydn interpreter. Reliant on touch and articulation within a relatively restrained dynamic compass, he vividly recreates the breadth and depth of Haydn’s musical imagination on the modern Steinway in a way that never seems overblown, but always proportionate. McCawley has a great deal to say in this music, and does so with eloquence and grace. I look forward to hearing a lot more.”

—Patrick Rucker, Gramohpone Magazine

See the full review on Gramophone.co.uk