Piano Sonata in B minor H.XVI/32 (1774-6)

Haydn’s sole keyboard sonata in B minor - one of a set of six such works written for Prince Nicolaus Esterházy between 1774 and 1776 - is a quite exceptional inspiration. Although the full extent of its anger is not realized until the last movement, the serious-minded opening of the Allegretto moderato is an early warning of the direction it is about to take. For the present, however, there is more D-major brightness than B-minor austerity and it is not until near the end of the movement that the darker harmonic implications are unambiguously confirmed. The Tempo di menuetto offers another warning. While the elegantly phrased B-major outer sections seem civilised enough, the B-minor rigour of the central trio section is all the more striking in comparison. Even so the percussive vigour, the staccato repeated notes, and disruptive silences of the Presto last movement have a surprisingly dramatic effect. As in the first movement, the exclusion of D-major harmonies towards the end leaves no hope of compromise.