Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Hob. XVI, Nos. 42, 48-52
At one point in his life, Gould projected recording a complete Haydn sonata cycle. It's a terrible pity he never got to it, for if he had, the music itself would doubtless be more popular than it is today. Gould himself realized that Haydn's solo keyboard music was generally of higher quality than Mozart's, and we can only be grateful that he did get around to making this delightful set containing the last six sonatas. Aside from his gifts as a musician, Gould was also one of the funniest artists of this century, just as Haydn was in his day. This meeting of two great comics makes for some highly memorable listening.--David Hurwitz