Treasurable
David Saemann | 07/09/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Maria Bergmann was for many years the staff pianist of SWF radio. She had an extremely broad repertoire, from classics to contemporary music. These Haydn Sonatas, recorded between 1961 and 1976, were unusual repertoire at the time of the performances. Bergmann's performances are extremely idiomatic, showing the highest sympathy for the medium. Even in the earlier, simpler sonatas, she demonstrates a feeling of intimacy with the form that remains rare today, let alone among the artists of her time. Two of the sonatas are recorded in monaural and sound a little tubbier than the rest of the recordings, which are excellent. This album or one of Jeno Jando's on Naxos would be an excellent place to start an inquiry into Haydn's piano sonatas."
A real find
jsa | San Diego, CA United States | 05/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Never heard of Maria Bergmann? Me neither, but I shelled out $5.97 to an Amazon reseller for a new copy of this Haydn recital & am happy to report it would have been money well spent at two or three times the price. Ms. Bergmann, as it turns out, was a pianist for the German radio station, Sudwestfunk, and over her long career accompanied such famous artists as Arthur Grumiaux, Henryk Szerynk, Pierre Fournier & Janos Starker. The interesting liner notes provide the details of her considerable career - I say "considerable" given that her music must have been heard by millions on the airways even though she labored in relative obscurity compared to the famous concert artists of her day. As measured by the incredible talent she displays on this disc, I don't doubt she could have had quite a career on the concert stage if she had chosen to.
In short, this one-disc survey of Haydn sonatas is a real treasure. And don't let the "Historical Recordings" designation on the front cover scare you off, because the sound is excellent. In fact, I couldn't tell the difference between the tracks recorded in 1961 from those recorded in 1976.
Very highly recommended!"
Track Listings (26) - Disc #1