Haydn: 4 Piano Sonatas Hiroaki Takenouchi

• 1I. Allegro con brio04:53
• 2II. Largo e sostenuto03:13
• 3III. Finale. Presto ma non troppo03:30
• 4I. Allegro06:10
• 5II. Adagio07:57
• 6III. Finale. Presto03:38
• 7I. Moderato05:48
• 8II. Tempo di menuetto02:46
• 9I. Allegro con brio04:27
• 10II. Adagio - Sempre più largo - Tempo primo09:08
• 11III. Prestissimo04:50
• Total Runtime56:20

Info for Haydn: 4 Piano Sonatas

The Japanese/British pianist Hiroaki Takenouchi has a boundless admiration for the works of Joseph Haydn, enchanted by his terrific inventiveness since his childhood. For his first album for Artalinna, he has selected four Haydn sonatas composed in the early 1770s. This is Haydn at his most inventive and whimsical, surprisingly fresh, and at times hauntingly beautiful.

Hiroaki Takenouchi, piano

Hiroaki Takenouchi
Heralded by The Times as “just the sort of champion the newest of new music needs”, while being praised as “impeccable in his pianism and unfailing in his idiomatic grasp” by Gramophone, Takenouchi’s curiosity and a natural penchant for integrity makes his playing and vast repertoire unique amongst his generation of pianists: his love for the music of classical masters – particularly Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin – sits side by side with his passion for the music of Medtner and Rachmaninov, lesser-known British composers such as Sterndale Bennett and Parry, and the contemporary repertoire.

As a soloist, he has recently appeared on many concert platforms including the Wigmore Hall, Tokyo Opera City, the South Bank Centre. In the recent years, he has given recitals in the UK, France, Japan, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy and Canada. His more unusual appearances include the BBC Four documentary The Prince and the Composer on the life and music of Parry alongside HRH The Prince of Wales, and recitals at the “Raritäten der Klaviermusik” (Rarities of Piano Music) Festival in Germany.

Takenouchi’s eclectic discography includes his latest album of 4 keyboard sonatas by Haydn (Artalinna), a highly acclaimed disc of piano concertos by Catoire and Sherwood (world première recordings) with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Dutton Epoch), and Cosmos Haptic: Contemporary Piano Music from Japan (LORELT). He has also made world première recordings of works by James Dillon (NMC), Edwin Roxburgh (NMC) and Jeremy Dale Roberts (LORELT), as well as a set of CDs of piano arrangements of Delius’s orchestral works (SOMM with Simon Callaghan).

Takenouchi is also committed to education. Since 2012 he has been teaching piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He also returns every summer to give masterclasses at the Poros International Piano Academy (Greece) and the Ingenium International Music Academy (UK).

Booklet for Haydn: 4 Piano Sonatas