Not long ago I welcomed
the opportunity to acquaint myself with
some of the other volumes in Joyce Hatto’s
Beethoven cycle when reviewing her coupling
of the Op. 7 and Hammerklavier Sonatas.
Here is the opportunity I looked for
in this, the very first of the series,
which gives us all the Op. 2 works.
Fluency and technical ease inform the
F minor where she brings out the Haydnesque
qualities of the Allegro and the gallant
style of the Adagio, full here of rococo
charm and taken at a fine tempo. I liked
the Prestissimo finale, rhapsodic in
profile. Hatto invests its inherent
tempestuousness with marvellous clarity
of lines. When it comes to the A major
she points but doesn’t overplay the
downward fourths in the opening movement
– fine tremolandos and a well held tempo,
though one that animates the movement
properly. The left hand "pizzicati"
of the slow movement underpin the noble
arching melody above conveying moving
depth. As ever Hatto’s choice of tempo
here is well nigh perfect and her finale
is grazioso, though rather slower than
say Kempff. Her ascending and descending
runs are gauze-like and the downward
triplets most impressive.
When it comes to the
C major she takes a measured view of
the movement’s incipient power and verve.
Those tutti-like passages are well dealt
with and the coda is winning. Weight
of finger distribution is a highlight
of the slow movement as are her passagework
clarity and the way she brings out the
left hand. The rather brusque humour
of the Scherzo is not pushed too far
but there’s real swing in the finale
at an elegant tempo and a deadpan signing
off. It makes for an apt and appropriate
end to this well characterised and effortlessly
fluent disc.
Jonathan Woolf
See also review
by Christopher Howell
See
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Joyce Hatto (piano) 
