Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)

Piano Sonatas Vol. 5
Sonata No.48 in C Major, Hob. XVI: 35
Sonata No.49 in C Sharp Minor, Hob. XVI: 36
Sonata No.50 in D Major, Hob. XVI: 37
Sonata No.51 in E Flat Major, Hob. XVI: 38
Sonata No.52 in G Major, Hob. XVI: 39

Joseph Haydn was born in the village of Rohrau in 1732, the son of a wheelwright. Trained at the choir-school of St. Stephen's Cathedra' in Vienna, he spent some years earning a living as best he could from teaching and playing the violin or keyboard, and was able to learn from the old musician Porpora, whose assistant he became. Haydn's first appointment was in 1759 as Kapellmeister to a Bohemian nobleman, Count von Morzin. This was followed in 1761 by employment as Vice-Kapellmeister to one of the richest men in the Empire, Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, succeeded on his death in 1762 by his brother Prince Nikolaus. On the death in 1766 of the elderly and somewhat obstructive Kapellmeister,