Hello,
Can anybody recommend a good edition of Haydn's piano sonatas, preferably one with fingering suggestions by somebody who is not averse to playing black notes with the thumb?

I have the Peter's Edition in 4 volumes and cannot complain about it. Each volume is a sensible thickness. The arrangements are not cluttered with obvious fingerings or with expression markings that are not Haydn's. The layout of the scores is easy on the eye.

They are made of good paper that neither yellows nor becomes brittle with age (though not of the luxurious quality of Henle-Verlags Urtexts). The typesetting is clear and uncluttered. The printing is to a high standard. About the only criticism is that the covers should be thicker and harder wearing.

Thank you very much. Mad Tom. I wonder when the Associated Board is going to bring out an edition?

On a related point, does anybody have any tips for developing a good non-legato touch? At the moment my non-legato is indistinguishable from my staccato.

The AB do have an edition of the Haydn sonatas. I'm gradually replacing my very old Schirmer copies with AB editions Check out the ABRSM publishing website.

I like Peters too. Usually I more or less ignore editors' fingerings, but I find some of Peters' very useful. When you're starting into something at a slow pace it isn't always obvious what fingering will be 'good' once you quicken up, but Peters usually seems to get it right - for me, anyway. I prefer single copies, though, rather than big books.

As for the touch - it helps me to remember the quote (from a teacher's teacher, I think) that 'Haydn should be played with an iron fist in a velvet glove.' I don't know why it helps to think about that, but it does! Just keep listening to yourself, and when it sounds right, then reinforce what you did to make it sound right - your aural/muscle coordination will remember. I would tend to keep a very steady wrist and forearm, with as little bobbing as possible, but very relaxed fingers that are free to move

Thanks for that infotmation, JMH. I knew there was a ABRSM edition of selected sonatas but I didn't realise it was in three volumes, which happen to include most of the ones I am interested in.

Thank you for the tip Dulciana, and sorry for the delay in replying (I've been away). I can see how bearing this idea in mind might help (rather like imagining you have a brain in each finger when playing fugues), but I'm still far from achieving that tiny but distinct space between the notes in rapid passage work that we hear in the playing of Brendel, Schiff et al. Would it help if one began the downward thrust of the fingers from a point above the surface of the keys?

Well, that's certainly what I do! Which is why it's important to have a steady wrist - or an iron fist - so you can control the weight and touch. But I'll let you know when I can do it like Brendel.....

Mind you - have you watched Horwitz? Goes to show that different people achieve the same result from different techniques, so try out 'em all, and stick to what works!

You could try listening to a lot of Glenn Gould and watching his videos.


You don't have to analyze what he is doing - just let it soak in - you can pick up lot of technique subconsciously that you would never get by thinking about detailed mechanics like "beginning the downward thrust from a point above the surface of the keys".

However, if you insist on looking at it from that point of view then in non-legato it is the picking up of the fingers to release the keys after making a sound that makes the difference from legato (where the fingers barely leave the key surface) You can see this really clearly in Gould's playing.

(But what do I know, with a touch that ranges from almost staccato to staccatissimo and a dynamic range from mf to ffff!!)

The pick-up of the fingers is important too - but it all stems from the anchor-point - the wrist - being stable. I always had a bit of an issue with trills; if I practised them long enough in a specific context I could always do them ok eventually, but I was never able to analyse why, in order to transfer the skill to new music - I was having to start afresh each time. Something that made a big difference to me recently was a post here in which it was said that the muscles used in bringing the fingers up are stronger than the muscles used in pushing the fingers down. So if you concentrate on the up-movement it becomes easier. I can't remember who made this point in another thread, but I'm extremely grateful for it, because it made life a lot easier in the trill department! Maybe the same can be applied here too.

But I believe that the best tutor is our ears. Try all sorts till it works, aurally, then keep doing it!

Avoid Dover Edition! Its probably the cheapest as they cram all 52 Sonatas into two volumes, so theyre a bit too thick, and the pages turn themselves over, particularly if youre playing one near the front or the back.
I recently played all 52 (and all Mozarts and Beethovens) over a period of a month. Some of the Haydn Sonatas are a delight, most not overly difficult, and deserve to be better known. Some of the earlier ones however are a rather immature, and of course these were really intended for a harpsichord or similar.

My Peters single copies were only £1.50 each. It does add up a bit if you want them all but I like single copies - and if I spill wine on one, then it's only one rather than a whole book!