G. Henle Verlag Variations in F Minor Sonata Hob. XVII6 Piano Solo By Haydn

Haydn's last piano work is also considered to be his most famous single work for this instrument. The minor theme is filled with emotional depth: a melancholy andante in F minor, with variations, as only a genius can do them, that almost sounds like a free fantasia (thus described in a review of the time). The form is also demanding: not merely one theme but two - one in a major key, the other in a minor one - are varied in turn. The autograph gives one to believe that the work was originally intended to be the first movement of a sonata. This single edition has been taken from the recently revised volume of Piano pieces (HN 224) and furnished with a detailed commentary. Henle also recently published a facsimile of Haydn's autograph of the Variations in f minor: HN 3218.