Hardly understandable: Joseph Haydn is still one of the most underrated composers of the classical era. With these four sonatas, Christian Zacharias presents a very individually designed solo album. The works from Haydn's "middle" creative period were written at the Esterhazy court and surprise us with their generous freedom of form, which Zacharias knows how to develop beautifully. There was no fixed scheme for the form of the sonata in Haydn's time. And so even the outer structure is very different: Two or three movements, sometimes a cycle of variations at the beginning, major and minor keys in surprising alternation - Haydn does not impose any constraints on himself, and so a kind of intelligent monologue emerges, which lives from the entertaining alternation of aphoristic ideas. Absolutely fascinating, how Haydn, who is always up for a joke, flashes up again and again... With Christian Zacharias, this manifold richness is in the best hands. Singing legato, delicate intonation and phrasing of convincing naturalness allow the audience to share in the master's ideas; Zacharias' recital takes the listener on a journey that awakens astonishing associations and hidden emotions - and should never end. The natural sound reproduction in three-dimensional 2+2+2 Recording on high-resolution Super Audio album does it's part to make one forget the sophisticated technology behind a striking matter-of-factness. It is almost unbelievable what sounds Christian Zacharias is able to conjure out of the modern Steinway "Manfred Bürki" from 1901.