This Piano Sonata in D major, one of nine sonatas in this key, is one of Haydn’s best-known piano pieces, encountered early on by piano students. The spirited first movement, Allegro con brio, is followed by one of the most appealing movements of Haydn’s, a morbid Largo in d minor that is reminiscent of Bach. This movement proceeds attacca to the Presto finale, which is marked to be played “innocentemente” (innocently).
