Process. While Haydn didn't possess the virtuosic pianistic skills of a Mozart or Beethoven, the piano nevertheless played a central role in his creative process. Even during his time at the prestigious Vienna Choir School, he displayed great talent on various keyboard instruments. As an adult, it was a fixed habit of his to try out new musical ideas every morning on the clavichord, or later on the fortepiano. Toward the end of his life, Haydn remarked to his biographer that his imagination played on the piano, so much so that he considered himself a living piano. His biographer also reported that in the 1750s, as a young composer, Haydn found much solace in his worm-eaten clavichord.
Throughout his career, Haydn wrote numerous works for keyboard instruments. While his approximately sixty solo sonatas don't represent as complete a picture of his artistic development as symphonies or string quartets, they do document the evolution of the classical sonata. The range extends from early compositions in the Viennese galant style, through the creative period of the late 1760s, to the inspired pieces that emerged after his exposure to Broadwood instruments in London.
The dating of Haydn's sonatas often remains uncertain, as many originals are lost. For example, the D major Sonata No. 33 was first published in 1783, although copies had circulated before then. The A major Sonata No. 26 was composed around 1773 and published a year later. The E major Sonata No. 31, part of a private edition from 1776, contains a striking Allegro and a Baroque-influenced Allegretto in E minor. To be continued.