Piano Sonata No. 52 in E-flat major (Haydn)

The Piano Sonata No. 52 in E flat major, Hob. XVI/52, L. 62, was written in 1794 by Joseph Haydn. This is the last of Haydn's piano sonatas, and is widely considered his greatest. It has been the subject of extensive analysis by preeminent musicological figures such as Heinrich Schenker and Sir Donald Tovey, largely because of its expansive length, unusual harmonies and interesting development.Heinrich Schenker, "Haydn: Sonate Es-Dur," Tonwille 1 (1922), 3-21. Donald Tovey "Haydn, Pianoforte Sonata in E-Flat, No. 1" (1900) in Essays in Musical Analysis: Chamber Music (Oxford, 1944, repr. 1972), 93-105; Lawrence Moss, "Haydn's Sonata Hob. XVI:52 (ChL. 62) in E-Flat Major: An Analysis of the First Movement," in Haydn Studies, ed. Jens Larsen, Howard Serwer, & James Webster (New York & London, 1981), 496-501.

History

Haydn wrote the work for Therese Jansen, an outstanding pianist who lived in London at the time of Haydn's visits there in the 1790s. Haydn served as a witness at her wedding to Gaetano Bartolozzi (16 May 1795). Haydn also dedicated three demanding piano trio (H. XV:27-29) and another piano sonata (H. XVI:50) to Jansen.

With regard to the E-flat sonata, Jansen was evidently the dedicatee of the autograph (hand-written) score but not the first published version. On the title page of the autograph Haydn wrote in Italian,...
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