It’s funny. I knew it was a different pianist today from the first few notes.

I’ve gotten to the point where I can tell by the sound of the piano, or the style of playing, if it’s someone to whom I’ve been listening or not.

Today’s performer is Yoshiko Kojima on fortepiano.

According to one web site,

Japanese pianist Yoshiko Kojima studied piano at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo and fortepiano at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Teacher at Tokai University and at the National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo.

She does a masterful job, too.

These selections are crisp and passionate.

The recordings are interesting, too. On track two (Movement II – “Menuet” – of Piano Sonata in D “Variazione”) I can hear the keys being depressed and some of the buzzing of the strings. So either Ms. Kojima was playing a particularly noisy fortepiano or else the microphone was very close to it.

Either way, it reminds me of listening to Glenn Gould’s humming and squeaking chairs. It doesn’t detract. It’s part of the charm of the recording.

Here’s what I listened to this morning:

Haydn Piano Sonata in D (“Variazione”) HOB XVII: D1 (Composed before 1766)

Haydn Piano Sonata in D HOB XVI: 24 (Composed 1773)

Haydn Piano Sonata in E Flat HOB XVI: 25 (Composed 1773)

Haydn Piano Sonata in F (“Divertimento”) HOB XVI: 29 (Composed 1774)

Haydn Piano Sonata in G HOB XVI: 39 (Composed 1780)

I provided the first piano sonata. If you sashay over to YouTube, you’ll probably find someone has posted the other compositions there as well.d

NOTE: There are only eight days left in my exploration of Haydn’s music. Then, I begin watching all of the films directed by Woody Allen.