Preparing Haydn sonatas is a daunting task: so much wit, so much condensed content. We are taught that Beethoven was the master of variation. I am not so sure but that Haydn wins in that category. Just this afternoon I was rehearsing a "simple" 8-bar opening phrase in 2/4. No two measures were alike. How many playings through did it take for me to recognize this? What can I do in performance to make this level of ingenuity palpable to the listener?
I have the same tendency as everyone else, which is to listen with some body part reliably marking time.
