"The quintessence {of his greatness} seems to me to be in the exceptionally light handling of the rhythm, an art in which no one else is his equal, and to lie in what the English refer to as humor, a word which does not really have an exact German equivalent. This latter characteristic explains his propensity for comic twists and the greater achievement of explaining away such features as serious …" (Albert Christoph Dies: "Biographische Nachrichten von Joseph Haydn") The release of Haydn´s Complete Piano Sonatas on 9 albums in 2013 was critically acclaimed throughout the world and nominated 2014 for the International Classical Music Award. The Boston Globe, USA, wrote: “Ekaterina Derzhavina's name was new to me, but this 9-album set of Haydn's complete piano sonatas should broaden her recognition considerably. Her playing is elegant, stylish, and above all imaginative, showing just how creative the composer was ...her feel for Haydn's originality comes through brilliantly.“ She continues her Haydn exploration with this new release, Variations and Pieces for Piano.
