Haydn’s piano sonatas were long disseminated solely in the form of copies; it was not until 1774 that a printed edition also appeared, containing the sonatas Hob. XVI:21-26 and dedicated to Haydn’s aristocratic employer Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. With an opening movement characterized by two contrasting themes, a sensitive Adagio in f minor and a sparkling Presto Finale, no. 3 of the collection, in F-major, is an outstanding example of the classical sonata. Perhaps this is why this technically challenging work has remained the most popular of the set. This Urtext edition, prepared by Haydn specialist Georg Feder, uses the musical text of the Haydn Complete Edition, supplemented by fingerings by Hans-Martin Theopold.
