Paul Lewis is known for his distinguished traversals of the Beethoven and Schubert Sonatas. He can do no wrong as far as British critics are concerned. One review of this disc described Lewis and Haydn as “a perfect fit”. Respectfully, I beg to differ. The sole quality in Lewis’s Beethoven that was lacking for me was playfulness. It is an element even more essential to Haydn, but Lewis strikes me as no more playful this time around. He was mentored by Alfred Brendel, but if you compare the two in the B Minor Sonata (Hob. XVI:32), Brendel uses a lighter touch, evoking an air of tongue-in-cheek, even in a minor key. Lewis’s pianism is smooth, but he remains very serious about it.