The program of this album is not a Haydn recital with an obligatory contemporary representative in the form of György Ligeti. It's a full-fledged combination of the two composers that asserts their logical connection. Give credit to pianist Shai Wosner: he executes a combination that few or no other pianists have managed so far, and for the most part he makes it sound convincing. It helps that the Capriccio No. 1 and Capriccio No. 2 of Ligeti were written early in that composer's career, when neoclassic and folk influences were strong. Sample the second Capriccio, which seems to flow naturally out of the Haydn Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Hob. 18/4 that precedes it. In general, Wosner's Haydn performances are very strong. The two piano concertos, where it's hard to find the humor and strike the right balance on a modern piano, are sparkling and energetic. The shorter Haydn pieces aren't commonly heard, and they're gems. The Capriccio in G, Hob. 17/1 ("Acht Sauschneider müssen sein," translated here as "It takes eight of you to castrate this boar"), apparently based on a folk song, is a splendid piece of Haydn high spirits. There's a strong current of humor in the Ligeti, too, and Wosner makes a pretty strong case for the kinship of spirits except for the Ligeti Piano Concerto: that one contains some humorous elements, but it's a piece of a different kind, with highly varied influences (including music of central Africa) that spill out beyond the nifty boundaries of the rest of the album. The music is never less than enjoyable, though, and many of the performances are worth your time and money on their own merits.