Sonata 1 opens with a movement marked ‘Sostenuto’ and expresses to perfection the melancholy gracefulness associated with B minor. A vivacious Allegro follows, kaleidoscopic in its ever-changing rhythmic patterns, and the work concludes with a charming homage to the French style, in the form of a gavotte en rondeau. The opening movement of Sonata 2, containing some exquisite harmonic turns, displays what Quantz called the prächtig (‘magnificent’) style, with a pompously striding bass and heavily...