Gramophone
Philip Kennicott
Gramophone, February 2026
The harpsichord is a particular delight, a modest instrument, with only two eight-foot manuals. Built by Christian Vater and preserved in Nuremberg, it has a precise, silvery tone, mixed with a French tonal richness. Like Häkkinen’s performances, its tonal palette is a curious mix of the sprightly and austere (...) It is lovely paired with the drier clavichord and the organ, which Häkkinen employs to particular advantage in works that feature longer, sustained notes over or interspersed with more rapid figuration.