Haydn's Haus

[Gurn Blanston]

You mean 126, right? 

Gurn was talking about the number of CD's, not works... 126 CD's of baryton trios would really be something.

21 CD's of any genre is a pretty good chunk. I am curious if anyone, even those who have got the set, has listened to the entire thing (except me, of course). It is uniformly good, but occasionally great. I can't think how he managed to keep his own interest level up across such a span of works. Did he ever discuss with Weigl, his cellist for these works, or even with the Prince "what next, lads?". They are no oeuvre to match the string quartets, or the symphonies for that matter, but so few other things are...

[Florestan]

I am curious if anyone, even those who have got the set, has listened to the entire thing (except me, of course).

I have the entire Brilliant Edition but have not listened to one single baryton CD yet. 

What I have listened to instead is this:



which I highly recommend.

[Gurn Blanston]

I have the entire Brilliant Edition but have not listened to one single baryton CD yet. 

What I have listened to instead is this:



which I highly recommend.

Yes, I streamed that disk once and enjoyed it too, although it wasn't available over here for sale at the time. I wanted to hear the Tomasini.

If you would like to listen to some of that without hurting yourself, I recommend the 2 disks of Octets. Smashing good music, and they are joined by Piccolo Concerto Wien and some truly great hornists. It is only nominally baryton music, although you can clearly hear the baryton, it is really horn music.

[Jo498]

I only have about two anthology discs with baryton trios (one on cpo with Geringas, the other one actually with string trio arrangements (i.e. without a baryton) on alpha), and two containing some of the octets (one volume with Huss and the "deLirium" disc with Quatuor Mosaiques and others) and decided that this is enough for now. I might get the second Huss disc eventually for two missing octets or quintets or so, but I am pretty sure that I am not going to listen to 21 discs of trios. (Similar arguments apply to the Scottish/Irish/etc. folksongs, except that I ended up with about 5 discs of them.)

[Florestan]

From Playing Before the Lord: The Life and Work of Joseph Haydn, by Calvin Stapert:

As early as 1768, Johann Adam Hiller had written that Haydn's music was a "curious mixture of the noble and the common, the serious and the comic, which so often occurs in one of the same movement."

Who'd have thought that Haydn's true heir was Mahler. 

[Gurn Blanston]

From Playing Before the Lord: The Life and Work of Joseph Haydn, by Calvin Stapert:

As early as 1768, Johann Adam Hiller had written that Haydn's music was a "curious mixture of the noble and the common, the serious and the comic, which so often occurs in one of the same movement."

Who'd have thought that Haydn's true heir was Mahler. 

Quick note, on my way to a meeting: that's a very good book, I quite enjoy it. The point Stapert is making there, maybe not surprisingly, is exactly the very thing which garnered Haydn the most criticism in his lifetime. The North German critics, Hiller being one of the milder ones, savaged him over it, and what resistance there was in Vienna, from the likes of Joseph II and his coterie, stemmed from that also.  And yet, today this is the attraction of his music for many of us.

[Karl Henning]

Ahead of his time!

[Jo498]

I recall to have read about the hypothesis that Haydn included three learned fugues (with particular effect like inversion etc.) in op.20 because some earlier pieces had been criticized for taking too many liberties and a too folksy style, so he wanted to demonstrate that he did not lack such skills.
(Admittedly, I don't quite understand how the "North Germans" could accept CPE Bach as their leading composer but become irritated by early Haydn...)

[Karl Henning]

I recall to have read about the hypothesis that Haydn included three learned fugues (with particular effect like inversion etc.) in op.20 because some earlier pieces had been criticized for taking too many liberties and a too folksy style, so he wanted to demonstrate that he did not lack such skills.
(Admittedly, I don't quite understand how the "North Germans" could accept CPE Bach as their leading composer but become irritated by early Haydn...)

Family ties . . . .

[Gurn Blanston]

I recall to have read about the hypothesis that Haydn included three learned fugues (with particular effect like inversion etc.) in op.20 because some earlier pieces had been criticized for taking too many liberties and a too folksy style, so he wanted to demonstrate that he did not lack such skills.
(Admittedly, I don't quite understand how the "North Germans" could accept CPE Bach as their leading composer but become irritated by early Haydn...)

Yes, this is true. He made it very difficult to criticize him for 'lack of learnedness' which they very much did ("as for rules, he knows nothing of them..."). The difference between Haydn and CPE Bach, can be summed up in one word, which you know better than most of us, since it is German:  Affektenlehre. CPE Bach apparently didn't mix 2 different Affekte in one piece. Haydn mixed them in any 1 movement if he felt like it. They took this as a huge offense to their sensibility. It simply wasn't done. It is as important, or more important, than the 'rules' thing mentioned above.

[kishnevi]

Reissue alert
[asin]B01MTUQZ28[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Splendid.

[Gurn Blanston]

1795 was not 'business as usual', there were some surprises for Haydn, like Salomon bowing out. Salomon!!  Well, he did still have a job, and some new playmates too. Thought you might like to meet a couple of them.

All my rowdy friends...

Thanks,

[kishnevi]

Hyperion's email announcing its February releases came today.  Among other things, the next installment of the LHQ series.

[Gurn Blanston]

Hyperion's email announcing its February releases came today.  Among other things, the next installment of the LHQ series.

Great, that can only be a good thing. I'm guessing it will be the Op 54/55 pair if they stick to form. 

On that same note, disk 3 of the Handel & Haydn Society set with Symphonies 6, 7 & 8, the 3 violin concerti and the first 3 Paris symphonies, evenly divided, should be released tomorrow. Already has been in some places. The first 2 disks are excellent, looking forward to this Symphony #8 & 84 plus VC in A. Also wondering what they will pair with the remainder of the Paris set...

[George]

By some stroke of luck, I found a sealed copy of this set today in a local used store. It appears that it is out of print, for only one or two amazon sellers offer it, for $350 - $400 new. I got it for $100. I almost didn't buy it, as space is limited in me and my girlfriend's apartment. Plus, I already have the complete Tatrai set and the Pro Arte and Mosaïques incomplete sets, but after reading Gurn and Que's convincing praise in this thread, I had to grab it! I plan to start listening to it this Sunday, when I will have the apartment to myself. 

[kishnevi]

By some stroke of luck, I found a sealed copy of this set today in a local used store. It appears that it is out of print, for only one or two amazon sellers offer it, for $350 - $400 new. I got it for $100. I almost didn't buy it, as space is limited in me and my girlfriend's apartment. Plus, I already have the complete Tatrai set and the Pro Arte and Mosaïques incomplete sets, but after reading Gurn and Que's convincing praise in this thread, I had to grab it! I plan to start listening to it this Sunday, when I will have the apartment to myself.

Excellent!

[Gurn Blanston]

By some stroke of luck, I found a sealed copy of this set today in a local used store. It appears that it is out of print, for only one or two amazon sellers offer it, for $350 - $400 new. I got it for $100. I almost didn't buy it, as space is limited in me and my girlfriend's apartment. Plus, I already have the complete Tatrai set and the Pro Arte and Mosaïques incomplete sets, but after reading Gurn and Que's convincing praise in this thread, I had to grab it! I plan to start listening to it this Sunday, when I will have the apartment to myself.

That's great, George! I'm still kicking myself for not buying one of those boxes back when they were giving them away (for $75). Nice to have backup.   Looking forward to hearing your reaction. I think you will agree, it's different.

[George]

That's great, George! I'm still kicking myself for not buying one of those boxes back when they were giving them away (for $75). Nice to have backup.   Looking forward to hearing your reaction. I think you will agree, it's different.

I assume you mean different/good?

[Gurn Blanston]

I assume you mean different/good?

Certainly. But they have a different approach than any of those others, to my ears it is a very joyful sort of playing, not like you are at a big life-or-death recital. IMO, Haydn would approve.