Haydn's Haus

[Biffo]

Don't know if this was covered before and I didn't want to read through a bajillion pages, but last year Decca reissued Marriner's Haydn recordings in a lovely box set with the original artwork and a nice book.  I've really been enjoying them a lot, especially the Paris symphonies which are giving my favorites (Bernstein/NY) some competition.  They are on modern instruments but with historical interpretation.  Anyone else enjoying these?

I have been listening to the Marriner set at the rate of one symphony per day over the last few weeks and greatly enjoying them - finished yesterday.

[Jo498]

I only know the "Paris" set with Marriner (except for 2 other single discs most of the others were never separately on CD) and my shelves are too saturated with Haydn symphonies to get that biggish box. But the Paris are probably my favorite "modern chamber orchestra" version and really excellent in pieces like 85 and 87.

[Olias]

my shelves are too saturated with Haydn symphonies

Huh?  Does not compute...  MUST....HAVE....MORE....HAYDN....

[Jo498]

It's also not cheap at all here, 75 EUR; I might consider it for 30. I don't see a full list of the included symphonies but I'd guess I have between 3 (for e.g. 6-8) and 8 (for "Military" or "Bear") recordings of these pieces. And I know from the ones I have and Marriner's general style that I don't really need this.

[Madiel]

It seems that the Festetics (Arcana) box of the quartets is about to be re-released, around the end of May. I've seen several indications.

[Gurn Blanston]

It seems that the Festetics (Arcana) box of the quartets is about to be re-released, around the end of May. I've seen several indications.

If that is indeed true it will be the 4th time since its original release,  and yet it can still be a challenge to find.  Although not so much as when I bought the chubby boxes of 2 or 3 disks each.  Back then the original release was ancient history but the second wasn't thought of yet.  It took months and cost a fortune,  but I finally was sated.   

🤠😎

[Jo498]

To me the best form of the Festetics were the digipack double boxes. They were re-issued around 2009 in separate volumes for a reasonable price (midprice or so), so one could close gaps or pick opus numbers one was most interested in. (I have or had about half of their series in these separate (and one older "fat case") volumes:
opp.9,17,20,50,54,55,64,71,74)

[Gurn Blanston]

To me the best form of the Festetics were the digipack double boxes. They were re-issued around 2009 in separate volumes for a reasonable price (midprice or so), so one could close gaps or pick opus numbers one was most interested in. (I have or had about half of their series in these separate (and one older "fat case") volumes:
opp.9,17,20,50,54,55,64,71,74)

Yes,  I have one digipak  (Op. 50). I do like it better,  but not enough to make me replace the chubbies. Someone who has it could probably tell me if any booklets came with the Big Box... ?

🤠😎

[Madiel]

Yes,  I have one digipak  (Op. 50). I do like it better,  but not enough to make me replace the chubbies. Someone who has it could probably tell me if any booklets came with the Big Box... ?

🤠😎

Well I can tell you yes because the booklet is supplied digitally on Idagio. And it seems quite a good booklet. For one thing it explains why they don't play the 'traditional' number order in some opuses and correct it to an order that Haydn knew about.

[Gurn Blanston]

Well I can tell you yes because the booklet is supplied digitally on Idagio. And it seems quite a good booklet. For one thing it explains why they don't play the 'traditional' number order in some opuses and correct it to an order that Haydn knew about.

Yeah,  the books are great,  that's one of the things I like about Arcana.  But sometimes box sets are released with no books at all,  which sucks.  An example right from Haydn is the Hogwood symphonies box, which I'm told has no booklet at all,  but the originals had each a superb book by James Webster.  That's just sad.

Thanks for your reply!
🤠😎

[Madiel]

Not quite accurate. The Hogwood box has a booklet but it only has 4 pages of notes, and they are more about Hogwood than Haydn. I know what you mean about the original notes because you shared them with me, which I'm VERY grateful for.

[Madiel]

The more I listen to the Auryn quartet the more I like them.

I still would prefer a SLIGHTLY less resonant acoustic, maybe it varies between opuses as well. But there's a heck of a lot to like in the playing.

I randomly started op.9 with number 5. I liked the Festetics until I got to the Largo. I couldn't handle the tone in the Largo (low vibrato among other things, but also felt that the cello part was way too prominent in sections ). Not a fan of the Buchbergers with intonation and recording. Briefly sampled Tatrai... intonation. The Kodaly more in my style in the Largo, but... the Auryn brought more to the first couple of movements as well.

I'll try some more of op.9, but at this stage I'm feeling I'll be hunting down the Auryn for at least 1,2 and 9.

[Jo498]

The annoying thing about the Auryn is that there seems still no commonly available box set. (I have it on reasonable authority from a person associated with the same Musikhochschule as the Auryns that there was a locally available decently priced box at their concerts there...) and that Tacet choose to price single discs (like op.54 or 74) the same as double discs. Even 12 or more years after they appearance these singles are pricey...

[Madiel]

Yeah well. I'm the kind of person who is prepared to pay for what I genuinely want so it doesn't bother me much. Paying hundreds of dollars for a disc would bother me, but paying "full price" doesn't.

Possibly this might have something to do with me generally only purchasing one version of something instead of several.  I admit I have a shockingly high number of versions of the Bach Cello Suites (4). I can foresee a future where multiple versions of Haydn quartets creep into my collection as well, but right now I'm only attempting to get one copy of each opus.

[Jo498]

I understand that around the anniversary 2009 Tacet might have thought it a good idea to have some as "twofers"/teasers and the others as full price (but I disliked the inconsistency even then although I almost immediately bought their op.33). The label was also one of the very few to offer DVD Audio, a tiny audiophile niche, AFAIK. But 13 years later with physical discs waning, they should have reconsidered this. Anyway, if I had liked their op.33 more and didn't have already 2-5 or more recordings of most Haydn quartets, I'd probably have bought more of their series despite the price...

[Brian]

I was able to find the Auryn series at Europadisc for $13-14 US each (excluding VAT), and they had perhaps mistakenly priced the two CD sets the same as individual discs. At that point I jumped and bought the whole series. The Tacet label seems very small and not interested in things like boxes.

[staxomega]

I was able to find the Auryn series at Europadisc for $13-14 US each (excluding VAT), and they had perhaps mistakenly priced the two CD sets the same as individual discs. At that point I jumped and bought the whole series. The Tacet label seems very small and not interested in things like boxes.

Wow, enjoy! I sort of understand their hardline stance on not doing box sets. I am waiting to see if BIS will box up the recent Zimmermann Beethoven Violin Sonatas, I like these performances, but I'm not in love with them like some of my favorites from the previous century. If BIS didn't do box sets I might have bought the individual discs. Same story with Brautigam's miscellaneous Beethoven box, the only must have for me in that was Diabelli Variations, but a box priced only a bit more than a single disc made it an easy decision and I came to enjoy many other performances in the box.

[Jo498]

I was able to find the Auryn series at Europadisc for $13-14 US each (excluding VAT), and they had perhaps mistakenly priced the two CD sets the same as individual discs.

As I wrote above, this seems to have been the case from the beginning. Each volume costs the same, roughly as much as a full price disc (so $14 is a pretty good deal, could be around EUR 20 at more expensive sellers) but often there are two discs (such as op.9,17,20,33 etc.) in one volume. So roughly half of them are twofers, half of them expensive singles.
If I really loved the ones I heard, I'd probably gotten more. But I re-listen to most of their op.33 last year in comparison with a few others and again found them good, but mostly not great. Good enough to keep but it doesn't make me jump for more at comparably steep prices. They managed to make what might be my favorite movement from op.33, the first one of #3, slightly boring and they are just too lame in the finale of the b minor (not meant as cherrypicking but the two faults that I remembered, maybe they were better in some of the others but the b minor and C major happen to be my favorites of op.33). I also have their op.17 but it's too long I listened to that one.

[Madiel]

Of the ones that I listened to, it's the op.1 I like the best. I didn't like them as much in opuses where there was stiff competition. But the op.1 also strikes me as livelier as some of their other performances.

[Valentino]

My op. 50 is by the Festetics.
Not my kind of musicianship I'm afraid.
Maybe it's time to find a recording I'll pull out to enjoy.