Haydn's Haus

Started by Gurn Blanston, April 06, 2007, 04:15:04 PM

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Jo498

Quote from: Madiel on October 25, 2022, 05:44:31 AM
I cannot agree that Hogwood is dull. I enjoy the box considerably.
I have about 1/2 (4x3 +1 discs) of his and they can sometimes be dull, or maybe better "neutral", mainly because of small ensemble, dryish sound, all repeats (I think one should skip some in less interesting or already rather long movements) and played usually very straightforward. If the music is colorful by its own like the #31 "Hornsignal", it's often pretty good but less so in pieces that need a bit help.

Quote
I could not get into Goodman on account of the harpsichord.
I am not fond of this feature but I like some of his quite a bit despite the hpschd. The sound is fuller and warmer than Hogwood and it's often a bit more lively/playful (although I can make direct comparisons only a few works this seems to me a general tendency).

Both Hogwood and Goodman are for me more "solid" than great but in some pieces there is so little competition that they still are a decent option (and this was even more the case 15-20 years ago when I was looking for Haydn symphonies).
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

calyptorhynchus

Re Hogwood's Haydn, I was listening yesterday and today to some of my favourites from the period between the Sturm und Drag and the Paris Symphonies, which in the Decca Big Box (DBB) is covered by Hogwood. I find his approach restrained, very English ('steady on, old chap!'). I think back in the 80s he was concerned to put down a PI, non-mannered, very plain interpretation. As far as I'm concerned this is just right for the symphonies he supplies in the DBB. You can just listen and wonder at the music, thinking from time to time, 'did I hear that right?', 'did he really write that, in 1774?' and so forth. As for the repeats, well in the good symphonies it's great to hear all the repeats. I guess it would be dull in the less interesting symphonies.
'Many men are melancholy by hearing music, but it is a pleasing melancholy that it causeth.' Robert Burton

Spenserian

It is interesting that Hogwood's tendency to be, in his own words, less than exuberant, is very much a deliberate choice that has to do with his philosophy on recording music. He explains it all in an interview with James Badal in the book Recording the Classics: Maestros, Music & Technology. This quote sums it up: "I personally try to restrain all the people who work with me when we record, and the performances we put on disc will tend to go for the lower end of the scale of exuberance." And earlier: "A recording is an artifact which is not a live performance and is only a measure of work in progress. ... For us, particularly working with early instruments, the recording situation is a laboratory, and what comes out of it is a laboratory report."

Jo498

I find this a rather unplausible reasoning and luckily Hogwood is often a bit better than a lab report, or the music is just good enough. One could argue the opposite, that one should try to make up for the studio situation without the excitement of a live perfomance by injecting some extra exuberance.
Anyway, Hogwood's Haydn is not bad but I hesitate to recommend going out of one's way trying to obtain the oop expensive bulky 3 disc boxes. (The decision for 3 disc boxes as fat as an opera with an extra libretto shows how little concern for space there was in the 1990s, they were so expensive, people wouldn't buy so many discs anyway...;))
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Madiel

Well if you want the actual recordings, the 32 disc box will do. It might have been Gurn who supplied me with the original liner notes.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

DaveF

Quote from: Jo498 on October 23, 2022, 11:22:28 AM
Märzendorfer was utterly unavailable for decades, except on (rare?) used LPs (it was also quite unknown, as I said above, I had not even heard about its existence until the internet). Then, later one might be able to get some semi-private transfers of them semi-legally on the internet. I probably had a bunch of them some time ago. When the whole thing was finally re-issued on CD, I was too saturated with Haydn to bother. It certainly had its fans all the time (as some other 1960s-70s Haydn LPs like Goberman, Jones, Blum).

And now available (the whole set) for £7.49 on Qobuz UK!
https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/haydn-the-complete-symphonies-vienna-chamber-orchestra-ernst-marzendorfer/w7h6d6pa5r3sa
"All the world is birthday cake" - George Harrison

Spotted Horses

There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. - Duke Ellington

Brian

Quote from: Spotted Horses on November 17, 2022, 06:37:31 AM
...and for $7.99 on Qobuz USA.
Well, this resolves the tension between my curiosity and my hesitation to pay $70.00.
(I bought the Fischer set from Qobuz for a similar price.)

Spotted Horses

Quote from: Brian on November 17, 2022, 06:39:04 AM
Well, this resolves the tension between my curiosity and my hesitation to pay $70.00.
(I bought the Fischer set from Qobuz for a similar price.)

I just got mine. Better get yours before the hard disk they store the files on burns out. :)
There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. - Duke Ellington

JBS

While you're busy downloading, I'm listening to this.
Very well done, I think.


Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Florestan

Quote from: JBS on November 17, 2022, 05:51:41 PM
While you're busy downloading, I'm listening to this.
Very well done, I think.



Agreed. A very fine recording.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Valentino

A couple of months ago I stumbled across an old LP with Pablo Casals directing the Marlborough Festival Orchestra in Haydn Symphonies 94 (Bam!) and 95 at the hefty price of NOK 20. Damn fine music making it is! High charged, not like Hogwood in the studio at all.
We audiophiles don't really like music, but we sure love the sound it makes;
Audio-Technica | Bokrand | Thorens | Cambridge Audio | Logitech | Yamaha | Topping | MiniDSP | Hypex | ICEpower | Mundorf | SEAS | Beyma

Skogwald

Hi all! I just registered for this forum and was delighted to see that there are 643 pages of Haydn discussion  ;D

I've been lately getting really into Haydn, for starters here are my favorite albums by him I've heard:

  • Quatuor Mosaiques - Opus 20
  • Quatuor Mosaiques - Opus 77
  • Ekaterina Derzhavina - Piano Sonatas
  • Levin/Beths/Bylsma - Last 4 Piano Trios

I haven't yet found his symphonies nearly as sublime as his quartets, keyboard sonatas and piano trios.

Auryn Quartet is my go-to in complete string quartets. They have a beautiful sound and have yet to disappoint me.

One part of Haydn's repertoire I feel quite alone in loving is the early keyboard sonatas - sure, they're not as Grand or Experimental as the late works, but there is a tremendous clarity and beauty in them. For me, Derzhavina is definitely the pianist who best manages to convey the beauty in these works.

brewski

Quote from: Skogwald on February 04, 2023, 07:21:20 AMHi all! I just registered for this forum and was delighted to see that there are 643 pages of Haydn discussion  ;D

I've been lately getting really into Haydn, for starters here are my favorite albums by him I've heard:

  • Quatuor Mosaiques - Opus 20
  • Quatuor Mosaiques - Opus 77
  • Ekaterina Derzhavina - Piano Sonatas
  • Levin/Beths/Bylsma - Last 4 Piano Trios

I haven't yet found his symphonies nearly as sublime as his quartets, keyboard sonatas and piano trios.

Auryn Quartet is my go-to in complete string quartets. They have a beautiful sound and have yet to disappoint me.

One part of Haydn's repertoire I feel quite alone in loving is the early keyboard sonatas - sure, they're not as Grand or Experimental as the late works, but there is a tremendous clarity and beauty in them. For me, Derzhavina is definitely the pianist who best manages to convey the beauty in these works.

Hi Skogwald, and welcome. (If you like, feel free to introduce yourself with a new post in the Introductions section of the board, here.) Yes, Haydn is quite popular here, since one of the current moderators, Gurn Blanston, is a big fan, as are many of the rest of us. I also saw your post in the Bacewicz thread, and I like her music very much as well.

In any case, have a good time.

-Bruce
"I set down a beautiful chord on paper—and suddenly it rusts."
—Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

Florestan

#12855
Quote from: Skogwald on February 04, 2023, 07:21:20 AMOne part of Haydn's repertoire I feel quite alone in loving is the early keyboard sonatas - sure, they're not as Grand or Experimental as the late works, but there is a tremendous clarity and beauty in them.

Haydn's is the finest piano sonatas cycle ever penned. Ditto for Haydn's piano trios cycle. Be it said from an avowed Mozartian.

Welcome to the forum!
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Karl Henning

Quote from: Skogwald on February 04, 2023, 07:21:20 AMHi all! I just registered for this forum and was delighted to see that there are 643 pages of Haydn discussion  ;D

I've been lately getting really into Haydn, for starters here are my favorite albums by him I've heard:

  • Quatuor Mosaiques - Opus 20
  • Quatuor Mosaiques - Opus 77
  • Ekaterina Derzhavina - Piano Sonatas
  • Levin/Beths/Bylsma - Last 4 Piano Trios

I haven't yet found his symphonies nearly as sublime as his quartets, keyboard sonatas and piano trios.

Auryn Quartet is my go-to in complete string quartets. They have a beautiful sound and have yet to disappoint me.

One part of Haydn's repertoire I feel quite alone in loving is the early keyboard sonatas - sure, they're not as Grand or Experimental as the late works, but there is a tremendous clarity and beauty in them. For me, Derzhavina is definitely the pianist who best manages to convey the beauty in these works.
Welcome! Numerous fans here (myself included) of the Quatuor Mosaïques. I really enjoy Derzhavina, as well.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Florestan

Quote from: Skogwald on February 04, 2023, 07:21:20 AMI haven't yet found his symphonies nearly as sublime as his quartets, keyboard sonatas and piano trios.

Keep trying! You'll eventually see the light.

Haydn is one of the most companionable composers, right up there with Mozart and Rossini.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

DaveF

Quote from: Skogwald on February 04, 2023, 07:21:20 AMHi all! I just registered for this forum and was delighted to see that there are 643 pages of Haydn discussion  ;D

I've been lately getting really into Haydn, for starters here are my favorite albums by him I've heard:

  • Quatuor Mosaiques - Opus 77

Auryn Quartet is my go-to in complete string quartets. They have a beautiful sound and have yet to disappoint me.


Yes, welcome indeed.  The Mosaïques' version of Op.77/2 would go with me to a desert island.  I always think of Picasso in the slow movement - "It took me three years to learn to draw like Raphael, and a lifetime to learn to draw like a child."  I don't know the Auryn, but they're on my listening list now.
"All the world is birthday cake" - George Harrison

Skogwald

Thanks all! Seems like I will fit in here well  8)

By the way, what would be all of your preferred version of String Quartets, Opus 54? That has always been one of my favorites and it pains me that the Mosaiques never recorded it.