Haydn's Haus

[Herman]

Yeah, I do too. Their Op 50 is a benchmark, IMO. There is a lot more competition in Op 76. Their's is good, but others are better.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for the op. 50 box.

[snyprrr]

You guys crack me up.

What's your fav Haydn SQ "menuet"?, not counting 76/2 or 54/2?

Mine would be 33/3.

[The new erato]

Jacob's Creation seems to have arrived:

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002LBD4U4/worldtwitch06

[Gabriel]

Jacob's Creation seems to have arrived:

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002LBD4U4/worldtwitch06

If it follows the traces of his Jahreszeiten, it will be a must.

[Gurn Blanston]

Jacob's Creation seems to have arrived:

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002LBD4U4/worldtwitch06

Super, can hardly wait to hear it. Any luck it will be this side soon.

[snyprrr]

Op.71

Anyone have any particular thoughts about this opus? I think it is one of the "rarer" opus numbers, meaning there aren't all that many interesting "off" brands to choose from; however, I did uncover some:

Auryn SQ/Tacet I/II: two? versions, on the same label?... the 1993 is hopelessly OOP.

Chilingirian SQ/CRD

Griller SQ: this sounds like a sleeper (avail w/Op.74). Does anyone know this?

Brentano SQ: 1999/live

Lindsay SQ/ASV: this comes from the tale end of their survey. I don't know anyone who has ventured this far.. I don't know whether to trust them this far.



The HIP contigent is only represented by Festetics and Solomon (on an outrageous 3 cds w/Op.74!). Does this seem like a particularly good opus for the HIP "sound"?



The usual suspects round out the top 10: Tatrai, Angeles, Kodaly, Amadeus, Aeolian. I'm wondering if the Kodaly might be the dark horse here? I don't see any reason why they might not be the best here. I have only heard the Amadeus, which was one of their bests sets, as I recall.

I'll admit that Op.71 didn't leave a great impression on me back in the spring. All I really remember is the fake ending finale of No.2, and the Eb similarities of No.3 with 76/6. Right now, I couldn't tell the difference between 71/1, 74/1, or 76/1! But, I am looking forward to becoming reaquainted with Op.71 at some point.

Insights?

[Gurn Blanston]

*bump*

[SonicMan46]

Gurn - believe that I've been posting some of my recent 'box purchases' in other related threads - to many to keep tract!   

First, I still have that lira organizzata disc recommended by Antoine & Gurn on my 'wish list' - will obtain soon! 

Just to put some of my recent purchases here from other threads, as quoted below:

Piano Trios - now have the two sets shown below, one w/ period instruments and the other on modern ones - both excellent!

Piano Sonatas - on fortepiano; my third set of the piano sonatas - should be enough! 

Haydn, Joseph - Piano Trios w/ the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt; 8-CD set using a modern piano but played in a fashion reminding me more of the fortepiano - just half way through this set; a total of 39 works are recorded; so far quite impressed w/ this group - some excellent reviews quoted on the Naxos Website - my other set is also shown below, i.e. Van Swieten Trio using a fortepiano - love this set, also; for the price of these boxes & depending on the instruments preferred, difficult to see either one being a disappointment - no longer have my BAT 2-CD sampler, so will not be able to make a comparison.   

 

Haydn, Joseph - Piano Sonatas on various fortepianos; doing my second go-around w/ this 10-CD box set - I'm amazed that despite using five different keyboardists, the quality & consistency of the performances are quite uniform across the set; this is my third collection of these works (boy, they're so cheap!), but this one would be a good set for those just wanting one - 

 

[Gurn Blanston]

Gurn - believe that I've been posting some of my recent 'box purchases' in other related threads - to many to keep tract!   

First, I still have that lira organizzata disc recommended by Antoine & Gurn on my 'wish list' - will obtain soon! 

Just to put some of my recent purchases here from other threads, as quoted below:

Piano Trios - now have the two sets shown below, one w/ period instruments and the other on modern ones - both excellent!

Piano Sonatas - on fortepiano; my third set of the piano sonatas - should be enough! 

Dave,
Is there ever really enough?   I have just 2 sets of keyboard sonatas. In the interest of authenticity, I use Schornsheim for all the early works on the clavicembalo and clavichord, and Brautigam on the 'fortepiano for sure' works, IOW, post-1780.

Anyway, the reason I bumped this was to have a place to post about my most recent project. Feedback and helpful advice are always welcome.

In the last 5 years I have compiled the complete works of Mozart and Beethoven. As complete as if to say 'everything that they wrote that has been recorded'. They each took about a year, and as much as possible, they consist in each work in 2 versions; one on modern instruments and one on period instruments (PI). There are actually some Mozart works that are only available on PI, and some Beethoven that is NOT available on PI. But in any case, if you want to hear a work, any work, by either one of them, I can play it for you.   By way of organizing them, the Mozart are sorted by Köchel numbers and the Beethoven by Biamonti numbers, since both of those systems are as chronological as one can hope for t this point in time. All the CD's are ripped to highest quality MP3 and sorted in appropriately named folders. The research involved in all this was substantial but not insurmountable, anyone who was inclined to do this for him/herself would be able to do it reasonably easily.

Now for the fun part. I decided that since I was able to do all that, I would be able to knock off the Haydn works with equal dexterity. Wrong!   Haydn is most likely the greatest unknown composer still at large.   Yeah, sure, you can get lots of his music, much of it on PI even, but when it comes to knowing anything about him, like even when much of it was written, well, good luck to you.

I started by deciding that the only way to organize such a huge collection was by year of composition (YoC). And I still think so. But you see how naive I was, about half or more of the works, the YoC is unknown, or at best it falls within a 3-5 year span. The end result is doing a hell of a lot of the research myself, and sometimes making an informed guess on just where to put things. Since that's what the pros are doing, I don't feel quite so badly about doing it myself.

So now I am about 60% done with this project. The setup for listening couldn't be better. In any given year, you will have a couple of symphonies, some divertimentos, string quartets, a concerto, some baryton works, a piano trio or two, some sonatas, some masses, some songs, maybe even an opera or oratorio. In short, a big cross-section of listening pleasure, so a great payoff for the time and frustration investment.

If anyone is interested in this sort of thing, have a post here and discuss. BTW, there could well be other composers who would benefit from this same treatment.





----------------
Listening to:
Camerata Berolinensis - Hob 05 11 Trio in Eb for Strings 2nd mvmt - Tempo di Menuet

[DavidW]

Did you actually find a concerto per year?  I thought he only wrote a small handful and I figured it was in the late stages for most and then a few early keyboard concertos.  Not trying to nitpick because knowing you, it could be literal and while most people have 5 you have like 40!

[Gurn Blanston]

Did you actually find a concerto per year?  I thought he only wrote a small handful and I figured it was in the late stages for most and then a few early keyboard concertos.  Not trying to nitpick because knowing you, it could be literal and while most people have 5 you have like 40!

No, I wasn't being literal in that sense, I just meant that in any given year you could have one. Actually, with the exception of the Lira concertos, he didn't write more than one a year, they are spread out from <>1756 (the first organ concerto) to 1796 (the trumpet concerto). There are actually quite a few in between there too, but not one in each year.



----------------
Listening to:
Franz Josef Haydn - Hob 02 07 Divertimento in C for Wind Sextet 2nd mvmt - Menuetto I

[SonicMan46]

Gurn - are you goin' 'overboard' on these analyzes? 

I suggest shooting some more feral pigs, then Susan & I will fly into Texas for dinner - I'll bring some wine from my cellar! 

But great post & looking forward to further discussion!  Dave 

[DavidW]

I would like to see if there is a trick to redirect his energy to sort out the chronology of Bach's work.

[Gurn Blanston]

Gurn - are you goin' 'overboard' on these analyzes? 

I suggest shooting some more feral pigs, then Susan & I will fly into Texas for dinner - I'll bring some wine from my cellar! 

But great post & looking forward to further discussion!  Dave 

Well, the research and history is the main thing for me, Dave. It is an end in itself, so to speak. Plus, I get to listen to so much great music along the way, it's worth every bit.

I got another pig yesterday, in fact, although it was with my car   No damage done to either of us since I had slowed to a crawl over a wooden bridge, but we all got a shock, especially the pig.



----------------
Listening to:
Tafelmisik / Lamon Bylsma - Hob 07b 1 Concerto in C for Cello 3rd mvmt - Allegro molto

[DavidW]

Oh sing with me!

Green acres is the place to be! 
Farm living is the life for me!

[Joe Barron]

My preview of an upcoming all-Haydn concert may be seen here. It won't teach you experts anything you don't already know, but at the beginning of this thread, Gurn said he wanted to focus on lesser-known stuff, and every piece on this program is lesser known.

[Gurn Blanston]

My preview of an upcoming all-Haydn concert may be seen here. It won't teach you experts anything you don't already know, but at the beginning of this thread, Gurn said he wanted to focus on lesser-known stuff, and every piece on this program is lesser known.

Great story, Joe, thanks for the link. If I lived in Philadelphia, I would most certainly be there. Your story does clarify the point that I brought up in my post the other night; dating some of these works is more than a little difficult.

[Franco]

Dave,
Is there ever really enough?   I have just 2 sets of keyboard sonatas. In the interest of authenticity, I use Schornsheim for all the early works on the clavicembalo and clavichord, and Brautigam on the 'fortepiano for sure' works, IOW, post-1780.

Anyway, the reason I bumped this was to have a place to post about my most recent project. Feedback and helpful advice are always welcome.

In the last 5 years I have compiled the complete works of Mozart and Beethoven. As complete as if to say 'everything that they wrote that has been recorded'. They each took about a year, and as much as possible, they consist in each work in 2 versions; one on modern instruments and one on period instruments (PI). There are actually some Mozart works that are only available on PI, and some Beethoven that is NOT available on PI. But in any case, if you want to hear a work, any work, by either one of them, I can play it for you.   By way of organizing them, the Mozart are sorted by Köchel numbers and the Beethoven by Biamonti numbers, since both of those systems are as chronological as one can hope for t this point in time. All the CD's are ripped to highest quality MP3 and sorted in appropriately named folders. The research involved in all this was substantial but not insurmountable, anyone who was inclined to do this for him/herself would be able to do it reasonably easily.

Now for the fun part. I decided that since I was able to do all that, I would be able to knock off the Haydn works with equal dexterity. Wrong!   Haydn is most likely the greatest unknown composer still at large.   Yeah, sure, you can get lots of his music, much of it on PI even, but when it comes to knowing anything about him, like even when much of it was written, well, good luck to you.

I started by deciding that the only way to organize such a huge collection was by year of composition (YoC). And I still think so. But you see how naive I was, about half or more of the works, the YoC is unknown, or at best it falls within a 3-5 year span. The end result is doing a hell of a lot of the research myself, and sometimes making an informed guess on just where to put things. Since that's what the pros are doing, I don't feel quite so badly about doing it myself.

So now I am about 60% done with this project. The setup for listening couldn't be better. In any given year, you will have a couple of symphonies, some divertimentos, string quartets, a concerto, some baryton works, a piano trio or two, some sonatas, some masses, some songs, maybe even an opera or oratorio. In short, a big cross-section of listening pleasure, so a great payoff for the time and frustration investment.

If anyone is interested in this sort of thing, have a post here and discuss. BTW, there could well be other composers who would benefit from this same treatment.





----------------
Listening to:
Camerata Berolinensis - Hob 05 11 Trio in Eb for Strings 2nd mvmt - Tempo di Menuet

Very impressive.  I like the idea of listening to a year's worth of Haydn, and from what you describe it would be a nice cross section of works.  I can only dream of having your discipline and persistence.  But, maybe on a smaller scale I might attempt a similar project, if only for a few years that might include some works that I already love.  I am planning on getting the Trinity Church box of the masses, and a each one might act as the centerpiece that I build a year around.

[Lethevich]

Thanks to Gurn I've just the 12th, 44th and 64th by Hsu and the Apollo Ensemble - what a neat take this ensemble gives. The chamber-like qualities can become quite startling, such as in the finale of the 44th, where the introduction almost sounds as if performed by a string quartet This is definitely the kind of style I enjoy in the symphonies - an earthy sound, and also a non-metronomic pulse. Like Solomons and Hogwood, I find it to be quite joyful musicmaking (not that other performers do not excel in other areas).

[Joe Barron]

I'm going through the complete symphonies now, but since others already seem to be engaged in that project, I'll spare you my comments.