Haydn's Haus

[Karl Henning]

Ken is referring to an Insider review titled "CD From Hell: Abbado Plays Mozart with Authentic Amateurs"

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Some highlights:

"Abbado drifts about appearing at festivals in front of pick-up ensembles and has the European press fawning and drooling over the result as if these ad-hoc organizations really can match the polish and personality of the world’s finest regularly constituted orchestras[....]All that means is that major labels can record relatively inexperienced kids with big-name conductors on the cheap, and frankly this band really fits that description. The strings sound thin and weak, the trumpets and drums like toy instruments in a performance of The Nutcracker. The woodwinds define the word “characterless[...]Then again, timbre seems to be irrelevant to Abbado these days. Instead, he offers a complex of tediously predictable mannerisms. Loud phrases invariably taper off to feminine endings..."

Thanks, Sarge!  I should go back and listen to a symphony or two.  I certainly do not recall anything on the order of "the woodwinds define the word “characterless" offending the ears of this woodwind player.

But in more than one of his harshly negative reviews, the Hurwitzer has done an excellent imitation of someone (in the parlance of the Ozarks) trying to fart higher than his [anus].

[Ken B]

Ken is referring to an Insider review titled "CD From Hell: Abbado Plays Mozart with Authentic Amateurs"

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Some highlights:

"Abbado drifts about appearing at festivals in front of pick-up ensembles and has the European press fawning and drooling over the result as if these ad-hoc organizations really can match the polish and personality of the world's finest regularly constituted orchestras[....]All that means is that major labels can record relatively inexperienced kids with big-name conductors on the cheap, and frankly this band really fits that description. The strings sound thin and weak, the trumpets and drums like toy instruments in a performance of The Nutcracker. The woodwinds define the word "characterless[...]Then again, timbre seems to be irrelevant to Abbado these days. Instead, he offers a complex of tediously predictable mannerisms. Loud phrases invariably taper off to feminine endings[...]The engineering certainly doesn't help–the acoustic is extremely dry and unflattering."


Sarge

Yes Sarge has it exactly.  I haven't heard it all yet but what I have heard I like.

[Karl Henning]

Yes Sarge has it exactly.  I haven't heard it all yet but what I have heard I like.

+1

[Mookalafalas]

Big band Haydn certainly has its charms.  I'm playing Monteux conducting the 101 right now.  No complaints.   

[Gurn Blanston]

Big band Haydn certainly has its charms.  I'm playing Monteux conducting the 101 right now.  No complaints.

Haydn can withstand most forms of abuse. Monteux, though, is not an abuser. His worst sin in those days was not having access to a score that hadn't been heavily shat upon by 15 publishers over a 175 year period. Can't blame him for that! 

[Gurn Blanston]

1780 was one of those years, you could hardly say that nothing happened, but how to look at it? Here's what I came up with:

Lookin' for love

Thanks!

[Old Listener]

1780 was one of those years, you could hardly say that nothing happened, but how to look at it? Here's what I came up with:

Lookin' for love

I always enjoy and learn from your year essays.  Thanks for sharing your insights.

[Gurn Blanston]

I always enjoy and learn from your year essays.  Thanks for sharing your insights.

Thanks for your kind words. I hope these tidbits help people to enjoy the music that much more.

[Gurn Blanston]

Bloody hell, these damn YouTube things! 

http://youtube/v/aHJolteDIzc

Well, perhaps if you copy and paste the code it will work for you. Certainly worth your while, this is a very interesting little vid...  *sigh*



http://youtu.be/aHJolteDIzc

and this is the entire work performed straight through, interesting after seeing the other one.

http://youtu.be/guNwUxM4fKs

[Karl Henning]

Al vostro servizio!

http://www.youtube.com/v/aHJolteDIzc

[Karl Henning]

and this is the entire work performed straight through, interesting after seeing the other one.

http://www.youtube.com/v/guNwUxM4fKs

[Gurn Blanston]

And today I received my copy:



If you know Il Giardino's Vivaldi, then you have certain expectations for their Haydn. Not least, exuberance. And that is here, along with the certain je ne sais quoi which separates good performance from inspired. Listen to the 2nd movement Allegro molto of #49 and you can sense the biting anticipation of each musician waiting for the chance to get his word in. The only thing I haven't listened to yet is the Gluck, not out of any reticence, but because I have never heard any of the ballet before, and so I can't mentally compare it to anything in my experience, while the 3 symphonies, 1, 39 & 49 are all close personal friends. I am fully prepared to love this set, if I live long enough to see it all. I should be able to buy the final disk on my 80th birthday if all goes well. 

[Karl Henning]

Behold!

http://www.youtube.com/v/NVTrluuuFBU

[Gurn Blanston]

Question for anyone (particularly El Gordo) who might know;

I have never known DHM to release any disk which was not on period instruments. I recently bought a copy of this disk:



which came to me as an EMI rather than a DHM, otherwise identical in every way. No where that I have looked, including all online resources nor the liner notes or anything, does it say whether this group, the Residenzkammerorchester München, plays PI's or not. Seems strange. I will be listening to it tonight for the first time, should have answers then, but am curious if anyone knows more about it.

[Wakefield]

Question for anyone (particularly El Gordo) who might know;

I have never known DHM to release any disk which was not on period instruments. I recently bought a copy of this disk:



which came to me as an EMI rather than a DHM, otherwise identical in every way. No where that I have looked, including all online resources nor the liner notes or anything, does it say whether this group, the Residenzkammerorchester München, plays PI's or not. Seems strange. I will be listening to it tonight for the first time, should have answers then, but am curious if anyone knows more about it.

It's really strange because they actually play modern instruments.

[Gurn Blanston]

It's really strange because they actually play modern instruments.

Exactly my thought,  and as I am discovering now (still on the Kyrie of the Missa brevis). I don't think I ever saw a DHM disk on modern instruments: the exception which proves the rule! 

[Wakefield]

I am fully prepared to love this set, if I live long enough to see it all. I should be able to buy the final disk on my 80th birthday if all goes well. 

We need to schedule a Haydn convention for March 31, 2032, naturally in Texas... 

[Gurn Blanston]

We need to schedule a Haydn convention for March 31, 2032, naturally in Texas... 

I will be proud to host it. Some children, not yet born, will perform live the finest interpretations of the string quartets since Tomasini and Kraft departed....

[Gurn Blanston]

Gordo, you know how when non-PI people post that the PI performance sounds flat to them? We sort of laugh a little bit and maybe not know exactly what they are talking about, maybe it's the drugs....

Well, I have never heard the Nikolaimesse on anything but PI, and I now listen to this and everything sounds very sharp to me, especially the Knabenchor. It is exactly the same effect only in reverse! They are doing well, but it sounds ... not well to me! 

[Wakefield]

I will be proud to host it. Some children, not yet born, will perform live the finest interpretations of the string quartets since Tomasini and Kraft departed....

Talking about departure, two days ago I ordered the set of symphonies conducted by Brüggen.

For some reason, it only seems to be available on the German store JPC.

Currently its price is EUR 25.20 (VAT excluded), a certain relief in order to compensate the high shipping rates outside Europe.