Haydn symphonies

[Gurn Blanston]

I'm wondering if this thread should be merged into the primary Haydn thread?

Gurn?

Well, it is a single purpose thread, which is to talk about recordings of the symphonies. For the many people who like to do that and nothing else, it is probably more convenient here. I don't know,  if anyone else has any thoughts on it, chime in. I have to say, it is easier for me to avoid being here...

[Pat B]

Harnoncourt (his Paris set is one of the best HIP recordings ever made, IMHO)

I received that recently and just finished listening to 82. First impression was about as good as possible.

Re: thread merge, I think the time to do that was when this thread was starting. Plus, the main Haydn thread is pretty unwieldy already. I vote nay.

[San Antone]

Well, it is a single purpose thread, which is to talk about recordings of the symphonies. For the many people who like to do that and nothing else, it is probably more convenient here. I don't know,  if anyone else has any thoughts on it, chime in. I have to say, it is easier for me to avoid being here...

I see your point.  All is well.

[André]

I received that recently and just finished listening to 82. First impression was about as good as possible.

Re: thread merge, I think the time to do that was when this thread was starting. Plus, the main Haydn thread is pretty unwieldy already. I vote nay.

I'm not a Harnoncourt fan. Count me among the skeptics. But every once in a while he hits gold, and this set of the Parisian symphonies is a case in point.

[Jo498]

Doesn't anyone (preferably in Europe) have a spare Vol.9 and 10 of Hogwood's to sell?

I am again seriously tempted to get the whole box. BUT: I already have Vols 2,4,8 and one single disc, prefer originals (despite the clumsy packaging) for design and documentation, find Hogwood often closer to decent/good than to great and feel that I have enough recordings of the 40ish Sturm and Drang already. But Vol.9 is used almost as expensive  (ca. 50 EUR) as the whole box in Italy... Vol.10 more affordable but I would be getting this mainly for 62...
There must have been some people who were in a similar situation (only they owned Vol. 9) and have doubles now with the big box.

[Jo498]

It's not conclusive but it might be that the plug has finally been pulled from Fey's Haydn series. 
In any case, jpc.de is offering a bunch at less than half price (9 EUR, note that some of the older recordings like 94/104 might often be even cheaper from marketplace sellers).

While generally in sympathy with the series, I find some interpretations too exaggerated, so I have not collected all of them. I own about 9 vols. (I have 34,39,40,45,50,57,59,64,65,69,70,73,75, 82-88, 93-97, 104)

Still, I'd like to get a few more, especially with works that are IMO not well served on recordings but I am also open to suggestions including more frequently recorded pieces. Any comments are welcome!
Considering in particular (the couplings are not ideal for me, as I often only really want one of them...)

48 + 56
53 + 54
60 + 61
and maybe also
41,44,47
49,52,58
(although I think I am reasonably well served with Pinnock's and Brüggen's boxes for the last 6 mentioned)

[Jo498]

Nobody listening to Fey's Haydn anymore? I had had the impression it was quite popular with some readers here...
Anyway, I ordered 53/54 (partly because I am not sure I have that alternative finale somewhere and also because 54 is really a great piece and I have fewer convincing recordings of it that the others mentioned), hopefully it'll arrive tomorrow.

While deciding I listened to Fischer in  52-54,56, 61-62 and these are actually pretty good, so I didn't feel the urgent need to get all those of Fey's but I might eventually do so, 61 is also a much better piece than I remembered, for some reason I had most of the "60s" numbers filed unter "rather boring".. I am probably also one of the few Haydnistas who is not crazy about "il distratto" (maybe it strikes too close to home...).

[Karl Henning]

My sense is that Fey is popular here, that his work is largely at a high level, with perhaps a couple of borderline lapses.  (I have perhaps 6 of his Haydn CDs, as well as some of his Mendelssohn, and find them uniformly excellent)  And, yes, the news that his series is running aground will be mourned here.

Edit :: minor typo / I blame autocorrect

[Jo498]

In the 1960s another abandoned Haydn project (besides Goberman and a few others) was with David Blum and the so-called Esterhazy orchester (supposedly NYC area based freelancers) on Vanguard.

Because Simon Roberts of rec.music.classical.recordings used to rave about the #60 by this outfit I had this on my wishlist forever but it was usually unavaible or expensive (or I was too sensible to buy ever more Haydn symphonies). I finally got a Vanguard Everyman CD with 60, 70 and 81 for about EUR 9 incl. overseas shipping which seemed fair and received it a few days ago.

I do not regret getting it but I do not quite see why that recording of 60 is so extremely special. I find the other two also quite good; especially 81 is not exactly overrecorded. Modern instruments but smallish forces and pretty good sound for the vintage.

I also ordered an old CBS 3-disc-set with 6 symphonies conducted by Derek Solomons. For a price that was almost too good so I keep my fingers crossed that the vendor did not make a mistake and I'll get chinese pop music instead or so - no kidding this did happen once because EAN numbers are not always unique.

[Old Listener]

In the 1960s another abandoned Haydn project (besides Goberman and a few others) was with David Blum and the so-called Esterhazy orchester (supposedly NYC area based freelancers) on Vanguard.

Because Simon Roberts of rec.music.classical.recordings used to rave about the #60 by this outfit I had this on my wishlist forever but it was usually unavaible or expensive (or I was too sensible to buy ever more Haydn symphonies). I finally got a Vanguard Everyman CD with 60, 70 and 81 for about EUR 9 incl. overseas shipping which seemed fair and received it a few days ago.

I do not regret getting it but I do not quite see why that recording of 60 is so extremely special. I find the other two also quite good; especially 81 is not exactly overrecorded. Modern instruments but smallish forces and pretty good sound for the vintage.

I also ordered an old CBS 3-disc-set with 6 symphonies conducted by Derek Solomons. For a price that was almost too good so I keep my fingers crossed that the vendor did not make a mistake and I'll get chinese pop music instead or so - no kidding this did happen once because EAN numbers are not always unique.

Well, # 60 is just not a symphony I want to listen to.

There are more Blum Haydn recordings worth getting.  Blum's 39 and 59 are my co-favorite recordings of these works. 73 and 75 are very good too. 90 and 91 are in a super cheap Haydn Big Box of mp3 downloads.  I don't consider them essential.

Solomons and his group produced lots of very fine PI Haydn recordings. 39 (my other co-favorite recording) and 48 (far and away my favorite recording) and quite a few more.  Haydyn house has a number of LP to CD transfers including recordings that never made it to a commercially released CD.

http://www.haydnhouse.com/DSO_Haydn_Symphonies_Series.htm

[Jo498]

The Bach Guild mp3 download is 13 EUR in Europe which I am not going to pay for downloads of such old stuff, especially after I paid for the physical disc with 60/70/81 (it was actually marked wrongly as 60/75/81 but I don't care because I really like #70). (And I find that I tend not to listen to downloads, force of habit, I am afraid.) If I find 39/75/73 for a decent price I might snap it up.

That the Solomons series was abolished and that most of the ca. 40 symphonies they recorded was never available on CD is a disgrace. I snapped up two single discs (26, 48, 49 and 39,45,59) almost 20 years ago (probably around 97/98) and loved those despite the very small sounding orchestra. I agree about their recordings of #48 and maybe also #39 (that piece is flawed with great outer movements but a fairly trite andante, therefore ranks for me a little lower than the great 44 or 45.
But I am by now mostly happy with the Haydn symphonies I have, so I am not going to walk extra miles or pay real money for mp3s from LPs.
If the following set arrives in good condition, I will be happy, but if that's all the additional Solomons I'll ever hear, so be it.

[asin]B000002625[/asin]

[alkan]

Hi Jo.

You will love this box set.     My favourite is number 45, the "Farewell", although here the first movement sounds more like "I'm in a really bad mood so don't mess with me".      It is angry, violent and menacing.   It is played here a just the right tempo .... not too rushed.    The raw sound really heightens the impact as does the transparency of the recording.  The horn dissonances at the climaxes make your hair stand on end.     It does make you wonder what state of mind Haydn was in when he wrote this kind of thing ....

The whole box set is full of treasures that will give you pleasure for years to come.       

[alkan]

For me, the trouble with Fey's Haydn symphonies are they are exactly that ..... Fey's Haydn rather than Haydn's Haydn.      I have only heard a few here and there, but I found them to be full of quite grotesque mannerisms.     They weren't even thought-provoking ..... just grotesque ...

I think that Fey should be confined to conducting a high-voltage discharge.... around 10,000 volts should do the job .....

[alkan]

I agree that the Dorati set has aged since the time I collected them all as LP's, but for me there is one recording of his that towers over all the others and still sounds wonderful.     
It's symphony number 90 .... a terrific performance of wonderful music .... especially the finale.

[Jo498]

In fact, #45 is the one piece from that beautiful Solomons box I already have in another guise... I love it as well although there are more good recordings of #45 than of some others (incl. 39 and 48) where Solomons is very good.
Solomons is as lean and mean as it gets and this may not be for everyone and not fit all pieces equally well. But of the ones I have heard I find his more convincing than the comparably lean Hogwood.

From the Fey sale, I got 48 + 56 and 53 + 54 and I am quite happy with them as well. I agree that Fey can be mannered and tends to exaggerate but his style works well with these extrovert pieces.

[Jo498]

I received the Solomon box mentioned in #150 and it is expectedly good (30 year old discs but in newish condition). But for the non-fanatic I think it is not necessary to take pains to get these recordings. Grab them if you find them cheap (that's what I did) but do not spend $60 or so for ordering them from Japan.
Solomons' more easily available 39, 45, 48, 49 are the best ones  and for a piece like 42 the more recent HIP efforts with bigger orchestras and fuller sound might be more attractive for most listeners.

[hpowders]

One of the greatest recordings Leonard Bernstein ever made with the New York Philharmonic was of the Haydn Paris Symphonies. The wind playing is absolutely astonishing!

HIP be damned! It's a hall of fame recording!!!

[Leo K.]

I'm getting to know Haydn's 80th in D Minor through a fine HIP performance from Giovanni Antonini with the Kammerorchester Basel. It is an absolutely stunning performance with clear textures in the strings and forward brass. What a symphony this is!

[PerfectWagnerite]

For me, the trouble with Fey's Haydn symphonies are they are exactly that ..... Fey's Haydn rather than Haydn's Haydn.      I have only heard a few here and there, but I found them to be full of quite grotesque mannerisms.     They weren't even thought-provoking ..... just grotesque ...

I think that Fey should be confined to conducting a high-voltage discharge.... around 10,000 volts should do the job .....

I have quite a few of Fey/Haydn as once upon a time I thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. Repeated listening reveal just what you described. There is no interpretation per say, just some really forward percussion balances, some grotesque string attacks and extreme tempo contrasts.

[Martin Lind]

As a complete set of the symphonies I have only the Adam Fischer set. For the late symphonies I have the Brüggen set. Brüggen ist quite good. I have also Karajan with the Paris und London symphonies, this is enjoyable, but lacks charme. But what I really like are the perfomances of the "La petite band" which I enjoyed very much, but they have performed only a few of the late symphonies.

For the symphonies themselves: I listen mostly to the late one, the Paris and the London. I tried some of the earlier ones in the Adam Fischer set, but was very often disappointed. There are of course some of the earlier symphonies who are rigthtly famous, for example the Farewell symphony.