100 Symphonies

When you compose more than 100 symphonies, all of them good, it's only natural that the public will find ways to identify the ones they like the most. These symphonies with nicknames are not necessarily better than those without, but they do give an excellent overview of Haydn's unsurpassed achievement as a symphonist.

This 37-disc box set is the only brand new and fully digital recording of the complete symphonies of Haydn. Performed by the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) and conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, the recordings were done live in connection with concerts of the whole cycle. The series received fantastic reviews by the press, and The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra was awarded the European Chamber Music Prize in 2008.

Rafael Kubelik was one of our foremost interpreters of Dvorak and other great Czech composers such as Smetana and Janacek. His critically acclaimed 1960's Dvorak symphony Deutsche Grammophon cycle was reissued several years ago as a budget-priced collection.

With 19 symphonies spread across six CDs, this major reissue set of Trevor Pinnock's performances (with The English Concert) of a substantial selection of Haydn's "Sturm und Drang" symphonies is outstanding in every regard. Derived from the German literary movement that affirmed that emotionalism and dark-hued urgency powerfully reflected the human condition, "Sturm und Drang" (literally "Storm and Stress") exerted a profound impact upon the evolution of the Classical symphony, especially in Haydn's hands. No one with an interest in either the period or the composer can possibly afford to be without this set. The performances are simply magnificent! Pinnock's periodist band sounds brilliantly accomplished throughout, and the recorded sound is clear, impactful, and detailed.

The word ‘symphony’ is used to describe an extended orchestral composition in Western classical music. By the eighteenth century the Italianate opera sinfonia - musical interludes between operas or concertos - had assumed the structure of three contrasting movements, and it is this form that is often considered as the direct forerunner of the orchestral symphony. With the rise of established professional orchestras, the symphony assumed a more prominent place in concert life between 1790 and 1820 until it eventually came to be regarded by many as the yardstick by which one would measure a composer’s achievement.

Mendelssohn - The 5 Symphonies & The 13 String Symphonies - Kurt Masur & Concerto Koln (2016) {6CD Set Warner Classics}
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© 2016 Parlophone / Warner Classics | 0190295974909
Classical / Romantic / Symphony

In 1835 Felix Mendelssohn became music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in his native city of Leipzig. 135 years later, Kurt Masur became the orchestra’s Kapellmeister, remaining in the post for 26 years, so there is an indisputable seal of authenticity on these interpretations of the complete Mendelssohn Symphonies. Joining them in this collection, and making it unparalleled in its scope, are the complete early String Symphonies; they are performed on period instruments – and without a conductor – by Concerto Koln.

here's no question that Osmo Vänskä is a true Beethoven conductor. He captures the music's vitality, its eruptive character, and its dramatic syntax as well as anyone on the podium today. He understands the importance of accents, of giving proper weight to Beethoven's bass lines, and of uncovering ear-catching detail without micro-managing the tempo and fracturing Beethoven's large musical paragraphs. The only quibble I have with this performance of the Eroica stems from Vänskä's otherwise admirable deployment of a very wide dynamic range. A couple of times he drops to a "super-duper" pianissimo so quiet that you can barely hear the music, causing it to momentarily lose tension. This only happens a couple of times, most notably at the point of the first-movement recapitulation, and it's so unnecessary given the general excellence of the interpretation that you wonder why he bothers.

Ludwig van Beethoven - The Nine Symphonies - Pierre Monteux (2015) {6CD Set Decca 4808895 rec 1957-1962}
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© 1957-62, 2015 Eloquence / Decca / Universal | 480 8895
Classical / Symphony

Monteux’s Beethoven has been described as visionary. Respect for the spirit of the score, directness of expression, exceptionally well-drilled playing and a sense of untainted idealism that lay at the very heart of the composer’s vision – these are the qualities that typify Monteux’s interpretation of Beethoven. Eight of the symphonies were recorded for Decca; the Ninth for Westminster; and the third (Eroica) again, for Philips. Together with the rehearsal for the Ninth and an impromptu in-studio performance of ‘La Marseillaise’, they form the most complete collection of Monteux’s Beethoven recordings. Other conductors may have offered a more personalised take on the music but none made it more universal or more human. The fascinating accompanying notes to the set are by Rob Cowan and the recordings have been remastered for this release.

Einojuhani Rautavaara may well be the most popular symphonist alive today. On the occasion of his 80th anniversary, Ondine pays homage to its longtime house composer by releasing the first-ever edition of the complete eight symphonies, in a special box set. Rautavaara is recognized as the greatest Finnish composer after Jean Sibelius. He has often described symphonic music as a journey through human life.