Haydn

Recorded in Budapest between 1993 and 2006, this complete set of the Haydn String Quartets performed by the Festetics Quartet represents the most challenging project accomplished by Michel Bernstein, the mythical founder of Arcana who died a few months after the recording of the very last volume. For the first time in a boxed set, this monumental achievement is the first and only complete on period instruments and features the complete 58 string quartets authenticated by the composer for the great Artaria edition, making a total of 19 CDs put in chronological order. A reference edition, enriched by the detailed essay signed by the Hungarian musicologist László Somfai, one of the most eminent Haydn scholars. The Festetics have extensively studied Haydn’s original quartet manuscripts, and have relied heavily on László Somfai.

Throughout this Warner Classics six disc set one remains impressed with Harnoncourt’s tightly controlled direction of his magnificent forces, employing tempi that always feel appropriate. The sound quality is of a high standard as is the interesting and informative annotation. A valuable set of Haydn sacred music that is perfect for dipping in and out.

Die Kombination hat sich bewährt. Joseph Haydn hat in Sir John Eliot Gardiner einen Interpreten gefunden, der mit dem nötigen Ernst und der fachlichen Kompetenz seinen geistlichen Werken nachzuspüren vermag. “Seine Darbietungen haben eine bewegende Stärke und Energie. Die Solisten sind ausgezeichnet. An keiner Stelle zweifelt man an Haydns wahrer Größe”, urteilte die BBC über Gardiners Messen-Projekt.

“You have the sense when listening to Haydn that you’re in very good company; though he’s a great genius, he somehow seems like one of us”. The words of Philip Setzer. Beautifully recorded, exceptionally well played, the Emerson’s traversal of seven quartets of Haydn offers a wonderful musical journey – 1772 to 1799 in terms of chronology; in terms of musical values and growth, well, Haydn’s inventiveness and imagination are simply remarkable.

In September 1790, following the death of his princely employer, court composer Haydn and his entire orchestra were sacked. As he was considering this change in circumstances, Haydn received an unexpected visit from Johann Peter Salomon, a German impresario based in London, who made him a tempting offer: an opera, six symphonies and twenty other pieces to be written for the city, and a guaranteed income from a new concert series. So it was that, on 2 January 1791, Haydn arrived in England for the first of two visits that would leave an indelible mark both on the musical life of his host country and on the composer himself.

It's an interesting idea to have seven symphonies by Franz Joseph Haydn performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker, but led by five different conductors. This recording offers Christoph von Dohnányi's No. 12 from 1991, Zubin Mehta's No. 22 from 1972, Franz Welser-Möst's No. 26 from 1998 and No. 98 from 2009, Nikolaus Harnoncourt's No. 93 and No. 103 from 2009, and Pierre Boulez's No. 104 from 1996.

Impressed by the Handel works that he heard in London, Haydn felt the need to compose oratorios. First came Die Schöpfung (‘The Creation’), which met with resounding success; then Baron Gottfried van Swieten proposed to Haydn an arrangement of James Thomson’s poem ‘The Seasons’. Initially, Haydn was little attracted by the text, which deviates from the classic oratorio based on a religious text, but subsequently let himself be convinced. The result, for three soloists, chorus and orchestra, is a vast pictorial fresco of Nature that describes landscapes and the feelings that they arouse. For the first time, Philippe Herreweghe gives us his own vision of an oratorium by Haydn.

Hoewel van de 105 symfonieën van Joseph Haydn meestal de Londense uitgevoerd worden, geven zijn eerste werken ook al blijk van natuurtalent. De symfonieën 6 (Le Matin), 7 (Le Midi) en 8 (Le Soir), die samen "Die Tageszeiten" vormen, stralen de vrolijkheid, de frisheid en de muzikale oprechtheid van de jonge Haydn uit. Hoewel Haydn als musicus in dienst van het hof van de graaf Paul Anton Esterházy in Eisenstadt beperkt was in zijn vrijheid, kunnen de "Tageszeiten Symfonieën" zelfs als experimentele muziek bestempeld worden. Informatie van deze strekking is te vinden in het viertalige booklet van de onlangs uitgekomen cd "Die Tageszeiten" van Haydn (1732-1809), uitgevoerd door het Belgische kamerorkest "Prima La Musica" onder leiding van Dirk Vermeulen.

The Penguin Guide (a classical cd review bible) gave this recording three stars, their highest rating. I agree (and was actually suprised to find that they had reviewed it). It has perfect sound and the performance is clean and lively and just-right sounding in terms of pacing and character. These are the earliest works Haydn composed (when he was 25), and they are full of creative melody and unique turns of phrase (and the classical music equivalent of 'hooks'), and also long, beautiful (often minor key) slow movements often reaching to and beyond 9 and 10 minutes in length.