Richard Hickox Haydn London Vol. 1

Franz Joseph Haydn is an artist so great that somebody stole his brain. Literally. Shortly after his death his grave was robbed by phrenologists, who studied Haydn’s skull and found that “the bump of music” on his skull was “fully developed”, clearly proving that Haydn was destined for genius from birth.

The CD's title slightly misleads. Not all of these pieces are for chorus and orchestra. Some are for orchestra alone. Nevertheless, the CD gives us Grainger at his most characteristic. Grainger always considered himself primarily a choral composer who occasionally dabbled in short works for orchestra and chamber ensemble. For far too long, almost everybody dismissed Grainger as a lightweight, but, happily, that seems about to change. For one thing, more works have come to light and, more importantly, to performance and recording. Chandos' Grainger Edition counts, in my opinion, as one of the most significant projects in British music.

During Joseph Haydn’s lifetime, concertos for solo instruments and ensemble were generally written for a particular musician. In the case of Haydn’s violoncello Concerto in D major Hob.VII:2, this person was Anton Kraft, first cello in the Esterházy ensemble and later one of Vienna’s greatest virtuosi. This composition for a particular occasion has become a masterpiece for the ages; an autograph score by the composer survives, dating from 1783. The services of Haydn specialist Sonja Gerlach have been obtained for this edition of the concerto with piano accompaniment. She enriches the Urtext edition with a detailed preface that also examines the execution of the ornaments and the cadenzas.

"What is striking in the Symphonies 97 en 98 are the beautiful slow movements: Haydn again shows us that he is the master of our feelings. The menuets are catchingly dansant, the trios are refreshing. The first movements of these symphonies start with - as often is the case with Haydn- with a short, slow introduction and directly after that they burst into a fast tempo full of joyfulness and inventiveness. He makes simple themes develop into masterworks in an unsurpassed way. The closing movements, fast in character and starting off with only the strings, are astonishing because of their vitality and structure. Haydn is at his best in the 12 London Symphonies."

Widely regarded as the definitive interpretation of the Elgar Cello Concerto, Jacqueline Du Pré's landmark 1965 recording of it is included in this unique compilation. Extending the musical range of the cello repertoire, from fine, exquisite cello suites by Bach to grand orchestral visions of Dvorák and Saint-Saëns, this CD set is not to be missed by fans of Du Pré's warm, brilliant interpretations. This collection, composed of the great works for the cello, is a must have in any serious classical music fan's library. It is an even better collection for the "newbie" to the genre. Jacqueline du Pre was undoubtedly one of the greatest artist of the century and her passion is well documented in this collection.

'When we speak of Joseph Haydn,' wrote Ernst Ludwig Gerber in his Lexicon der Tonkunstler of 1790-92, 'we think of one of our greatest men: great in small things and even greater in large… Everything speaks when he sets his orchestra in motion.' Gerber was among the first to recognise 'new and surprising' traits in Haydn's output, particularly among his Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress) works of the early 1770s. Espousing spontaneity and passion as sources of creativity, Sturm und Drang despised the new rationalism of the Enlightenment, offering darkness and pessimism to counterpoise its orderly logic.