Haydn Symphonies

Accademia Bizantina under Ottavio Dantone are releasing a new album of Haydn Symphonies, Nos. 78-81. It is the first time Symphonies No.79 and 81 have been recorded on period instruments. This little-known quartet of Haydn symphonies 78-81 date from the years 1782-1784 when Haydn still served as kapellmeister to the Esterhazy family in their spectacular summer and winter palaces in Esterháza (present day Hungary) and Eisenstadt (Austria) where the music was first performed. These four symphonies have been specially recorded for the upcoming 36-CD set of Complete Haydn Symphonies, to be released later this year. It will be the first Haydn symphony cycle on period instruments.

In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn, the Vienna Philharmonic has published under its own auspices a special edition intended to give an insight into the composer's vast symphonic production while at the same time furnishing a selective documentation of the Philharmonic's own Haydn interpretations. To this end, seven symphonies from different periods of Haydn's creativity were chosen, which were recorded by the Vienna Philharmonic with five different conductors over a period of 37 years. The oldest recording, under the baton of Zubin Mehta, dates from the year 1972, and is followed by concerts from the year 1991 with Christian von Dohnányi, 1996 with Pierre Boulez, 1998 with Franz Welser-Möst and three recordings from the anniversary year 2009 under Nikolaus Harnoncourt and, once again, Welser-Möst.

Recorded in St John's Church West Norwood, London in March 2022, Florilegium release their 31st Channel Classics album: Haydn Symphonies Nos. 6, 7 and 8. This recording involves 18 members of Florilegium, the exact same number Haydn had at his disposal when he composed these symphonies shortly after arriving at Esterhazy in 1761. Haydn’s first symphonies for his new employer, Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, form a group of three entitled Morning, Noon and Night. Perhaps these were a result of the Prince’s suggestion that Haydn write something programmatic along the lines of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

In Harry Christophers’ expert hands, Haydn comes to life in the first in a series of new live recordings from the Handel and Haydn Society. This disc showcases one of Haydn’s Paris Symphonies, L’ours (‘The Bear’), a festive and jubilant work commissioned by a Parisian orchestra in the 1780s, as well as one of his earlier symphonies, No. 6 Le matin, which is characterised by unusual virtuoso writing across the orchestral ensemble. Completing the disc is Haydn’s Violin Concerto in G major performed by Handel and Haydn’s fiery and expressive Concertmaster, Aisslinn Nosky, who makes her solo debut on the CORO label.

The "Esterhazy Music Collection" is a series dedicated to presenting musical treasures largely forgotten over the centuries. It pays tribute to one of the most important Hungarian noble families, the imperial princes of Esterhazy. From the 17th to the 19th century, the Princes of Esterhazy were as generous patrons of the arts as the most influential rulers of France, England and Austria. Although the titles 'Le Matin', 'Le Midi' and 'Le Soir' have favoured the popularity of the three works in our time, they served Haydn merely as an inspiring impulse to compose. Haydn's symphonies 6 -8 (the 'Times of Day' symphonies) are programmatic music only to a limited extent.