Haydn Masterworks

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.

"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."

These were the six quartets that caused Haydn to tell Mozart's father that his son was the finest composer in the world–and Haydn wasn't just saying that because Mozart dedicated the pieces to him. In richness of invention, density of thought, length, and melodic appeal, these pieces set new standards for the medium. However, they are not easy pieces to play or to listen to, and the Juilliard Quartet's lean, emphatic approach works very well in clarifying the busy textures and maximizing the music's dramatic impact. And at budget price, this three-disc set belongs in every string-quartet lover's collection. – David Hurwitz

Founded by the late, great conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt in 1953, Concentus Musicus Wien was one of the very first period-instrument orchestras, its recordings of baroque and classical masterworks setting benchmarks for their sheer energy and spirit. Today, the orchestra continues that powerful legacy under the baton of Austrian conductor Stefan Gottfried, whose ingenious programme here invites us to make musical links between Schubert and the earlier Haydn. On the surface, Schubert’s youthful Symphony No. 5, completed in 1816, owes a clear debt to Beethoven. But listen to Haydn’s sophisticated Symphony No. 99, the first of his second series of “London symphonies”, and you can hear that same charm and boisterous exuberance shining through in Schubert’s later work. The performances, captured live at Vienna’s famous Musikverein, are a pure joy.