Haydn Symphony 192

Legendary conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler leads the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Berliner Philharmoniker in this programme of Haydn and Gluck. The music sounds better than ever thanks to the new remastering from original tapes in HD 192kHz/24-bit done for Warner's upcoming Furtwängler box!

The Mercury Records re-releases of the London Symphony Orchestra's performances under the baton of Antal Doráti are a treasure trove for classical music enthusiasts.

Together, Doráti and the Philharmonia Hungarica would go on to make a celebrated cycle of Haydn symphonies for Decca in the early 1970s.

Per il Luigi is the 17th volume of the complete Haydn 2032 collection and presents a number of Haydn's earliest symphonies; these had been composed to display the talent of the musicians who had joined the Esterhazy court orchestra during the same period as Haydn himself.

The fourteenth volume of the Haydn2032 edition is entitled L'Imperiale , after the nickname given to Symphony no.53 in the nineteenth century. This was perhaps Haydn's most famous symphony during his lifetime. Premiered in the theatre at Eszterháza Palace in 1778, it was published in London around 1781, and its melodious Andante was arranged more than thirty times for various instruments between 1783 and 1820.

The fourth volume in this series culminates in Haydn’s grandest symphonies, written during his second, triumphant visit to London.

The fifteenth volume of the Haydn2032 cycle is entitled ‘La Reine’. One might think that this nickname refers to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, queen of numerous territories, but in fact the monarch honoured by the popular title of Symphony no.85 is her daughter, Marie Antoinette. It was said to be the favourite of ‘La Reine de France’, which is the full nickname of the work.

This set of Haydn’s last and greatest symphonies arrives in the wake of the Danish Chamber Orchestra and Adam Fischer’s acclaimed series of the complete symphonies of Beethoven (8.505251) and Brahms (8.574465–67), and Adam Fischer and his orchestra use their recent experiences in this and other repertoire to play this Haydn series in as exciting and colourful way as possible. This edition is shaping up to become as collectable as all of Fischer’s previous symphonic recordings, and there is now a buzz of excitement around each release in this new Haydn project.

The second volume in this series is devoted to three more ‘London’ symphonies. No. 96 in D major ‘The Miracle’ – so named, as the legend goes, after a falling chandelier narrowly missed the audience during its Hanover Square Rooms premiere – exemplifies the grandeur of these works. The structural surprises of No. 97 in C major and the hymnal slow movement of No. 98 in B flat major reinforce Haydn’s inexhaustible compositional versatility and inventiveness. These recordings are the product of a two-decade partnership between Adam Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra during which they have explored the most effective technical solutions necessary for performing these works.

As a top-class orchestra conductor Leonard Bernstein became world famous, especially as music director of the New York Philharmonic as a regular guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. His musical genius and his emotional interpretations were outstanding and set standards to date.