Haydn Vol. 24

With this release, the Engegård Quartet completes its recordings of the six string quartets that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dedicated to his paternal friend Joseph Haydn. Written in Vienna in Mozart’s “mature” years — from age 25 until he died 36 years old in 1791 — they are a gift to a friend that hardly has its equal.

The HAYDN2032 edition celebrates the release of the tenth volume in the complete recording of Haydn’s 107 symphonies. Entitled ‘The Times of Day’, this programme is devoted to Symphonies nos. 6, 7 and 8, whose individual names translate as ‘Morning’, ‘Noon’ and ‘Evening’. Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, who commissioned the work, is said to have wanted to show his guests that his orchestra was of excellent quality and that ‘his’ Haydn was highly inventive.

SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce the fourth volume in Leon McCawley’s much-praised series of Franz Joseph Haydn’s Piano Sonatas.

The city of Eisenstadt was the location of the Esterhazy Court where Joseph Haydn was music director for 25 years. Prince Nikolaus commissioned Haydn to write trios for the baryton, an instrument on which the Prince had become proficient. The baryton is a bowed, stringed instrument similar to the viol but with extra plucked strings that can enable the performer to accompany themselves. For Nikolaus, Haydn wrote string trios of elegance, refinement and poise that encapsulate a rich variety of moods. Seldom performed or recorded, the baryton trios attest to Haydn's limitless powers of invention in every medium.

The survey by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet of Haydn’s piano sonatas reaches its conclusion with this eleventh volume. As in previous releases, the acclaimed pianist has mixed repertoire from different periods of Haydn’s career to create a recital of interest in its own right. Jean-Efflam notes: ‘It has been eleven years since the launch of this project to present Haydn’s sonatas, not in their chronological order, but as collections juxtaposing works from different periods.

Die Kammerphilharmonie und Paavo Järvi sind eine Traumkombination, die mit ihren Aufnahmen für das Label RCA von Sony Music weltweit Begeisterung entfachen. Ihre Aufnahme aller Beethoven-Sinfonien hat immer noch Referenz-Charakter.

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.

As with the previous volumes in this series, Trio Gaspard has conceived a programme of contrasting trios that works as a standalone recital. The musicians have again included a contemporary work commissioned as part of the project – in this instance the world première recording of Kit Armstrong’s Revêtements.

Only a relatively small proportion of Haydn's works are present in today's concert repertoire. While every compositional exercise by other composers, no matter how insignificant, has been catalogued, it is extremely difficult to get an overview of the enormous oeuvre of the father of Viennese classical music. Haydn's long life certainly plays a role in this: born in the High Baroque period, he experienced the zenith of the Classical period and still touched on the beginnings of Romanticism in his old age. The scoring with two violins instead of the more usual violin and viola has certainly also contributed to the fact that a chamber music collection that is particularly attractive in many respects has remained almost completely unknown until now.

Founded in 2010, Trio Gaspard has become one of the most sought-after piano trios of its generation, whose members are praised for their unique and fresh approach to the score. The Trio is regularly invited to perform at leading concert halls throughout the world. It has an impressive history of international festival appearances, and each member also continues to pursue a successful solo career.