The esteemed American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott has played concertos, recitals and chamber music in hundreds of cities in the United States, Europe and Asia. Recent collaborations include recitals with her violin partner, Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg, chamber music with the piano quartet, Opus One, and concertos with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Vail, Colorado. Ms. McDermott's upcoming recordings for Bridge include a series of Mozart concertos, and the new Poul Ruders Piano Concerto No. 3, "Paganini Variations", recorded with the Odense Symphony Orchestra. On the present release, McDermott has once again chosen the sonatas of Haydn, making this her second volume of the composer’s work for Bridge Records. “We have waited a long time for an American pianist of this stature.” (Gramophone) “She’s one of the great American pianists of her generation.” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Original Booklet with Synopsis and liner notes is included, although there is no libretto.

R E V I E W S

Haydn's last opera, written to inaugurate the reopening of the King's Theatre in the Haymarket in 1791 after a disastrous fire, took as its subject the Orpheus legend, not as it had been adopted by Gluck 30 years earlier, but based on Ovid: Eurydice receives her fatal snakebite while fleeing from Prince Arideo, to whom her father, King Creonte, had affianced her against her will; and there is no happy ending—Orpheus, after his journey to the underworld, loses her for ever, and he is then killed by the Maenads. At least, that is what Haydn would have set had he finished the work; but owing to the crazy rival patronage of George III and the Prince of Wales, the King refused a licence to the theatre manager and went so far as to ban even extracts from the new opera—this from so famous and popular a composer as Haydn! So Haydn stopped work on it, and as no complete libretto exists it is impossible to tell what is actually missing. Large gaps there conspicuously are: principal characters lack arias which would certainly have been their due; there are loose ends in the story, such as what happens after Creonte's call to arms (in a stirring aria) to avenge Arideo's attempted abduction of his daughter; and there is the briefest and most perfunctory treatment of such essential dramatic moments as Orpheus's confrontation with Pluto and of his desperate attempts not to look at Eurydice as he brings her back to earth. Even the main title of the opera remains mystifying, as the only reference to it in the text is when Amor (here called Genio) urges Orpheus to be philosophical about his great loss.

Nevertheless, what remains includes some fine music, as can be heard here. From the outset of the overture Haydn makes much use of broken phrases to express pathos; there is a long love duet at the end of Act 1, a charming folky chorus of little Cupids to begin Act 2; particularly rich are the accompanied recitatives throughout, that by Eurydice as she is bitten by the snake being most moving; the chorus of Furies in Hades is extremely striking, with powerful orchestration; and there is a spectacular bravura aria for Genio, seemingly intended for some leading soprano castrato. On the other hand, it is difficult to understand why Haydn wrote such cheery music for Creonte's aria about life not being worth living without love, and for Orpheus's ''Mi sento languire, morire mi sento''. This live Frankfurt performance is in general very acceptable, though had it been transferred to the studio some details could have been improved: for example, ensemble of the (period) woodwind might have been much better, and there might have been fewer mistakes in the singers' Italian. Marilyn Schmiege makes an appealing Eurydice and copes fairly well, flexibly if not absolutely cleanly, with her first florid aria, in which she likens her laments to those of the nightingale; Christoph Pregardien produces a nice messa di voce at the start of Orpheus's first solo (with harp obbligato) in which he tames the forest's wild beasts threatening his beloved's safety, but the part frequently descends too low for his pleasant light tenor, into a register where he is weak; and Claron McFadden adds to her reputation with some brilliant coloratura, though she is fractionally sharp in places: the chorus, which plays a large part in the action, is excellent.

-- Lionel Salter, Gramophone [4/1992]

Recordings of arias by Haydn are scarce compared to, say, those by Mozart, and so this release is almost self-recommending; luckily, it's also very good. The arias are wonderfully scored, with mostly prominent winds, and throughout this CD Alessandro de Marchi leads the NDR Radio Philharmonie in large-scaled but brisk and animated performances. And Slovakian soprano Simona Saturova, a name new to me, is another in the increasing breed of agile, expressive sopranos with more heft to their voices than the canaries of yore.

She begins with Genio's aria from Orfeo ed Euridice, a showpiece of such stunning garishness that it's a tough act to follow; Sutherland appropriated it when she sang the role in the 1950s and it's easy to see why. Endless roulades and plenty of very high notes, all well-placed, combined with fine diction, particularly in the warmer, slower, brief middle section of the aria, make this opener one to recall. Euridice's first aria opens sweetly and gently--an expression of grief--and Saturova exhibits a fine ability to sing softly. She soon unleashes runs and divisions that challenge the singer; if truth be told the one or two low notes are just glanced at. Euridice's death aria is handsomely phrased, the long lines musically sculpted and the life-extinguishing breaths very effective.

With Armida's Act 1 recit we hear the uncertainty of the character at first; the aria bursts forth with more certainty, with more pressure on the voice and more conviction, and the finale is another fiorature-filled show-stopper, although top tones can turn hard--this becomes unappealing after a while and is the case in many of the arias.

The most frequently recorded of all Haydn's arias for soprano, Metastasio's emotional roller-coaster Scena di Berenice, is a fine centerpiece. The nervous opening gives way to greater conviction and agitation, which in turn grows into a slow, lovely cavatina (with harpsichord and winds prominent), and Saturova captures each change handsomely. Of course it ends in mania, and again she is up to the challenge.

And so the CD goes. Flaminia's aria from Il mondo della luna features great bassoon and horn obbligatos. The archangel's aria from Il Ritorno di Tobia is more generic but nice and showy, and both arias from Orlando paladino are marvelous (the first is lovely and slow until the final 90 seconds).

I don't recommend listening to this CD all at once or at high volume--Saturova's voice is not quite mellow enough to focus on at full throttle for so long. There are too many notes and the tessitura of the arias is too high for an hour's worth of sitting still. But don't be dissuaded; this is a marvelous collection, valuable for both repertoire and performances.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

This is one of the finest recordings yet in Naxos' ongoing Haydn symphony series, and if you haven't heard these comparatively rare works, now's your chance, for they are marvelously played and recorded by Béla Drahos and the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia. The performances combine the necessary liveliness with an ideal transparency of texture: woodwind and brass make their points with unobtrusive clarity, yet the strings never sound thin or emaciated, a critical factor in the success of the slow movements (of Symphony No. 68 especially, which has the longest one that Haydn ever wrote). These symphonies are little gems. Each offers a liberal sprinkling of those flashes of genius that make Haydn's works stand out from the rest of the classical crowd. In Symphony No. 66, it's the witty finale with its 10-bar main theme, broken down into two five-bar phrases: the tune always sounds too long and never goes where you feel it should. Symphony No. 67 has many more surprises in store, from the delicious "col legno" (with the wood of the bow) ending of the slow movement, to the two solo violins in the trio of the Menuetto, to the haunting slow movement for string trio that pops up in the middle of the finale. Finally, as mentioned, No. 68 has Haydn's longest slow movement followed by one of his most appealing Rondos, a real "concerto for orchestra" in which each episode features different members of the orchestra's wind section. Don't miss this one. [4/12/2000] --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

During Haydn's successful stays in London he recognized the need for high quality chamber music for a variety of instruments, among which the flute, which rapidly gained popularity in bourgeois circles. For this purpose he cleverly arranged his own Duos for two violins Op. 99 for two flutes. These delightful flute duos, full of Haydnesque wit and invention, are here recorded for the first time by father and daughter Petrucci, Gian-Luca and Ginevra, who obviously enjoy their superb music making. Ginevra Petrucci already recorded for Brilliant Classics the Flute Quintets by Kuhlau to great critical acclaim.

The three works presented on this installment (Vol. 23) in Naxos' ongoing series of Haydn symphonies (using three different orchestras) usually appear only when somebody does a complete cycle. This is not surprising with so many great works in his symphonic output. Still, symphony No. 31 is very entertaining. The opening horn call which gave the work its 'Hornsignal" nickname quickly gives way to a beautiful movement featuring solo lines from the violin, cello and double bass, just like an old fashioned concerto grosso. The music is much more interesting than the other two works, and the excellent soloists play very tastefully. Some listeners may have slight objections to the Eastern European sounding winds and horns (all four of whom get plenty of action), but they actually lend a rustic quality, which is quite appropriate. Symphonies 27 & 28 are less remarkable by Hadyn's high standards, but both feature his usual high-spirited Allegros and Presto finales. The Nicolaus Esterházy Orchestra plays cleanly and brightly, if occasionally a bit stiffly. For example, the Menuet of No. 28 is a bit heavy-footed, and the following Trio could have used a slightly brisker tempo for contrast. These and a couple of other spots are just a bit too homogenous. Naxos' recorded sound is very good, and the balance is fine throughout, making this disc a nice way to get acquainted with some little known music.

--David Preiser, ClassicsToday.com