"Bavouzet’s Haydn is unmatched in its zest and its wit. But it is also substantial, informed and deeply rewarding."

--The New York Times on Bavouzet's Haydn Sonatas cycle, 2022

We have now reached Volume 5 in Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s project to record the complete piano sonatas of Haydn. This series has been going from strength to strength, every volume receiving consistently excellent reviews.

Haydn composed his solo keyboard sonatas between c. 1750 and 1795, during the period in which the piano was gradually taking the place of the harpsichord. The early sonatas are mostly short, light, and ‘easy’, tailored for amateur musicians and students. After 1765 Haydn composed several sonatas the scope and depth of which are completely new. Over a six- or seven-year period Haydn produced a sequence of ambitious sonatas of a difficulty that resulted in their being poorly circulated. In this latest volume of Haydn’s piano sonatas, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet again chooses a range of sonatas, planned to provide a balanced program characterised by different moods and temperaments.

He explains: ‘This is a long-term endeavour, in which, as the years go by, each album will be like a postcard sent from my journey. Although this journey does not greatly respect chronological considerations, it is being undertaken with the greatest passion so as to try and bring the limitless treasures of this sublime music to life as vividly as possible in our twenty-first-century ears.’ The previous volumes have elicited such comments as ‘A recording worth rushing to the shops for. Bavouzet plays these inventive masterpieces with real love’ (Classic FM on Volume 3) and ‘This series is turning into a real classic: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has an infectious sense of witty fun that underlies so many of Haydn’s inventions’ (The Observer on Volume 4).

REVIEWS

This is the fifth volume of Haydn Piano Sonatas by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. I’ve collected all the volumes so far, and with each successive one, Bavouzet goes from strength to strength. All the elements are present - elegance, wit, stylish phrasing and crisp and incisive playing. Formidable technique and musicianship enable him to realize his vision. Chandos’ sound quality is enhanced by a sympathetic acoustic, enabling the listener to discern every nuance and detail.

--MusicWeb International (Stephen Greenbank)

Bavouzet singles out the first movement of Sonata No. 12 for its purity and simplicity, and it is exquisite—and exquisitely played. He became so fascinated with the minor-key trio of the minuet that he included his own musings on it, at much slower tempo, as a bonus track. This isn’t a gimmick. It is fascinating to see an artist become so deeply engaged with the music, particularly music usually so taken for granted or ignored.

The first three sonatas here, Nos. 12, 15, and 37 have three movements, but not necessarily in the obvious fast-slow-fast form, as the opening Andante of No. 12 reveals. The remaining three, Nos. 54-56 (Hob. 41-43) have two movements each...The largest movement here is the opening Andante con espressione of the D major Sonata (No. 56), which lasts more than eight minutes and contains a world of feeling.

In short, these are lovely works, and Bavouzet’s thoughtfulness, dedication to the cause, and immaculate technique are everywhere in evidence, just as they have been on previous releases in this series. Try this disc. It will make you feel young, or keep you that way if you already are.

--ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)

Haydn: Piano Sonatas Nos. 36-41

"Bavouzet’s Haydn is unmatched in its zest and its wit. But it is also substantial, informed and deeply rewarding."

--The New York Times on Bavouzet's Haydn Sonatas cycle, 2022

This is Volume 4 in Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s project to record the complete piano sonatas of Haydn. The last volume in the series was a Critic’s Choice in Gramophone, an Instrumental Choice in BBC Music, Editor’s Choice in Classic FM, and Recording of the Month in MusicWeb International.

In the words of Bavouzet himself: ‘Each volume of this ambitious, extended project will arrive over the years like a postcard, dispatched during my travels with scant respect for chronological considerations, but undertaken with the greatest passion for trying to convey as vividly as possible to twenty-first-century ears the boundless treasures of this sublime music.’

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet received a BBC Music Award in 2012 and a Gramophone Award in 2011 for his recording of works by Debussy and Ravel (with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Yan Pascal Tortelier). His recording of Bartók’s Concertos (with Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic) was short-listed for a Gramophone Award, and he has won multiple awards for his recording of the complete works for solo piano by Debussy.

REVIEWS

Bavouzet doesn’t disappoint. He leans towards passion...but melancholy also surfaces through rubato, embellished repeats, control of line, pace and dynamics. This is a performance of stature with not a trace of the slick superficiality that mars matters elsewhere.

--Gramophone

These are marvelous works: every one of them has something inspired to capture your attention. In Sonata No. 38, that would have to be the central Adagio, one of those touchstone classical melodies that seem to sum up all that was most beautiful in 18th century music. Sonata No. 40 has only two movements, an intricate opening Moderato and a charming concluding Minuet.

Like No. 38, Sonata No. 30 is a substantial work in three movements[.] Bavouzet’s aptly spiky articulation of the main theme reminds us that Haydn’s early sonatas were likely composed with the harpsichord in mind, but they lose nothing (and gain much) from being played on a modern piano. This program also includes the moody Variations in F minor. Bavouzet’s interpretation is aptly pre-romantic...Haydn’s original, shorter cadenza/coda, without that astonishing tragic eruption that vaults the music forward into the 19th century...Haydn lovers are in keyboard heaven.

--ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)

Haydn: Piano Sonatas Nos. 53-56 and 58 / Un Piccolo Divertim

"Bavouzet’s Haydn is unmatched in its zest and its wit. But it is also substantial, informed and deeply rewarding."

--The New York Times on Bavouzet's Haydn Sonatas cycle, 2022

The multi-award-winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet continues his great survey of Haydn's piano sonatas. This is Volume 3 in a series, of which The Times wrote: 'Who is the best composer for refreshing the spirit and making you laugh? Haydn, of course, especially when in the hands of a pianist like Bavouzet, another master of delight.' In the words of Bavouzet himself: 'Each volume of this ambitious, extended project will arrive over the years like a postcard, dispatched during my travels with scant respect for chronological considerations, but undertaken with the greatest passion for trying to convey as vividly as possible to twenty-first-century ears the boundless treasures of this sublime music.'

He also notes: 'We often forget how little information Haydn left us in the scores of his keyboard works: few indications of dynamics or of phrasing, and the briefest guides to tempo. This task is never anything other than absolutely fascinating, but for the performer it is also testing, and even risky. He must, even more than usual, create his own world, his own logic, left only to hope that, in the absence of tangible evidence, he will not distance himself too far from the composer's intentions, which remain forever unknowable.'

For the recording of this series, Bavouzet brought in a specially selected Yamaha piano which he feels gives the sort of tonal quality he is looking for, and once again this shows in a program which here presents the large-scale Sonata in C minor alongside sonatas of a lighter and sunnier character.

REVIEWS

If you’ve been collecting this series you won’t need any recommendation from me; if you haven’t been, you ought to start. Once again Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s Haydn sweeps the field, at least on a modern instrument. He ornaments lavishly but always intelligently, and as before he omits codas or cadences before the second of the second-half repeats. This is such a smart and musically sensible thing to do that you can’t help but wonder if it was one of those “authentic” customs that was so obvious that no composer of the day bothered to notate or even so much as mention it.

The four sonatas on this disc have been arranged around the splendid work in C minor, one of Haydn’s greatest and most important keyboard pieces. No. 29 in E-flat major also is a grand work, with a profoundly moving central slow movement, while the two sonatas on the other side of No. 33 are lighter in character, but no less rich in invention. The entire sequence makes an ideal program for continuous listening, and Chandos’ sonics are terrific. Another great release in a standard-setting series.

--ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet takes risks. Haydn becomes chameleon like in ever changing variety of mood: now pausing, now bounding forward, now smoothly flowing, now trenchantly snappy. Though there’s a fundamental lyricism it’s tempered by bold assertions. These are highly emotive accounts which nevertheless also seamlessly project the drama of the music.

--MusicWeb International (Michael Greenhalgh)

"Bavouzet’s Haydn is unmatched in its zest and its wit. But it is also substantial, informed and deeply rewarding."

--The New York Times on Bavouzet's Haydn Sonatas cycle, 2022

The multi-award winning and ever-popular Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is back with Volume 2 of Chandos' highly acclaimed Haydn Sonata series. This new release follows Bavouzet's complete Debussy cycle and a number of recent concerto recordings - all of which have been extraordinarily well received by critics and audiences alike, picking up numerous awards along the way.

Many leading pianists have tackled these at times technically challenging classical sonatas by Haydn, but in Bavouzet's own words, this is a composer who always left the door open for new interpretations: 'One often forgets how little information Haydn left in the text of his keyboard works: few instructions on nuance and phrasing, and very minimal tempo indications. Playing them is all the more fascinating for that, but it is also arduous and even risky for the performer, who must, even more than usual, create his or her own world and internal logic, only hoping - in the absence of tangible proof - that he or she is not straying too far from the composer's intentions, forever out of reach.'

For the recording Bavouzet brought in a specially selected Yamaha piano which he feels gives the sort of tonal quality he is looking for, and it shows in the programme for Volume 2 which includes the elegantly virtuosic Sonata in E minor, No. 19; Sonata in B flat major, No. 20; Sonata in G minor, No. 32; Sonata in C major, No. 48, and Sonata in D major, No. 50.

REVIEWS

Though better known in French repertory, Mr Bavouzet has begun an exploration of Haydn’s long-underrated sonatas. The first installment was dazzling, and the second is too: crisp and detailed. Mr Bavouzet’s slow movements are particularly memorable; he shows instinctive feeling for the way this music breathes.

--New York Times (Zachary Woolfe)

This second volume in Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s Haydn sonata is every bit as outstanding as the first…the sonics are as brilliant and natural as the playing. A wonderful recital, from first note to last.

--ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)

This release is the first volume in a series of new recordings in which the illustrious pianist Roman Rabinovich will record all of the piano sonatas written by Haydn for FHR. Haydn was a prominent and prolific Austrian composer of the Classical period and composed 62 keyboard sonatas. Written over a 40 year period or so, and displaying a variety of styles, the earlier sonatas were written for harpsichord and the last for the newly developed hammer-action fortepiano. Rabinovich is a brilliant interpreter of Haydn. Indeed, The New York Times hailed Rabinovich’s Haydn performances as ‘admirable interpretations, performed with a rich, full-blooded sound, singing lines and witty dexterity’. Each album will feature artwork illustrated by the pianist. Rabinovich has earned critical praise for his explorations of the piano music of Haydn, which include his 42 sonata cycle at the 2018 Bath International Festival. Rabinovich has performed throughout Europe and the United States in venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and the Millennium Stage of Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Lauded as ‘a master of tone-color’ (International Piano, 2018), Rabinovich made his Israel Philharmonic début under the baton of Zubin Mehta at age ten. He was a top prize winner at the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in 2008.

Naxos's first issue in Jeno Jando's complete edition of Haydn's piano sonatas is particularly welcome. Sadly, John McCabe's excellent Decca recordings (10/75, 9/76, 10/77) are no longer available and, surprisingly, there is no other complete version currently in the catalogue.

The keyboard sonatas which Haydn originally intended for piano, such as the four considered here, show the composer's exploration of the instrument's capacity for greater dynamic variation. Jando is sensitively responsive to the relationship between motif and dynamics which is particularly evident in the E flat and D major Sonatas, Nos. 59 and 61 respectively. Aided by clear recorded sound, Jando's satisfying warmth in the lyrical passages provides an effective dramatic contrast to his crisp, positive approach in the livelier music.

Jando's glittering technique has a high profile in the other two sonatas in the programme. Pletnev's recordings of the same pieces are no less impressive technically but, in the C major Sonata, No. 60, he takes more liberties than Jando does. In the finale, for example, his exaggeration of the silences emphasizes the movement's sectional character. However, Pletnev's charm lies in the sheer musical personality of his playing and, in matters of articulation and shaping of thematic material, his performances leave a deep and lasting impression.

Jando's stylistically well-turned readings are less controversial, but they lack nothing in excitement. Sample the finale of the E flat Sonata, No. 62, where the wealth of expressive detail at an extremely fast tempo is breathtaking. Thus, with Jando's highly engaging playing in such attractive recordings as these, Naxos have ensured that many will want to start collecting this Haydn piano sonata series.

-- Gramophone [6/1994]

"Bavouzet’s Haydn is unmatched in its zest and its wit. But it is also substantial, informed and deeply rewarding."

--The New York Times on Bavouzet's Haydn Sonatas cycle, 2022

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s complete Debussy cycle was a big hit across the world in the 2000s, picking up numerous awards along its way. He has now decided to embark upon a Haydn cycle highlighting the fact that he should in no way be pigeon-holed as a ‘French’ specialist. Many leading pianists have tackled these virtuosic classical Sonatas but Bavouzet really feels he has something new to say.

The program for Volume 1 includes the experimental and ambitious Sonata in A flat No. 31, the elegantly virtuosic Sonata in D major No. 391, the expressive Sonata in B minor, No. 47 and the almost Schubertian Sonata in C sharp minor op. 49. Bavouzet shipped in a specially selected Yamaha piano for the recording which he feels give the sort of tonal quality he is looking for.

REVIEWS

We badly need a great Haydn sonata cycle on a modern instrument, and on evidence here Jean-Efflam Bavouzet's promises to be just the ticket. It's fabulous, as wonderful in its own way as was his Debussy cycle for this same label. His approach couldn't be more intelligent: he takes almost all repeats, except in such places as the slow movement of Sonata No. 31 in A-flat (already 24 minutes long), where he adds a fine cadenza of his own making. In quick movements, where final chords seem to render a second-half repeat redundant, he leaves them out the first time through, a practice that I have long believed ought to be standard in such cases. It works wonderfully well.

Interpretively, this is as good as it gets. Bavouzet ornaments repeats with complete naturalness, knows how to phrase a melody without distending the tempo unduly, and exploits the resources of the modern piano in a way that serves the music completely. His touch in such places as the finale of the B minor sonata (No. 47) is phenomenally articulate. In the first movement of No. 31 his right and left hands handle independent dynamics so as to create the same textural layers you might hear through different harpsichord registrations. The sonics are totally at one with the performances: brilliantly vivid, but never hard. I can't wait for Volume 2.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Haydn’s keyboard music was at first written for the harpsichord, with later works clearly intended for the pianoforte, as dynamic markings show. His career coincided with changes in the standard keyboard instrument, as the fortepiano and then the pianoforte, with their hammer action and dynamic possibilities, gradually replaced the harpsichord and clavichord. At the same time there was a parallel change in instrumental forms, as the structure that has come to be known, among other titles, as sonata-allegro form, developed.

Unlike Mozart, a virtuoso soloist in his own piano concertos, Haydn had the usual competence of a successful professional musician of his time, able to lead the orchestras he directed from the violin, or, more commonly, from the keyboard. The demands on each composer were very different, with Mozart, particularly in the last decade of his life in Vienna, relying on his reputation as a performer and arranging his own subscription concerts, and Haydn, employed by a princely patron, with an orchestra and a theatre at his disposal, with the concomitant duties and relative security.

Before entering the service of the Esterházys Haydn had written works designed for keyboard, either harpsichord or organ, and a simple string ensemble. These now generally bear the title Concertino. The three concertos, the Concerto in F major, Hob.XVIII:3, Concerto in G major, Hob.XVIII:4 and Concerto in D major, Hob.XVIII:11, belong to a later period in Haydn’s career, a time when he was established at the palace of Eszterháza. The first of these, the Concerto in F major, was written before 1771, even as early as 1766, the date assigned to it in Haydn’s work catalogue, and the second, the Concerto in G major, Hob.XVIII:4, about 1770. Both concertos were originally scored for strings, with the horn parts in the outer movements of the Concerto in F major an apparently contemporary addition. The Concerto in G major was played in Paris in 1784 by the blind pianist Maria Theresia Paradis and was published there by Boyer, with revisions seemingly by the publisher, accretions now removed. It is scored for the usual orchestra of two oboes, two horns and strings.

The Concerto in D major, Hob.XVIII:11, similarly scored and now with the title Concerto per il clavicembalo o fortepiano, as opposed the designation ‘Oper il clavicembalo’ of the other two concertos, was once thought to be of doubtful authorship, its authenticity eventually confirmed by the discovery of a letter by Haydn to the French publisher Boyer, written in November 1784. An announcement of the new concerto by Boyer on 6th July 1784 provides a terminus ante quem non, and it was published in that year by Artaria in Vienna, by Boyer and Le Menu in Paris, by Hummel in Berlin and Amsterdam, and by Longman and Broderip in London. The work obviously enjoyed wide popularity, judging by the surviving copies from the period and its wide published dissemination. Particularly effective is the last movement, with its Hungarian Rondo. It might be added that the appearance of the Concerto in G major and the Concerto in D major aroused some contemporary scepticism, at a time when the attribution of lesser works to the famous Joseph Haydn had become too frequent.

The authenticity of the Concerto in G major, Hob.XVIII:9, has been doubted with greater justification. No original sources survive and the work was not entered into Haydn’s work-list, it is listed, however, in the Breitkopf catalogue of 1767, which at least provides a possible date before which it might have been composed. The relatively long minor key slow movement is an unusual feature for Haydn, and the concerto is scored, like the concertinos of Haydn, for harpsichord, two violins and bass.

The cadenzas for Concertos Hob.XVIII:3, 4 and 9 played here are by Sebastian Knauer, and those for Concerto Hob.XVIII:11 by Paul Badura-Skoda.

Keith Anderson

The Concerto in G major, Hob. XVIII: 4, comes from a later period, scored for harpsichord or forte piano and strings with pairs of oboes and horns as required. It was written by 1781 and in spite of it's undoubted authenticity fell under suspicion from contemporary critics, since the name of Haydn was now being used unscrupulously by ambitious publishers and promoters. It has been suggested that this concerto, a work of obvious charm, was written for the blind pianist Maria Theresia Paradis, for whom Salieri and later Mozart wrote concertos. Asecond G major Concerto, Hob. XVIII: 9, written by 1767, is of more doubtful origin, whatever it's clear attractions, characteristic enough of the composer to whom it was ascribed. It's first movement, which opens with a forty bar orchestral exposition before the entry of the soloist, includes idiomatic keyboard writing in it's syncopation and triplet semiquaver figuration. It is followed by a G minor slow movement and a cheerful final Tempo di Minuetto. The best known of all keyboard concertos either attributed to or indisputably by Haydn is the Concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII: 11, designed for harpsichord or fortepiano and written at some time between 1780 and 1783. It is scored for the usual orchestra of two oboes, two horns and strings and appeared in a variety of editions in 1784 and thereafter. The opening orchestral exposition is entrusted to violins and violas, later joined by the whole orchestra before the entry of the soloist. The A major slow movement gives an opportunity for the display of some virtuosity and is followed by a lively and inventive Hungarian Rondo, with episodes that suggest the Turkish fashion explored by Mozart in his A major Violin Concerto.

A couple of years ago this release would have made an easy reference recording. Bavouzet’s Haydn thus far has been excellent, and his playing on this disc is extremely fine: tasteful in its sustained lyricism in the adagios, and brilliant in the outer movements. Indeed the finales are, if anything, perhaps too quick to permit the fullest characterization of the music, but there’s no questioning their dazzling virtuosity.

Unfortunately for Bavouzet, this repertoire is now very well covered both on period instruments (for BIS and Harmonia Mundi) and above all by Marc-André Hamelin and Les Violons du Roy on Hyperion, which gives you the best of both worlds. Make no mistake, the Manchester Camerata under Gábor Takács-Nagy plays very well, and they are of one mind with Bavouzet. It’s just that the competition is better, however marginally. In the slow movement of the Concerto in F Major, the use of solo strings to open and close the movement strikes me as unnecessarily mannered, and Bavouzet’s cadenza, intended as a tribute to Friedrich Gulda in jazz mode, comes across almost as a weird paraphrase of the theme song from “The Young and the Restless”.

This is the only questionable moment in what is otherwise a wholly enjoyable release, and if you’ve been collecting Bavouzet’s Haydn (and you should be) then I can recommend this latest installment warmly. But as I said, there are several alternatives, Hamelin above all, that you might prefer if you have limited shelf space.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

HAYDN Symphonies Nos. 82–87 , “Paris” • Bruno Weil, cond; Tafelmusik Baroque O • TAFELMUSIK TMK1013CD2 (2 CDs: 144:09)


This set, recorded in 1994, is a reissue of two Sony CDs reviewed by John Wiser in Fanfare 19:2. For these “Paris” Symphonies, the period-instrument group Tafelmusik has a suitably large string section: 8/7/5/4/2. Bruno Weil chooses generally rapid tempos, the playing is crisp and clean, the sounds sweet—this Toronto-based ensemble plays at a relatively high pitch for period-practice performers. In the notes to this set, H. C. Robbins Landon describes the first movement, Vivace assai, of Symphony No. 82 as “an enormously powerful affair, with thundering fanfares” and says that “The finale (Vivace) returns to the power of the first movement; the development section, in particular, generates an enormous forward drive, and its coda is a brilliant conclusion to this highly masculine symphony.” Weil generates as much power as this medium-sized ensemble can muster, but nowhere near that of Leonard Bernstein’s New York Philharmonic, which uses only a few more strings ( Fanfare 33:2) and was once praised by Landon himself as one of “the great Haydn recordings of all time.” In the finale, some details of the fugal section are obscured by Weil’s hectic tempo. His is a fine performance nevertheless, on a par with that of Sigiswald Kuijken’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, whose string complement is only two less than Weil’s, and whose recordings of the “Paris” Symphonies have long been accepted as the standard period-practice set. Kuijken’s slower tempos (8:26 in that Vivace assai, to Weil’s 7: 20, both with full repeats) allow Haydn’s full power to emerge, but the playing is not as crisp as that by either Weil or Bernstein’s forces. Kuijken’s tempos are too slow for my taste; neither he nor Weill takes the Minuet da capo repeat, and only Weill takes the finale’s second repeat.


This being a reissue, there’s no space for detailed examination of all six performances, but the comparisons made above generally apply to the following five symphonies as well, except that Weil’s tempos are no longer exceptionally fast, and he doesn’t always take finale second repeats. If those performances seem less distinctive, it may be only that the other five symphonies, as fine as they are, are less dramatic and exciting than “The Bear.” Sony’s recorded sound is bright and clean, with fine detail, richer and clearer than that given Kuijken. There is much to like in both period-instrument sets, and Bernstein has been joined by another superb modern-instrument set, Kristjan Järvi leading the Lower Austria Tonkünstler Orchestra on Preiser ( Fanfare 33:4), brilliantly recorded in Vienna’s golden Musikverein. So Haydn’s “Paris” Symphonies are very well covered for all tastes.


FANFARE: James H. North

HAYDN Organ Concertos: in C, Hob. XVIII:1; in D, Hob. XVIII:2; Concerto in F for Organ and Violin, Hob. XVIII:6 • Ton Koopman (org, cond); Catherine Manson (vn); Amsterdam Baroque O • CHALLENGE CC72390 (62:41)


Among the 17 concertos listed under Hoboken XVIII, there are many questions of not only authenticity but the solo instrument Haydn had in mind. These three works, however, are on solid ground, their authenticity confirmed by either autographs or Haydn’s own thematic catalog, and the organ generally accepted as the most appropriate solo instrument. All are early works from the 1750s, prior to Haydn’s employment by the Esterházy family. The C-Major Concerto is often played with spurious trumpet and drum parts (e.g., in Brilliant Classics’ 150-CD Haydn Edition); the original scoring—strings, two oboes, and bassoon—is used here.


The two organ concertos sparkle in these performances. The period band (strings 5/4/2/2/1) is accurate and well tuned if a bit reticent. The newly restored organ sounds bright and clear in Haarlem’s Lutherse Kerk, and Ton Koopman plays with exceptional color and bounce, his ornamentation worthy of a coloratura soprano. The more aggressive period ensemble in the Brilliant set, with its trumpets and drums, often smothers its less incisive soloist. These concertos rank among Haydn’s finest (and largest), the D-Major’s Allegro finale matching anything in the composer’s oeuvre for vivacity, elegance, and charm.


The double concerto works well; Haydn expertly balances and even blends violin and organ, a combination we might be dubious about. However, violinist Catherine Manson—concertmaster of the ensemble—barely rises from her first chair, as Koopman dominates the performance. He does tone down the brilliance in duet passages and in the (joint!) cadenzas, but she fails to take command in her solo turns. Susanne Scholtz in the Brilliant set is more aggressive, but a noisy organ and less pristine recorded sound trouble that recording, leaving this Challenge CD the preferable version. It is enthusiastically recommended.


FANFARE: James H. North


----------------

Academic argument has long surrounded Haydn’s ‘Klavier’ concertos, with harpsichord and fortepiano being strong candidates as intended solo instruments, and the latter being the more likely to be heard, certainly with a greater frequency than the highly effective sounding organ which appears in these recordings. When I saw this release listed I wasn’t so much interested in the instrument as in the performer, having been a great fan of Ton Koopman’s playing in the concertos of Handel and others, though less so in his harpsichord recordings of the Bach Well-Tempered Clavier. These Haydn concertos have plenty of the bounce and liveliness which suits Koopman’s playing, though with less room for improvisatory ornamentation they have perhaps a little less of the character shown on the Handel recordings, also with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and now available cheaply on Warner Apex. Knowing the pragmatic nature of 18 ^th century composers and Haydn’s genial nature I’m sure he would have been no less than delighted with these radiant and transparently recorded performances.

Fans of Ton Koopman’s witty little passing phrases and flourishes can obtain their fill in the slow movements of these concertos, and the Largo of the Concerto in C major is a prime example, the organ chirping at times like a highly civilised virtuoso bird between the restrained chords in the strings. The arpeggios in the opening of the Adagio of the Concerto in D major are another joy to behold. The organ used here is a small-scale instrument – an ‘organ positive’ built by Marc Garnier. This has the effect of a confiding intimacy rather than providing the grand gestures of a full church or cathedral instrument. This organ can mix continuo-like with the strings, and easily if not overbearingly rise above them as the solo part takes control. This kind of close relationship between soloist and accompanying orchestra appreciates good sound equipment, and is a good deal less effective on a noisy car stereo as I discovered on giving the disc a cursory first spin on the motorway between Amsterdam and The Hague.

This programme nicely sandwiches the Concerto for Organ and Violin in F major, and there is a fascinating change in texture and a superb interaction between the organ the solo violin, played by Catherine Manson, who is leader of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. The pleasant and refined conversations which result are a highlight of this disc, and with the clear musical synergy between all concerned this is almost like a kind of aural voyeurism, peeking in at a private and rather specially cultural family feast. The ‘galant’ nature of this music means that deeply emotional regions are not plumbed, but with Haydn you always know things are going to go well and make you feel better for having ‘been there’. The clean playing of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra has plenty of rhythmic drive and dynamic range, though will probably have critics of non-vibrato playing wrinkling their noses. In this case I find the non-vibrato strings fit rather well with the non-vibrato organ, so I have no complaints. There is admittedly little variety of colour from the orchestra, but I’m not sure how much of this we should be demanding or expecting in these pieces. The music certainly fizzes with energy in the faster movements, but don’t be deceived by the ‘Musicians on a Balcony’ illustration on the cover – there are no horns and drums in these concertos, or singers for that matter.

This release rises to the high expectations its pedigree promises. Fans of Joseph Haydn, Ton Koopman and top notch genuinely ‘classical’ music in general can do no wrong in adding it to their collections. With a catalogue certainly not drenched in choice when it comes to classy competition for organ concertos by Haydn this is a very welcome little CD indeed.

-- Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International