For its eighth volume, Haydn2032 invites us on a musical journey that takes the Balkan route. Of all the ‘Viennese Classical School’, Joseph Haydn is certainly the composer closest to folk music, first because he spent his early years in the countryside and also because, unlike his colleagues who worked in the urban centers of the Habsburg monarchy, Haydn was in contact with Croats, Roma and Hungarians throughout his life. These influences were omnipresent in his music, to the delight of Prince Nikolaus I Esterházy and his guests, but by some accounts were not to the taste of many music theorists in Germany. Haydn gave his Symphony no.63 in C major the title of ‘La Roxolana’, from the famous sixteenth-century sultana who was the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent after having been his slave. As usual, Giovanni Antonini, who is reunited here with Il Giardino Armonico, juxtaposes Haydn’s music with that of another composer. The natural choice here was Béla Bartók, who is represented by his Romanian Folk Dances, composed in 1917.

• The Auryn Quartet perform Haydn's Op. 2 quartets composed in the mid-1760's. • The Auryn Quartet has not had a single change of personnel in its 30-year existence. A most respected ensemble. • One of the first set of 5 audio Blu-ray discs from TACET. • The Blu-ray audio disc was mastered in 24 bit / 96 kHz resolution, both in stereo and in TACET Real 5.1 Standard Surround Sound. • The Blu-ray disc joins the TACET assortment as the fifth sound carrier alongside CD, LP, DVD audio and SACD.

Inspired by hearing performances of Handel’s oratorios during his visits to London, Haydn composed Die Schöpfung (‘The Creation’) in 1798. Through a series of accompanied recitatives, arias, duets and choruses, the music depicts the creation of the universe and the carefree existence of Adam and Eve. Haydn drew on the full complement of his symphonic and vocal prowess which reach peaks of almost operatic intensity. With rich harmonies and sonic magnificence in abundance, Die Schöpfung represents the apex of the Viennese oratorio tradition.

In the last few decades, Haydn's response to Passiontide has become a popular fixture in churches across the globe, most frequently heard in the arrangement he made for string quartet. Commissioned to supply music for chamber orchestra to accompany the Good Friday service at the cathedral in Cadiz on Good Friday 1786, he quickly made the quartet arrangement, doubtless with a lucrative market in mind. The letters written by Haydn to his publisher Artaria between February and June 1787 show that the arrangements for both quartet and for keyboard had their genesis during the preparation of the original orchestral version for publication. The keyboard transcription was not undertaken by Haydn himself, but he approved it for publication, and all three versions were issued by Artaria during the summer of 1787. For years the keyboard version was considered an inferior, second-hand cousin to the quartet, yet there is increasing recognition of both the keyboard version's authenticity and also it's expressive potential, in the hands of a sympathetic artist. In his autobiography, Abb� Stadler (1748-1833) relates that he was with Haydn when the commission arrived from Cadiz. 'He also asked me what I thought of it all. I answered that it seemed to me advisable to fit over the words an appropriate melody and then to have this performed only by instruments, in which art he was in any case a master.' Thus the headings of each movement - 'Pater dimitte illis' (Father, forgive them) and so on - fit the melodies like songs without words.

Inspired by hearing performances of Handel’s oratorios during his visits to London, Haydn composed Die Schöpfung (‘The Creation’) in 1798. Through a series of accompanied recitatives, arias, duets and choruses, the music depicts the creation of the universe and the carefree existence of Adam and Eve. Haydn drew on the full complement of his symphonic and vocal prowess which reach peaks of almost operatic intensity. With rich harmonies and sonic magnificence in abundance, Die Schöpfung represents the apex of the Viennese oratorio tradition.

Haydn, M.: Missa Sanctae Ursulae / Mozart, W.A.: Ave Verum C

Classical Music

• The piano sonatas of Haydn need no introduction. Russian pianist Daria Gloukhova is one of today's most exciting pianists. She infuses these works with an intensity and poetry that make these performances rise far beyond the norm.

After her highly appraised debut CD with French Music for cello and piano, Harriet Krijgh presents her virtuosity and technical finesse with the new recording of both Cello Concertos by Joseph Haydn. Harriet Krijgh was born in the Netherlands in June 1991 and received her first cello lessons at the age of five. In 2000 she was admitted into the preparatory young talent class of Lenian Benjamins at the Conservatory of Music in Utrecht. In 2004 Harriet moved to Vienna, where she continued her cello studies with Lilia Schulz-Bayrova and Jontscho Bayrov at the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität. In June 2012 Harriet will have her own festival at Burg Feistritz in Austria. The event marks the launch of the annual “Harriet & Friends” Chamber Music Festival, where she will play select works with musicians from around the world.

After long, thoroughly satisfying years of service at the Esterhazy court, Joseph Haydn was given a well-deserved retirement in 1790 - with an unusually handsome pension. The composer, who was in great demand throughout the world, used his new freedom to travel, especially to London, and to compose string quartets again. With the first of these "Apponyi" quartets, the Leipzig String Quartet continues its Haydn series and presents another remarkable milestone in the quartet repertoire. The quartets were virtually snatched out of Haydn's hands; Count Apponyi eventually secured exclusive rights for one year at a price of 100 gulden. Although popular with dilettantes, the Op. 74 quartets go beyond the limits of what can be performed by amateurs. The first violin in particular repeatedly attracts attention with virtuoso passages, but the other voices - just listen to the finale of the C major quartet - are also demanded to do a great deal. And Haydn remains true to himself: time and again he surprises players and listeners alike with irregular periods, inserted bars, sudden pauses... And there are echoes of folk music, such as drone surfaces or - in the B-flat major quartet - major/minor changes, which evoke associations with Haydn's years-long stay in Hungary and are a pleasure to listen to. The G minor quartet is the only one of this group to bear a nickname: "Reiterquartett" Rider's refers to the lively finale, which the Leipzig musicians present with verve and delight in playing truly "con brio". But many a slow movement in this quartet trias also spoils the discerning listener: great, timeless music of which there can never be enough.

On a previous album, the Chiaroscuro Quartet has recorded the first half of Joseph Haydn’s Op. 76, including No. 3, the celebrated ‘Emperor’ quartet. The release has won great acclaim, with the critic in Gramophone writing: ‘The Chiaroscuros' account of the remaining three Op 76 quartets can't come soon enough.’ Well, here it is – a album which like its predecessor spans a wealth of moods and atmospheres: from the magical sunrise of the opening of 76/4 to the manic minuet and boisterous finale of 76/6, a movement without a tune worth the name but utterly engrossing even so. The Chiaroscuro Quartet was formed in 2005 by the violinists Alina Ibragimova (Russia) and Pablo Hernan Benedi (Spain), the Swedish violist Emilie Hornlund and cellist Claire Thirion from France. Performing music of the Classical period on gut strings this highly international ensemble has a unique sound – described in The Observer as ‘a shock to the ears of the best kind’.

REVIEW:

The Chiaroscuros return, armed with a perfect sound balance and rich, vibrant textures from each player.

– BBC Music Magazine

"All my strength is gone." Joseph Haydn wrote these words on the final page of his unfinished last string quartet. One can hardly believe him when one listens to this new release by the Leipzig String Quartet - and encounters a composer in full possession of his creative powers. There is nary a trace of the infirmity of old age or fading inspiration; rather, the master draws on all the rich experience of his long artistic life. "I am old and weak" - this self-quotation from his song "Der Greis" (The Old Man) seems to be pure irony.

•Dorothee Mields is one of the leading female vocalists in the field of the music of the 17th – 18th centuries and is especially loved by the public and press for her unique timbre and moving interpretations. Possessing in addition a flawless technique and an ethereal vocal clarity, makes her a fortunate choice for the interpretation of Haydn's Scottish songs and English canzonettas. The ensemble Les Amis de Philippe assists her with great sensitivity.

HAYDN String Quartets: op. 20/2, 4, 6 • Leipzig Qrt • MDG 307 1706-2 (70:11)


I was greatly impressed with the Leipzig String Quartet’s complete traversals of the Schubert and the Mendelssohn quartets, but I found (in a Fanfare review not yet published at this writing) their approach to Haydn’s op. 76/2–4 not at all to my liking. My complaints centered on choices of tempo, unwelcome embellishments, and lack of “conviction.” On the current disc, as on the op. 76 disc, the order of presentation is numerically reversed (6, 4, 2 and 4, 3, 2, respectively).


In this op. 20 disc, tempos are reasonable, there are no objectionable embellishments (but there are some that I would prefer not be present), and the playing is everywhere convincing. All exposition repeats and development and recapitulation repeats are observed. A restrained vibrato is used that I find appropriate and pleasing. In a possible attempt to profit from studies of historically informed practices, occasional slight swells and attenuations are inserted, and this I find appealing. This is especially noticeable in the opening movement of No. 6. Most curious is the disregard of Haydn’s final fugal movement sempre sotto voce marking in Nos. 2 and 6. The result is a loudness that abandons the gossamer textures that are otherwise so appealing in these fugues. (S empre sotto voce appears in my Dover scores. Perhaps the Leipzig Quartet used a more recent and more authentic edition of these quartets.)


There are some very positive aspects of these performances. The second movement of the second quartet (in C), a Capriccio that begins auspiciously in C Minor and leads to a cantabile in E?-Major, is played with a sardonic C Minor and an innocent E?-Major. No. 4 in D Major is notable for its D-Minor variations of the Adagio e affettuoso second movement and for the off-beat accents in the Menuet alla Zingarese third movement. These movements profit from exceptional interpretations by the Leipzigers.


For the present disc (and the op. 76 disc), the members of the quartet are Stefan Arzberger and Tilman Büning (violins), Ivo Bauer (viola), and Matthias Moosdorf (cello). For the Schubert and Mendelssohn disc sets, the first violin was Andreas Seidel. The result of this change in leadership may be the source of my observations. Although these quartets are better served by the Auryn Quartet and by the Lindsays, there are enough unique and attractive features here for a recommendation.


FANFARE: Burton Rothleder

HAYDN The Creation • Martin Pearlman, cond; Amanda Forsythe (sop); Keith Jameson (ten); Kevin Deas (bs-bar); Boston Baroque • LINN CKD 401 (2 SACDs: 96:09 Text and Translation)

I was disappointed in Boston Baroque’s recording of Cherubini’s C-Minor Requiem (Fanfare 30:5), but this Creation has, from its orchestral introduction, an essential rightness—of mood, sonority, drama, and tempo. As with Dinu Lipatti’s Schumann Concerto (the first time I experienced such a feeling), this is the way it should go. Martin Pearlman realizes the work’s character of being very serious yet radiantly joyful. His period orchestra (strings 6/5/4/4/2) has a full measure of both power and tenderness, without having to strain for either. The chorus (7/6/6/6) is magnificent; the opening of “Stimmt an die Saiten” (disc 1, track 11) is so electric that one wants to stand up and cheer. Pearlman’s vocal soloists are each superb, in voice and in delivery; their clean, never ostentatious ornamentations fit this particular work (the florid style of René Jacobs’s soloists is better suited to the more Baroque The Seasons), and they match beautifully in ensemble. The fortepiano continuo is always just right. Above all, the lofty spirit of the whole is thrilling.

The icing on the cake is Linn’s recorded sound, from Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, during October 2011. It is so realistic, so natural, that one might be sitting beside Beethoven at the premiere. Balances are ideal; the chorus is clearly spread from sopranos on the left to basses on the right, and every contrapuntal line comes through. This is Boston Baroque’s first recording for Linn, and it helps explain the vast improvement over its Cherubini. No doubt it is aided by listening on a system of all-Linn electronics (with KEF 104/2 speakers and/or Sennheiser HD 600 head phones). I blamed the Worcester Hall’s acoustics for the Cherubini’s problematic sound; either I was mistaken or Linn’s team, led by Thomas C. Moore of Five/Four Productions, Ltd., has worked miracles. SACD smoothes the sound, lessening the orchestra’s impact, but clarifies the choral lines even more; one has the sensation of almost hearing each individual voice, which is just as it should be. Surround sound restores any lost impact and throws the listener into the performance, a wondrous if slightly unreal effect.

Must there be something wrong? Okay, the side-by-side German/English libretto is in small white print on black pages, making one squint.

I haven’t been counting, but I’ll bet there have been 100 recordings of The Creation. This one stands comfortably at the pinnacle; among its close competitors, Thomas Hengelbrock on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi is sweeter but less dramatic, Neville Marriner’s incomparable EMI soloists steal the show in a modern-instrument performance. In more than six decades of listening, I have found that almost every new recording of any masterpiece brings more doubts, because every performance has characteristics that others lack. About once a decade have I found the recording, one that has everything: Willem Mengelberg’s (Telefunken) Franck D Minor, Otto Klemperer’s 1954 mono “Eroica,” David Willcocks’s “Lord Nelson” Mass, Klaus Tennstedt’s (pirate) live BSO Schubert Ninth, George Szell’s Schumann Second, Riccardo Chailly’s Gurrelieder, James Levine’s Prokofiev Fifth. Martin Pearlman’s Creation joins that list.

FANFARE: James H. North

HAYDN Organ Concertos: in C, Hob XVIII:1,8,10. Harpsichord Concertos: in C, Hob XVIII:5; in F, Hob XVIII:7 • Helmut Müller-Brühl, cond; Harald Hoeren (org); Ketil Gaugsand (hpd); Cologne CO • NAXOS 8.570486 (72:46)


These early concertos—from the 1750s, although some were revised in the 1760s—were written to be played by either organ or harpsichord, which is why this disc is entitled “Keyboard Concertos.” In Brilliant Classics’s recent 150-CD “Haydn Edition,” all five of these works were played on an organ. The music is conventional, having elements both Baroque and rococo, but it is still Haydn, which means spirit and quality as well as competence. The only lack is individuality; I would hate to face a blind audition of each movement—especially if you switched solo instruments. These performances are also conventional, too much so. The modern-instrument band produces very little color, and less variety of it. Bland, tubby recorded sound reinforces that feeling; trumpets in the C-Major pieces are barely noticeable, and drumbeats are little more than extra reverberances. By contrast, Brilliant’s period-instrument Ensemble Dolce Risonanza produces vibrant colors and violent explosions. The tables are turned with the soloists, however; Brilliant’s Anton Holzapfel can hardly get a note in edgewise among all those dolce risonanzas, whereas both Hoeren and Gaugsand take the lead when called upon and give imaginative, well-rounded performances. The best things here are the Allegro finales, which are taken at spirited, upbeat tempos.


This disc is in no way necessary, but you’re sure to enjoy it.


FANFARE: James H. North

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

Iain Quinn is joined by Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen in this recording of organ concertos by Haydn, recorded on the Grant, Degens and Bradbeer organ of St Mary’s, Woodford. Born in Cardiff, Wales, Dr. Iain Quinn is an award-winning organist, musicologist, and composer with over ninety publications across multiple disciplines. He is Associate Professor of Organ and Coordinator of Sacred Music at Florida State University. He has received a Fellowship from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and grants from Musica Britannica, Society for American Music, The Prince's Trust, and the Music & Letters Trust. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University and a Visiting Composer at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. As a composer he has received commissions from churches across the USA and UK and from the American Guild of Organists. In 2017, he was a Fulbright Scholar teaching at The Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, Russia and in 2018 he was the Rudolph Ganz Fellow at The Newberry Library, Chicago.

In the third installment in their acclaimed series, Harry Christophers and the Handel and Haydn Society present a new live recording devoted to the master of the symphony – Joseph Haydn. This release showcases Haydn’s Symphony No. 8 Le soir, which completes the trilogy written for Prince Paul Anton Esterházy. Also included is the later Symphony No. 84 which shows just how much Haydn’s symphonies had transformed from those early years. Not only is it an incredible fusion of grace, brilliance and warmth but it also contains one of the most striking wind band solos in all of his Paris symphonies. Completing the programme is the Violin Concerto in A major performed by H+H’s fiery and expressive Concertmaster, Aisslinn Nosky.

Four Experts - it was with this headline that the press welcomed Vol. 10 of the encyclopedic Haydn series by the Leipzig String Quartet. Now the ensemble from Saxony doubles our pleasure with all six quartets from Opus 17 on the two CDs of this attractive box expanding our Haydn quartet horizons to include his earlier works. The result is uncommonly rewarding inasmuch as light is shed on a highly interesting developmental advance from divertimento mirth to mature chamber music and straight into the formative years of a revolutionarily new musical genre. For it was first through Joseph Haydn that the string quartet was crowned the king of chamber disciplines. Four instruments performing as equal partners but in different registers mean that the music has to focus on the essentials; no instrumental tricks might help it over possible compositional longueurs. But Haydn's music of course does not at all need such assistance. The ten years of experience that Haydn had gathered in this genre are heard in his Opus 17. The form is clearly more concentrated; instead of creating an entertaining medley of catchy melodies, he limits himself to a few themes from which he develops a movement or an entire quartet. The extraordinary skill of the instrumentalists available to him in Esterhaza inspired him to craft the sparkling passages that repeatedly flash across his scores. The absolutely great moments in this collection also include many a slow movement - for example, the Adagio from No. 3, which takes the listener into harmonically remote fields. In the careful hands of the four top musicians from Leipzig these rarely heard quartets develop a fascinating appeal that could not be more charming.

The Seven Last Words of Christ refers to the seven short phrases uttered by Jesus on the cross, as gathered from the New Testament. Over the centuries the crucifixion has served as inspiration to countless composers, and settings of these utterances have become something of a subgenre, beginning in the Renaissance with early motets and continuing into our own time. By way of Cesar Franck and Sofia Gubaidulina, composers ranging from Heinrich Schutz to Tristan Murail have contributed versions using various combinations of voice and/or instruments. One of the best known of these settings is probably the one by Joseph Haydn. The one – or rather the four… A rather complicated story begins in 1785, when Haydn received a commission from Cadiz in Spain, at the other end of Europe. He was asked to compose seven slow movements, each ca 10 minutes long, to be played by an orchestra in alternation with the priest expounding on each of the seven words. Relishing this unusual challenge, Haydn accepted and ended up so pleased with the result that he immediately made a version for string quartet as well as authorising another one for keyboard. The work became so popular across Europe that ten years later the music was used one final time, in an oratorio for choir and orchestra. The work is here heard in the version for keyboard, performed by the French pianist Nicolas Stavy. He closes the disc with another unusual work in Haydn’s oeuvre, the Andante con variazioni, Hob. XVII/6, which has been described as ‘the deepest and most profound set of variations for piano composed between Bach and Beethoven’.

On this specially-priced two-disc set, the Daedalus Quartet performs Haydn's six revolutionary Op. 20 "Sun" quartets. These six quartets, composed in 1772, were among the most influential quartets of their era. Before embarking on his own first (Op. 18) string quartets, Beethoven studied the scores of Haydn's six masterpieces, copying them out and scoring the first quartet for string orchestra.

"The excellent Daedalus Quartet, in residence at Columbia University, opened the season by playing Haydn's Quartet Op. 20, No. 2, one of the six "Sun" Quartets from that opus. The performance was insightful and vibrant. Hearing such an excellent, up-close performance made this Haydn piece seem even more monumental." - Anthony Tommassini, New York Times

"The Sun Quartets [are] so named because of an illustration on the title page of an early edition. This is adventurous explorative music, not at all routine." - Herbert Russcol

The Handel and Haydn Society continues it's acclaimed Haydn exploration on CORO with one of the composer's last major works - the dramatic and sumptuous Mass in B-flat major more commonly known as the 'Harmoniemesse' because of it's use of a full wind band. It is accompanied on this album by the Symphony No. 99 in E-flat major - one of Haydn's twelve 'London' symphonies composed between 1791 and 1795 when London was the indisputable musical capital of Europe. Handel and Haydn Society is America's oldest continuously operating arts organisation. Harry Christophers has been Artistic Director since 2008 during which time the Society has released 12 recordings on CORO including Haydn's Creation, all six of his 'Paris' Symphonies, Mozart's Requiem and Handel's Messiah, and a Christmas album - 'Joy to the World' - celebrating America's favourite festive tunes.

Experience two grand classics, alive with all the excitement and verve of their very first performances. Thrill to one of Haydn’s masterful ‘London’ symphonies that wowed England’s capital – the smash hit ‘Military’, so-called for intense depictions of the clash of arms and ferocious roar of war. In the epic Nelson Mass Handel and Haydn Society's magnificent chorus and soloists join the orchestra in this homage to the heroic admiral who helped to vanquish Napoleon. Of conductor Harry Christophers, BBC Radio 3 Record Review wrote: “What Harry is particularly good at is nurturing the natural beauty of the instruments and voices and, indeed, acoustic that are in front of him. It’s very handsome.”

SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce the fourth volume in Leon McCawley’s much praised series of Franz Joseph Haydn’s Piano Sonatas. Six Sonatas spanning the years 1766-80 are featured: the earliest the miniature First Sonata in G major, the latest the E flat major Sonata No.51, while Robert Matthew-Walker’s fascinating booklet note charts how deftly Haydn balanced the expectations of others and his own creative ambition. “Intended more to entertain than engage the intellect”, the fleet, divertimento-like First Sonata seems to anticipate the pedagogical leanings of Bartók’s Mikrokosmos more than a century and half later.With its unabashed galant style, the D major-led Sonata No.30 is ‘Papa’ Haydn at his most quicksilver brilliant and delightful, while Sonata No.35, in A flat major – “a masterpiece of piano writing” – displays striking characteristics of early Romanticism. Composed with the enhanced voice of the then newly available fortepiano in mind, sibling Sonatas Nos.48 (C major) and 49 (C sharp minor) maintain a winning Classical poise even as one surprise after another see Haydn pushing the sonata form in new and unexpected directions. Volume I (SOMMCD 0162) received a coveted Diapason d’Or from Diapason magazine, which enthused: “What a range in his interpretation and how many layers of gradation! McCawley ties these together in a special quality of inflexions which make their point with great intelligibility and sensitivity”. BBC Music Magazine declared Volume II (SOMMCD 0602) “should stand high on any list” of quality recordings of Haydn, adding “the sparkle of McCawley’s touch is instantly apparent”. Of Volume III (SOMMCD 0624) Gramophone hailed McCawley as “a thoughtful, keenly intelligent artist in peak form… [Haydn’s] piano works an inexhaustible source of artistic riches.”

HAYDN String Quartets, op. 64/3–5 • Leipzig Str Qrt • MDG GOLD 3071723 (66:51)


Here is a disc, labeled as Vol. 5 of the Haydn quartets, that promises very great things for the rest of the series. The Leipzig Quartet’s playing has the same light, bright, and occasionally humorous sweep that one also hears in the recordings of the Daedalus Quartet (the op. 20 quartets as issued on Bridge 9326) and, if anything, MDG’s sound is even more clearly detailed. There’s not a single movement on this disc that disappoints; the quartet members, who appear to be in their mid-40s, have retained a youthful, zestful energy and enthusiasm for music-making that warms the heart as it makes you smile.


Moreover, their musical style includes many subtle moments of rubato and an extraordinarily wide variety of dynamics. For a good example of their rubato style, sample the Menuetto of the op. 64 No. 3 quartet, where the subtle tempo shifts—combined with the composer’s own written luftpausen —tease the ear in a wonderful way. Sometimes their subtlety in dynamics may escape the inattentive listener, so alertness in hearing this CD is strongly recommended. This is not fluff playing, but rather the kind of performance that brings you deeper into the heart of the music. Based on this single disc, I would go so far as to recommend hearing virtually any of their Haydn quartet releases to date, which so far includes some op. 50 quartets (1, 4, and 5) on MDG 3071585 (which got a rave review in these pages from Burton Rothleder), op. 76 Nos. 2–4 on MDG 3071683 (a rave review on Music Web International ), the op. 20 quartets Nos. 2, 4, and 6 on MDG 3071706 (another good review from Rothleder), but oddly enough I can’t find Vol. 1 of this series on either ArkivMusic or Amazon! (Maybe it hasn’t come out yet.)


In short, this is good stuff. If you don’t have these quartets in your collection, in performances you enjoy, go for it!


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

There are no finer period-instrument Haydn symphony performances available than these. Using a nearly 50-piece orchestra (thank God!), McGegan captures the music's full grandeur as well as its intimacy. These players sound like a real orchestra, a group with a corporate identity, an attractive ensemble sonority, superb wind soloists, and, miracle of miracles, period strings that don't sound like a den of dying cats. McGegan's phrasing of the "clock" theme in the eponymous symphony's second movement is a model of stylishness and wit--listen and I dare you not to smile.

His pacing throughout is ideal; allegros are swift but not so much as to blur characterful detail. The minuets are perfect; trumpets and drums cut through the texture without turning crude; tuttis really fill the acoustic space, and the dynamic range is aptly wide. No performance of these works follows Haydn's dynamic markings literally, but McGegan's adjustments flow with the music and invariably come across as natural--check out the finale of the "London" Symphony for some particularly telling examples.

The live sonics are generally very good, particularly given the fact that the recordings were made over a three-year period (2007-9). In Symphony No. 88 close miking makes the sound a touch rough in places, and I could do without the applause at the end of each work, but the audience otherwise is extremely well-behaved and extraneous performance noises are happily quite minimal. We need Haydn recordings like this: warm, humorous, affecting, yet fully cognizant of period scholarship and style. They are far too rare.

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com



HAYDN Symphonies: No. 104, “London”; No. 88; No. 101, “Clock” • Nicholas McGegan, cond; Philharmonia Baroque O • PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE PBP-02 (75:16) Live: Berkeley, CA 2/10–11/2007, 11/15–16/2008; 9/12–13/2009


Nicholas McGegan and his San Francisco period-instrument ensemble are renowned for their many Handel recordings, but they play music of all eras. This is the first Haydn I’ve heard from them. This 2007 performance of the “London” Symphony is marvelous: The opening Adagio-Allegro brims over with high spirits, highlighted by blazing brass and pounding timpani; the Menuet has grace as well as bounce (McGegan does not play da capo repeats), and the Trio has a delicious lilt, with the merest hint of a luftpause in measure three. The finale is somewhat rough and ready, but its Spiritoso direction is fully realized. Comparisons with other performances do reveal a few shortcomings. As used to be the case in period ensembles, violins are rather dull; those in Richard Hickox’s Collegium Musicum 90 are clean and bright. Hickox’s forces are also better balanced and recorded (by Chandos); McGegan’s woodwinds are often drowned out by screaming trumpets. However, the Hickox has nowhere near the drive and élan of this performance. Nor can McGegan’s strings match the crisp attacks and phenomenal execution of either Colin Davis’s Concertgebouw or Leonard Bernstein’s New York Philharmonic.


The opening Allegro of No. 88 goes beautifully; the movement has no trumpets or timpani. Violins are brighter in 2008, as is the recorded sound. The Largo, however, is a disaster. Bassoons are weak; even when the pair shares the solo line, they are nearly inaudible. Taken even faster (5:30) than the impatient George Szell (5:53), this performance totally misses the movement’s calm beauty. Largos are always difficult; holding the line at a very slow tempo takes enormous concentration and ensemble discipline. Hermann Scherchen almost manages, at a lumbering 10:04; Bernstein’s 7:04 is ideal, in a uniquely lovely rendering. McGegan’s Menuet is back on track; his slow Allegretto works well. The Allegro con spirito finale, again reasonably paced, is also a success—until the coda. In this live performance, McGegan (adrenaline kicking in?) ups the tempo at the last minute, and the final three chords are smudged. Bernstein opts for a ludicrously fast tempo; his virtuoso ensemble pulls it off.


The “Clock” gets a fine performance at mostly consensus tempos; the 2009 sound (they were all at the same site, the First Congregational Church in Berkeley) is more reverberant than before but very well balanced. The Andante is too fast; is McGegan, like Szell, allergic to slow music? The bassoons revive here, but oboe and flute are a bit sour together. Menuet and Finale are magnificent; the wrong-note trumpet joke sounds cleanly, the clarinet-brightened score resounds, and this time the final three chords are crisp.


Good period performances of late Haydn symphonies have been hard to come by. This disc ranks among the best.


FANFARE: James H. North
"...Nicholas McGegan has been honing the San Francisco-based period-instrument Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra for some 25 years. Nor are performances of Haydn’s music in period style anything new. But seldom have his elemental dynamic contrasts sounded so properly in proportion or so mercurial, with the 50 or so players able to play out lustily in fortes and pull back quickly to quieter modes, whether playful, subtle or mysterious...The recordings, made at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley, Calif., from 2007 to 2009, were beautifully produced and engineered by David v. R. Bowles...The release of cumulative excitement at the end of each [symphony] is of a kind that tends to happen only in live circumstances."

- James R. Oestreich, The New York Times [June 24, 2011]

Haydn's relationship with the keyboard was so intimate and inspirational that it enabled him to develop ideas of the most varied character. From the whimsical to the dramatic, this highly attractive music combines mischievousness, ingenuousness, eloquence and lyricism. Haydn's wealth of contrasts is interpreted with unique grace by Paul Lewis.

Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 11 / Oboe Concerto / Symphony No.

The Chiaroscuro Quartet made their first appearance on BIS with acclaimed recordings of Joseph Haydn’s Sun Quartets, Op. 20, described in The Strad as ‘period-instrument performances of the utmost subtlety and refinement’. The Op. 20 quartets are widely regarded as a milestone in the history of the genre. When Chiaroscuros now return to Haydn, it is with his last complete set of quartets, begun in 1796 when he was 64 years old. The Six String Quartets, Op. 76, form one of the most renowned of Haydn's sets of quartets and carry the stamp of their maker: No other set of eighteenth-century string quartets is so diverse, or so unconcerned with the norms of the time. In the words of Haydn’s friend and contemporary Charles Burney ‘they are full of invention, fire, good taste and new effects’. On the present disc, the first of two, we hear the first three quartets, including the ‘Fifths’ quartet (No. 2) so named after the falling perfect fifths with which it begins. The most famous of the set – and possibly of all Haydn quartets – is No. 3, however: the ‘Emperor’ quartet with its second movement: a set of variations on the ‘Kaiserlied’ which Haydn had recently composed to the greater glory of the Austrian Emperor Franz II.