Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Barry Wordsworth, Capella Istropolitana :: Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 82, 96, 100

Good-naturedly humorous but a little superficial

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 10/21/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As with his recordings of Mozart symphonies, also made in 1988, Barry Wordsworth has managed to produce a more-than-acceptable sound with modern instruments and a middle-of-the-road performance that starkly sets off the characteristics of Haydn's symphonies, in particular their good-natured humour, without becoming mannered. The three symphonies on this CD were obviously chosen because of their popular nicknames, and in each case there is no difficulty whatsoever in ascertaining how the nicknames originated: there is a rather delightful bear dance in the last movement of Nr. 82; the 'Miracle' was thus named not because of the music but because of nobody being killed or injured after a chandelier fell from the ceiling during a London performance; and the 'Military' is perhaps the most famous of Haydn's symphonies with its second movement including kettle drums, a triangle, cymbals and a bass drum. Of course, there is no subtlety about all this, and my impression of the whole is that Wordsworth wants to present a simple, pleasant, 'straight' Haydn to listeners who, until now, have not been familiar with his music. If you like, this is an educative recording. Perhaps I should add that the acoustics in the empty concert hall are rather 'echoey' and that, 'buried' among the other instruments, I detected some rather mediocre flute playing.



For those who are interested in a less superficial acquaintance with Haydn, I can only recommend turning to the school of 'historical performance practice'. My personal favourites at the moment are the recordings by Sigiswald Kuijken with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment or with his own ensemble La Petite Bande (some on EMI/Virgin, others on BMG/Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)."

Good Haydn for the Buck

Alf Kremer | Denver CO | 02/22/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Wouldn't know a "famous symphony" by Hadyn if one bit me in the tail, but I picked this up because my local symphony performed the Military Symphony (#100), and I enjoyed it so much (especially the percussion) that I wanted a copy. The performance of that symphony here is quite good, but I actually prefer the first symphony on this collect, "The Bear". It seems to flow better, and has more memorable themes that I find myself humming in the shower. True classical fans may find this recording a bit thin (always a potential problem with Naxos releases), but most folks will probably enjoy this very much. A bargain at twice the price."

Another winner from NAXOS

King Lemuel | Puyallup, WA | 05/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Phil Goulding, in his fine book, Classical Music The 50 Greatest Composers, made these comments about Telemann: "Telemann was a very prolific composer, with more than 3,000 works to his name." He then goes on to write that it is very difficult to identify by listening to a particular baroque composition the name of the composer, including Bach and, "his music is usually described as intelligent and delightful. Some of us would add boring. He is one of 3 or 4 composers on THE LIST who would be unlisted quickly if these were personal favorites of the author rather than representatives of a research effort. One Telemann concerto grosso a month just about does it for me. For readers who have the same reaction to Telemann, my advice is to....substitute Sergiei Rachmaninoff." (Amen, Mr. Goulding).



Haydn has a lot in common with the prolific Telemann. He wrote over 100 symphonies that take up 33 cds! He is considered the father of the string quartet and these take up 23 cds. His piano sonatas and solo works eat up at least a dozen cds. He also gives Handel a run for the money in the Oratorio department. Plus he wrote concertos, sacred music, and operas. When did this guy ever sleep? It is quite a challenge to listen to all of this music, to become familiar with it, and be able to distinguish one symphony or concerto from another.



Before Rhapsody, my limited exposure to Haydn's music was a couple of Vox 3lp quartet boxes, his London symphonies and his Paris symphonies all on good old vinyl. This still is quite a bit of music, just not the entire behemoth corpus of his works. I was surprised just how much excellent stuff he put out. His early symphonies are pretty good and well worth a listen. To work into familiarity, this music makes great drive time music or weekend background music as you putter around the house.



Rhapsody recently posted Dorati's Paris symphonies and Solti's London Symphonies and I had these to compare to the NAXOS Barry Wordsworth symphonies on this disc. Dorati's are a pioneering work and for analog they sound almost as good as DDD digital. Symphony 82 "the bear" is one of my favorites. It is very regal and majestic. If I am every crowned King of the Forest, I want this music played during the coronation. Wordsworth easily gives the two BIG Names a run for their money. I greatly love the kettle drums on symphony 82's first movement. These are much more prominent with Wordsworth than Dorati.



The playing is very good for all three symphonies and well conducted and the recording quality is great. In other words, this is a typical NAXOS cd! One review stated the acoustics were "echoey." I cannot at all buy into this description The sound is just fine and dandy on my new HK AVR and new JBL speakers. Also, these are not just "educative" recordings to get you familiar with Haydn until you wise up and go out and buy an uppity BIG NAME conductor and orchestral recording. Just relax a little, you do not need to buy a 50 dollar bottle of wine to enjoy this music, nor talk with an accent that indicates your great, great, great, great grandmamma came over on the Mayflower.



NAXOS is wonderful and a true find for those who are into classical music and are primarily listeners, not collectors (who go for big name conductors and orchestras).

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