Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Leonard Bernstein, Hedwig Bilgram :: Leonard Bernstein Conducts Haydn (Collectors Edition)

A wonderful bargain

06/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This four CD set is a wonderful collection, providing some of the most joyful and heartfelt performances of Haydn at a bargain price. While Bernstein's approach tends to be old fashioned and self indulgent when compared to the period performances more common today, one can hardly doubt that Haydn would have disapproved hearing his music performed with such passion and beauty. The three symphonies are rustic and sunny, and while the famous fortissimo chord from the "Surprise" symphony's second movement might be a bit over the top, it is certainly performed with the spirit Haydn intended. The choral works are the gems of the set however. The "Paukenmesse" is superb throughout, and the choral cries of "Dona nobis Pacem" in the Agnus Dei are hair raising. "The Creation" is also wonderfully done, particularly the choruses "Der Himmel Erzahlen" and "Vollendet ist das grosse Werk." Again, Bernstein's tendencies towards a more romantic approach are common, but the spirit of joy and love of humanity that characterizes this work never leaves these performances. All in all and excellent buy."

A great Haydn conductor, not always at his best

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 08/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of the remembered joys of my college days was encountering Bernstein's joyos "Creation" and Paris symphonies when they first came out in the Sixties. He brought extraaordinary inner life to all the Haydn he conducted from that period, and when he moved on to his second phase in Europe, Bernstein remained faithful to the composer. This bargain box collects all his later recordings on DG, but good as they are, all run second-best to their New York predeccesors. LB made the mistake of trying to turn Haydn into a more "important" composer, losing more than he gained in the process.



This "Creation" has its high points, but it's nowhere close to the earlier recording for effervescence and drama. Everything is smoothed out, and the soloists possess voices that are all a size too big, except for Judith Blegen. The "Mass in the Time of War" became one of Bernstein's signature anti-war statements during the Vietnam conflict, and one feels his commitment here -- this is a forceful, large-scaled romaantic interpretation that hits on all cylinders.



As for the orchestral works, the Sinfonia concertante is disappointing -- it sounds too mellow, almost sleeepy.l The three symphonies with the Vienna Phl. fare better, thanks to elegant playing and LB's energy, diminished from his NY days but still much in evidence. Wtihin the parameter of traditionalism, these readings surpass colin Davis, Karajan, Jochum, and tate for exuberance -- only Beecham surpsses them. DG's sonics are good throughout, but even at a bargain price I'd rather stick with the New YOrk recordings and just sample the best ones here, such as Sym. 92 and 94."