Joseph Haydn - Symphonies Nos. 93-104 ''London Symphonies'' (Nikolaus Harnoncourt)

Information

Composer: Joseph Haydn

CD1:

• (01-04) Symphony No. 68 in B-flat major, Hob. I/68
• (05-08) Symphony No. 93 in D major, Hob. I/93
• (09-12) Symphony No. 94 in G major, Hob. I/94 - "Surprise"

CD2:

• (01-04) Symphony No. 95 in C minor, Hob. I/95
• (05-08) Symphony No. 96 in D major, Hob. I/96 - "The Miracle"
• (09-12) Symphony No. 97 in C major, Hob. I/97

CD3:

• (01-04) Symphony No. 98 in B-flat major, Hob. I/98
• (05-08) Symphony No. 99 in E-flat major, Hob. I/99

CD4:

• (01-04) Symphony No. 100 in G major, Hob. I/100 - "Military"
• (05-08) Symphony No. 101 in D major, Hob. I/101 - "The Clock"
• (09-12) Symphony No. 102 in B-flat major, Hob. I/102

CD5:

• (01-04) Symphony No. 103 in E-flat major, Hob. I/103 - "Drum Roll"
• (05-08) Symphony No. 104 in D major, Hob. I/104 - "London"

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor

Date: 1986-1992
Label: Warner Classics (original on Teldec)

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

Review

Harnoncourt's slowly evolving set of the ''London'' symphonies is completed by Nos. 96-99, each of which receives a characteristically challenging reading: bold, dramatic, forceful, sometimes uncomfortable, occasionally perverse. As usual, Harnoncourt proclaims his 'authentic' credentials in matters of articulation, phrasing and sonority, with textures less string-dominated and less blended than in most modern-instrument performances. I tend to think of No. 96, the erroneously titled Miracle, as the lightest of these late symphonies. But Harnoncourt brings an unusual driving intensity to the opening movement, with raw, rasping brass (terrific horn-trumpet exchanges in the recapitulation, 6'13''ff), a powerful reach and build to the development (whiplash sforzando accents here) and an explosive final D minor climax (bar 194, 6'43''). The finale, taken very steadily, is similarly tough and fiercely accented, short on geniality but full of sharply etched detail. I found the Andante, though, a touch knowing in its exquisitely tapered phrase-endings; and the rather fussy dynamics impede the music's growth in the contrapuntal G minor section (from 1'31'')—Sir Colin Davis, in the rival version with the same orchestra, lets the music unfold that much more naturally and cogently here.

Symphony No. 97, with Mozart's Jupiter the grandest and richest in a long line of eighteenth-century festive C major symphonies, is more consistently compelling from Harnoncourt: the broadly paced outer movements are splendidly trenchant and brazen, some over-moulded lyrical phrasing apart; and the Adagio ma non troppo, often regarded as one of the more relaxed movements in the ''London'' symphonies, develops an oddly unsettling intensity—listen to the nasal, almost snarling sound of the violins playing sul ponticello in the final variation (4'10'' ff), the stinging syncopations from 5'16'' and the wailing woodwind dissonances in the coda.

In both these symphonies Harnoncourt slows only marginally for the trios of the minuets. But the trios of Nos. 98 and 99 both involve the violent gear changes familiar from Harnoncourt's previous Haydn (and Mozart) performances, not least those of Nos. 93, 102 and 104 in this set (8/93). Symphony No. 98 is typical in its juxtaposition of a swift, aggressive minuet (the accents here almost manic) with a lingering, molto espressivo trio. Harnoncourt's equally rapid, high-voltage reading of No. 99's minuet, with its battering brass and ferocious cross-rhythms, is undeniably exciting. But it is, to say the least, a provocative interpretation of Haydn's Allegretto, allowing no room for the elegance and dignity that Davis finds in the music; and Haydn's subtle transition from the trio back to the main section makes the sudden spurt in tempo for the da capo particularly unconvincing. Even more eccentric are the grotesque fluctuations of pulse in the slow introduction of No. 98, with the music reeling back and tottering forward like a stage drunk (and there is a prominent wrong note on the last beat of bar 2, 0'09''). A pity, because the main Allegro, one of Haydn's most intently argued structures, is strong and spacious, the mounting drama of the development thrillingly realized. While other performances, including Davis's, may put a higher premium on glowing, sostenuto lines in the great Adagios of both this symphony and No. 99, Harnoncourt's readings, at the slowest possible tempos, are uncommonly searching and, in places, disturbing, with the kind of concentration and expressive and colouristic range that marked the Adagios of the Eroica and Fourth Symphonies in his Gramophone Award-winning Beethoven cycle (Teldec, 11/91).

The remaining symphonies, all previously available, were received with varying degrees of enthusiasm in these pages by EG, IM and myself. Most successful, to my mind, are Nos. 94 (the fierce, bucolic energy of the minuet can make other versions, including Davis's, seem distinctly decorous), 95 (an aptly weighty, truculent reading of the first movement), a massively powerful Military (maximum impact from brass and Turkish percussion) and a live performance of No. 103 that culminates in an inspired, blazing finale and is marred only by an over-indulgent trio and a wilful replacement of the opening drum-roll by an elaborate flourish. Despite outstanding individual movements (notably the first and last of No. 104), the other symphonies sometimes provoke more serious frustration: the tempo relationships in the Clock, for instance, seem miscalculated to me, with a driving opening Presto, a rather laboured, graceless Andante (more fussy dynamics in the central minore section), a fierce, quickfire minuet (and the trio actually starts even faster before easing back to something like the initial tempo) and an unusually slow finale, the main theme smooth and sleek, with no suggestion of latent energy. The minuets of both Nos. 93 and 104 are wildly eccentric, with implausible tempo contrasts; and as EG commented in his original review, the wonderful Adagio of No. 102, taken quite swiftly, is cool and clipped, with too many first-beat emphases and none of the rhapsodic tenderness caught by Davis—and for some reason Harnoncourt omits the faintly ominous sustained C on solo muted trumpet just before the close (4'32'').

At their best Harnoncourt's readings, often brilliantly executed by the Royal Concertgebouw and vividly if a touch over-resonantly recorded, have a rare conviction and charisma. He constantly challenges you to revise any preconceptions about the music; and no conductor brings out more powerfully the strange, disquieting, forward-reaching tendencies in late Haydn. But for most listeners Davis's readings with the same orchestra, warmer, more gracious and more surely proportioned, yet often yielding little to Harnoncourt in boldness and symphonic drama, will be more consistently satisfying. When it comes to economics there is no contest. Philips fit the 12 symphonies on to four mid-price CDs, whereas Teldec stretch them over six, the dubious bonus of Symphony No. 68, in a distinctly heavyweight reading, hardly compensating for the extra £18 or so outlay.

-- Richard Wigmore, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.classical.net/~music/recs/reviews/w/war696122a.php
http://www.allmusic.com/album/haydn-edition-symphonies-68-93-104-london-mw0001403257
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haydn-London-Symphonies-Nikolaus-Harnoncourt/dp/B001AMG7I6

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

Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809) was a prominent and prolific Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet". Haydn's work was central to the development of what came to be called sonata form. At the time of his death, aged 77, he was one of the most celebrated composers in Europe. Haydn was a friend and mentor of Mozart, a teacher of Beethoven, and the older brother of composer Michael Haydn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn

***

Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. His repertoire also include composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Harnoncourt was a cellist with the Vienna Symphony from 1952 to 1969. In 1953, he founded the period-instrument ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien with his wife, Alice Hoffelner. Harnoncourt later performed with many renowned orchestras that played on modern instruments. He was also the author of several books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus_Harnoncourt

http://www.harnoncourt.info/

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

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!