Customer Reviews

Haydn: 6 "Paris" Symphonies

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way: were the Minuets always going to be on the slow side? Yes. Does that make them unmusical? Not in the least.

Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic are clearing enjoying themselves - just listen to the finale of 86 which is one of the wittiest things that Haydn ever wrote: it is irresistible. I know of no finer 87 on the market: for once, it is clamours to be regarded as one of the stars of the set. This performance of the Hen is so much more vibrant and subtle than the heavy-handed account that the same forces recorded in September 1971 (Symphonies 83 101 & 104). The other symphonies are likewise superlative.

The digital recording has been remastered to good effect and the woodwind, so important in the Paris Symphonies, shines through.

Ignore the nay-sayers: this is great fun. You won't regret it.

First, note that i am a relative beginner in classical music, so as a result, my interpretation of this music is based on this recording alone.

Second, that being said, i am eagerly awaiting haydn's complete symphonies conducted by Dorati to arrive. this is how much of an impression these works have made on me! i look forward to comparing the two interpretations.

Third, symphony #85 "la reine" was one of Queen Marie-Antoinette's favorites. I mention this for a few reasons. One, I am a bit of a history buff and enjoy learning about history, thus this gives me a point of reference for the composer's contempories and a sense of what is happening on the streets of Paris while this wonderful music is being performed. Furthermore, at the time of writing this review, the movie, "Marie-Antoinette" was in theatres, and yes i did see this one; although, at the time of purchase, I did not know about the connection. This has given me a fresh desire to revisit some history.

Fourth, frankly, the only good review is the one written in spanish which may be an obsticle to some, however he does mention that the Bernstein recording with the NYP is good, so that may be one to compare as well. The snob and the french reviews require no explanation.

Now, to the music. In a word: glorious. the music is full, rich, and played with fervent emotion that stirs my soul. Being a novice, I must say that most of my preferences for various works result from what moves me and where my mind goes with the music. This 2 CD set is a gem and I highly recommend it.

I have given the piece 5 stars for three reasons: a) my personal response to the music itself, b) the paucity of reviews for this recording and c) the quality of the conductor and orchestra.

About the only thing this set of performances is good for is for a laugh. And I regard Karajan as one of the greatest conductors who has ever lived. But listening to this set of recordings it is truly baffling to try to figure out what he was thinking, or hearing, when he committed this stuff to tape.

It's so bad, in so many ways, it enters the realm of parody: these performances are a parody of a certain kind of old-fashioned, big orchestra Haydn, made especially piquant by Karajan's penchant for a driving, humorless sound in the tuttis, and glacially slow minuets that together is so ridiculous in this music one hardly knows what to think or say about it. Not to mention the homogenized sheen of the orchestra and the constant, often inappropriate legato phrasing that is completely antithetical to Haydn's distinctly rhetorical style. All the lovely details of Haydn's orchestrations are completely buried in Karajan's famously mannered orchestral sound.

Karajan made a similar disasterously mis-calculated set of recordings of Verdi Overtures at about the same time, with most of the same problems. The late 70s were not a good time for the Maestro, it seems.

Karajan's Haydn is far more stylish, and more convincing, in recordings he made earlier in his career. If you must have Karajan in this repertoire, try some of those. Seems to me he's not really the guy for Haydn, though. Harnoncourt's Paris symphonies are very fine, if idiosyncratic in ways that might not bear repeated hearings--although I've had no problem there so far. The ASMF outings are serviceable and even enjoyable, if rather on the conventional side. Kuijken's Haydn is extremely good, but I agree with a poster elsewhere who pointed out that too many period bands make Haydn sound like Baroque music. It's a valid criticism. I still like the Kuijken though, if not as much as Harnoncourt.

If you like big-orchestra Haydn Bernstein is an interesting choice, but I find most big orchestra Haydn, including Bernstein, nearly unlistenable now. It's very far from Haydn had in mind.

Este doble de las Sinfonías de Haydn por Karajan, nos demuestra una vez más la excepcional calidad interpretativa que Karajan desarrollo con los berlineses, es bien conocida versión de La Creación (Karajan-Berlín) y altamente alabada por los críticos de todo el mundo. La combinación realmente funciona maravillosamente en la obra de Haydn.

El Haydn de Karajan suena muy fino con trazos muy elegantes con un espíritu brillante y fresco, las cuerdas de la Berlín están sorprendentemente bien balanceadas y rítmicamente activas. Las obras de Haydn son más ligeras que las siguientes: 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 y las Sinfonías londinenses (93 a la 104) pero no de menor belleza, la Sinfonía No. 86 debe ser sin lugar a dudas una de las obras más briosas y optimistas del gran maestro.

PD.- Las versiones de Leonard Bernstein con la New York Philharmonic, son otra excelente opción de las Sinfonías Parisinas.

Karajan's a great conductor, to be sure, but this rendition of Haydn's Paris symphonies leaves me unsatisfied. The tempos on some of the minuets are *way* too slow. Of course, I cut my symphonic-Haydn teeth on the Marriner/ASMF performances available on Philips DUO, which I recommend. It also sounds as if the Berlin Philharmonic might be a bit too big for these works, or maybe it's just the sonics of this 1981 recording. In any event, I find this interpretation much too Romantic for Joseph Haydn, the epitome of Classicism.
Karajan's and the BPO's performance of the Adagio of No. 87 is not bad, though.

Monsieur Gerard Gaudicheau 1,rue du Poulfank 56470 Saint-Philibert (France)