Customer Reviews

Haydn: The Symphonies

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This complete cycle of the Symphonies of F.J. Haydn heralded a new era in recorded music. Everything about the project was first rate. The sound was among Decca's best. The playing of the little known Philharmonia Hungarica was close to perfect. Dorati's interpretations never disappointed. To top it off, Decca offered the cycle at budget prices and threw in unprecedented notes from H.C. Robbins Landon.

Many would comment "once you've heard one, you've heard them all" when asked about Haydn's vast symphonic output. They could not be more wrong. There isn't a dull symphony or poor performance in the lot. Try such unknowns as #26, or #33, or #51 and #52, to name a few of my lesser known favorites.

Those familiar with Haydn's more well known symphonies, such as the London Symphonies (93-104) were even astonished to find Dorati's performances giving more formidable orchestras and conductors a run for their money.

So what can be said of the set 30 years later?

Everything said earlier still stands, including the original liner notes. Only Graham Johnson's scrupulous notes with his various Hyperion lieder sets surpass Landon's astounding commentary. The digital transfers are from the late 80s, so they are not the best, but still quite serviceable. And the price is still quite reasonable.

Beware, though, that these are not period instruments. Dorati does use "period forces" as much as possible, meaning the number of instruments closely matches what would have been used originally.

So why do I say this set "heralded a new era in recorded music"? Because after the resounding success it enjoyed, many "complete" works projects of similar or greater magnitude got their chance. I doubt we would have any where near the volumes of "complete sets" we now enjoy had it not been for Dorati and Decca's Haydn cycle.

In short, a fabulous set that I would never part with.

In the mid seventies, my father purchased all of what had been released of this cycle on vinyl LP. As vinyl goes, the London discs were first rate, and a prized possession.

I lost the vinyl collection during a move in the mid 80's. It was an emotional impact; I had cherished them as a child, and as a gift, irreplaceable.

This release is true to my memory, and now I have the entire cycle.

I've performed many of these in various orchestras and loved them all.

There's a fresh energy to the performances, and an elegance to the collection quite rare and delightful.

As a set, it's actually quite affordable considering it's under $6 per disc, or under $2 per symphony.

As a composer, all of Haydn's symphonies interest me as a matter of course, and so this is a classic and indispensible set. While in the course of 33 cds, one can find many details to quibble over, these performances are consistently dynamic, exciting, vital and affecting. While not in conscious period-performance style, the tempos are in general brisk, the rhythms sharp. Dorati was one of the great conductors, and this is his metier.

Obviously, this is a considerable sum of money. But if you're looking at this page, you're already interested, and considering the average cost for CD, it's well worth the money. Go ahead, you'll be pleased for years on end!

Haydn was a remarkable composer. He has yet to be discovered by most listeners...I mean, REALLY discovered and relished. For after all, as the Kapellmeister to Prince Nicholas Esterhazy for so much of his lifetime, Haydn had to create entertainment for his Prince and his "occasions". So Haydn wrote the music, repaired the instruments, saw to it his musicians were happy, and kept Prince Nicholas totally enthralled. For recreation Haydn would go on a royal hunt, a sport he dearly loved and which shows up in his music. (Most notably his "Hornsignal" Symphony No. 31, his "Hunt" String Quartet, and Oratorio "The Seasons", a remarkable piece.) So, there is a great deal of creativity and cleverness to Haydn, which is illustrated in his symphonies.(Try the "Farewell" Symphony for example, where the diplomat Haydn sought to tell his Prince that his musicians needed a vacation!) Antal Dorati conducts the Philharmonia Hungarica, an orchestra made up of the finest musicians from Hungarian orchestras. I owned this set on LPs, and am lusting after the complete CD collection.
I heartily recommend this set of symphonies by Haydn. The liner notes are excellent, and hopefully, London allowed the producers of the CD to include them. These are delicious discoveries. Also, of course, included are the symphonies Haydn composed after he left the Esterhazy household and went to England.
There are some singular symphonies on the shelves that are also fine renditions of Haydn's symphonies, but rarely do you splurge with a complete set of anything where ALL recordings are first rate. Enjoy! And read up on "Papa" Haydn. He was a remarkable man in his own right! (He even wrote an opera about a man on the moon! Does that tell you something?)

I've owned this complete set of Haydn symphonies for at least a decade or more. While I enjoy period instrument sound and performance practice, you cannot get a complete set on period instruments (I was hoping Hogwood would finish his cycle but I understand it wasn't to be). In all honesty, I think the best period instrument interpretations outdo the modern instrument recordings in sheer energy amd agility, but in respect of modern instruments, Dorati, the pioneer, does an extraordinary job of bringing out the essential flavor and energy that was Haydn's symphonies. I don't like mixing and matching various orchestras and conductors, so buying this 32 CD set gets you all 104+ symphonies in one tidy package. The sound quality is very good considering the times, with a very forward midrange.

Antal Dorati's pioneering, complete cycle of Haydn's symphonies is a milestone in recording history. Here it is incarnated on 33 CDs. What you get are outstanding, superb performances. The orchestra - Hungarica Philharmonia - is just wonderful, and the interpretations are remarkable in their attention to detail and structure. In addition, the Decca analogue sound has never been better than here. The booklet is also excellent.

Dorati's pioneering efforts included also the Haydn operas, which recently have been collected and released in two boxes from Philips, and the 24 Minuets (Decca).

What about the competition, then? Adam Fischer's Haydn project on Nimbus offers also a complete cycle, now on Brilliant Classics at a bargain price for a very big box with 33 CDs and a brief booklet. Well, for one thing, Dorati's set is the classic cycle. Further, Dorati's readings are less extravagant than Fischer's - and in my view preferable. The sound is also better in the earlier Dorati set: a warm analogue sound in contrast to Fischer's chilly, all-digital sound, which also is very uneven. But Fischer's Haydn is less expensive: you can get his cycle for less than $100 from second-hand dealers. Despite that, Dorati's cycle should be your first choice. Moreover, if shelf space is an issue, the Dorati box is one inch slimmer and a half inch less tall.

Furthermore, there are selections of symphonies from Jochum (DG) and Scherchen (DG), of which I hold the latter in higher esteem due to its idiosyncrasy. In retrospect, however, Dorati's complete cycle has a unique classic status and is as such unchallenged. Thus I warmly recommend it as a part of the foundation of your collection in addition to Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, and Mozart symphony cycles, because this is delightful music that will last for a lifetime on a desert island.

[Note: this box is available brand new at amazon.co.uk, for £98.87.]

If it wasn't for this massive recording project, Hungarian-born conductor Antal Dorati would not have been acknowledged as a first-classconductor at a time when such giants as Leopold Stokowski, Herbert Von Karajan, George Solti and Leonard Bernstein were still conducting. Dorati is an exemplary exponent of classical music, which is also to say Classical Era music (1750-1800). Nevertheless, even if Dorati has a superb touch for this kind of repertoire, he is equally as brilliant in 20th century music and Romantic Era music, as his Tchaikovsky symphonies and ballets have proven. At an expensive price, this recording is still worth it. It's a legend in recorded history of classical music. No other conductor dared to take on such a monumental project as to record all 100 and plus symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn, the composer who by definition began the movement of Classical Era music. It was Mozart, who was his younger friend, that is better known today for this kind of music and moreover, musicologists believe he refined and perfected the style. But don't underestimate Papa Haydn. His music is beautiful, bursting with energy and lightness, elegance, warmth and melodic harmony that is so refreshing to hear especially in our own time which is full of stress.

Haydn's symphonies are not all similar sounding. Each symphony was unique, like the hand prints on people. Yes, at times they do tend to sound the same, possibly because so many of them were in the key of D. Nevertheless, they are music of individual merit. As his symphonies approached its later years and maturation, Haydn employed slights of ear and orchestral innovations that were considered new and bold in his time. The "surprise" in his "Surprise Symphony" is a thunderous "bang" in fortissimo by the orchestra after a melody that is rather bland and sleepy (which to me sounds like "Mary Had A Little Lamb"). The "Clock" Symphony is measured in a kind of "tick-tock" beat and is very very elegant and memorable, as it conjures up the image of a Rococco clock or a clock museum. The Paris Symphonies are an Austrian-German man's "trip" to Paris and his interpretation of French music. It sounds nothing at all like French music at the time although at times it nearly slips into the slow grandeur of the music of Baroque master Jean Baptiste Lully. The London Symphonies are among his best, with a kind of majesty and pomp typically associated with English royalty. If you listen carefully it's in the music. A similar thing occurs in the music to the "Oxford" Symphony. Haydn had visited Oxford to teach music and was awarded a doctorate. He composed music for that special event and the music is brooding, intellectual and somehow very very English.

Antal Dorati and his formidable Hungarica Philharmonica is at their very best in this set. The sound is crisp, gleaming and unbeatable. Even if you get the individualized sets of these symphonies, you will be treating yourself to some top-notch classical music. A must have for fans of Antal Dorati.

I substantially agree with the positive reviews that have already been posted for this complete set of the Haydn symphonies, led by distinguished conductor Antal Dorati at the helm of the Philharmonia Hungarica.

Yes, the choice of the band for this set surprises. Before this set, the PH was hardly known on commercial recordings. An unknown, making such a lovely splash; and that on a major commercial label like Decca? Surely new things were afoot to bring off such a project.

Are these readings sleepy? Well individual listeners must judge. Artur Rubinstein said he regularly and reliably asleep during a certain famous late Beethoven opus; so nobody is completely immune from sleep-putting scotomas, not even in western classical music by acknowledged great masters.

On the up side, Dorati leads stylishly phrased readings of all one hundred four symphonies. He journeys through vigor, wit, color, and the wealth of Haydn-ish panoramas without being asleep at the helm of his own band. Touches of rustic turn in strings, brass, or woodwinds are never boorish or disruptive of the musical flow. Given the tonal palette of Haydn's varied orchestrations, Dorati and his band are consistently attentive and musically caring. If even this high attention ends up putting you to sleep, best to move on.

Another note. The Adam Fischer set involves HIP practices with a period band. The whole set is very well played, competition to this one. No complaints there, either. Nobody could play this extensive symphonic journey with completely uniform sound and manners. Perhaps nobody should try. If a shopper is in doubt, why not get single releases from these two complete sets, and make up your own mind with your own ears?

Wanna go deeper in the catalog? For the Paris set of symphonies, add in Dutoit, Bernstein, Marriner, and/or von Karajan. For the late, London set - add in, Bernstein, or Beecham with his RPO. You can hardly go utterly off track with any of them, though your particular musical mileage as a listener may vary. Filling out, who wants to forgo Szell in Cleveland (who looks to be newly released in near future on Sony?), or that newly boxed Klemperer set on EMI?

Dorati, Philharmonia Hungarica? Just listen, they earned their long-lived stars. Truly, no brag.

When Dorati assumed the big challenge of recording the complete set of Haydn's Symphonies, many people smiled and erroneously thought themselves what was going on, behind this colossal effort.

It's not a mere coincidence that simultaneously at these ages, Rudolph Buchbinder has decided to record Hadyn's Piano Sonatas complete cycle.

Since the Fifties there was a progressing interest by discovering the musical scores that still were covered by the dust in many libraries, museums and Musical Academies.

And the final result was simply a fabulous achievement. The Hungarian Philharmonic never sounded so brilliant and highly effusive. The rapport with Dorati was instantaneous.

Don't miss this musical document.

This remains, hands down, the reference cycle of the Haydn Symphonies with one orchestra and conductor. While Adam Fischer's cycle may feature some better ensemble work here or there, Dorati simply has in abundance what most Haydn performances lack, and that is the respect and reverence for this fantastic music. Not one Haydn symphony can be considered negligible, and Dorati treats every one of the canonic one-hundred and four as a masterpiece.

There are so many fantastic moments throughout the cycle to highlight individually, but there are standouts even in this crowd. Dorati's handling of Haydn's C-major symphonies, which the composer usually wrote for festive purposes, are outstanding. Just listen to the thrilling opening to the Forty Eighth, imbued with an abundance of energy. Dorati's performance of Ninety remains the best available, beating out the likes of Bruggen, Rattle, and Fischer, among others, due to absolutely stunning work from those alto horns and by reveling in the ridiculousness of one of Haydn's most surprising finales. Ninety Seven is equally fine, due to crisp tempos and full-bodied brass playing. The minor-keyed symphonies are also particularly effective due to Dorati's keen understanding of the Haydn idiom. The first movement of the Hen does not wallow in romantic extremes like other conductors while his Farewell is about as touching a performance as you are likely to hear. Ninety Five stands, along with Harnoncourt's, as one of the two best performances of the C-minor London Symphony. Dorati's spirited and quick-witted Drumroll remains my favorite in this glutted field while his Chase symphony will never fail to bring a smile.

Indeed, since Dorati's seminal set, we've had dozen's of London cycles, from Solti, Szell, Davis, Bruggen, Karajan, Harnoncourt, and Fischer to name a few, just as many Paris sets, Bruggen, Marriner, Harnoncourt, Bernstein, fine S&D sets from Pinnock and Bruggen, as well as fabulous individual performances here and there from Fey, Rattle, Jacobs, and Harnoncourt. And, since Dorati, the rise (and fall) of the period movement as well as current historically informed performance trend have added new insights and improvements to Haydn performances, such as stereophonically placed violins, quicker minuets, and more clarity of part writing. Indeed, to many, Dorati's minuets will sound dated and old-fashioned, his traditional orchestral layout somewhat grey-toned, and the ensemble work sometimes wanting. Thank being said, I challenge any listener to find performance with more vigor, more brio, more energy, more humor, more life, more joy, and more honesty than these performances, over thirty-three compact discs. Buy it now and enjoy it for the rest of your life. I assure you, these are performances to which you will turn over the years with a constant sense of rediscovery and joy.