Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 40-54 [Box Set] [Box set]

Franz Joseph Haydn (Composer), Adam Fischer (Conductor), Eckhard Seifert (Conductor), Rainer Honeck (Conductor), Rainer Kuchl (Conductor), Wolfgang Redik (Conductor), Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra
• Conductor: Adam Fischer, Eckhard Seifert, Rainer Honeck, Rainer Kuchl, Wolfgang Redik
• Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn
• Audio CD (November 18, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 5
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Nimbus Records
• ASIN: B0000037HU
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,997 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Symphony No.40 In F Major: I. Allegro

2. Symphony No.40 In F Major: II. Andante piu tosto Allegretto

3. Symphony No.40 In F Major: III. Menuet & Trio

4. Symphony No.40 In F Major: IV. Final - Fuga: Allegro

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Symphony No.43 In E Flat Major: I. Allegro

2. Symphony No.43 In E Flat Major: II. Adagio

3. Symphony No.43 In E Flat Major: III. Menuetto & Trio

4. Symphony No.43 In E Flat Major: IV. Finale: Allegro

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Disc: 3

1. Symphony No.46 In B Major: I. Vivace

2. Symphony No.46 In B Major: II. Poco adagio

3. Symphony No.46 In B Major: III. Menuet & Trio: Allegretto

4. Symphony No.46 In B Major: IV. Finale: Presto e scherzando - L'istesso Tempo di Menuet

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Disc: 4

1. Symphony No.49 In F Minor: I. Adagio

2. Symphony No.49 In F Minor: II. Allegro di molto

3. Symphony No.49 In F Minor: III. Menuet & Trio

4. Symphony No.49 In F Minor: IV. Finale: Presto

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Disc: 5

1. Symphony No.52 In C Minor: I. Allegro assai con brio

2. Symphony No.52 In C Minor: II. Andante

3. Symphony No.52 In C Minor: III. Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto

4. Symphony No.52 In C Minor: IV. Finale: Presto

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great performances with great acoustics, March 5, 2001

By 

"songbear" (Ashburn, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 40-54 [Box Set] (Audio CD)

These performances are paced just right and the Haydn Orchestra brings a crispness and vitality to these works I've not heard on other recordings. This is not just another "good for a discount set" kind of collection. These recordings are first rate. I plan on acquiring all the volumes in this set, and the affordable pricing makes that achievable. I hope they tackle the complete Mozart Symphonies next. Highly recommend.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This man's (Haydn's) fecundity was breathtaking!, November 13, 2004

By 

Stan Vernooy (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 40-54 [Box Set] (Audio CD)

For some reason, many music lovers seem to think that Haydn's first worthwhile Symphony was #94. Well, I haven't heard them all yet (although I've heard at least half of them), but I can happily verify that the variety and consistent excellence of the entire series of 104 symphonies - including the first 93 - have no equal anywhere in all of music literature; - that's right, ANYWHERE, including the Mozart in comparison to whom Haydn is often unfairly disparaged. Mozart composed 40 symphonies (#37 isn't his), but the first 20 are almost never performed because they're simply forgettable.

Not so with Haydn. I won't claim that all 15 symphonies in this collection are masterpieces, but several of them are, and NONE of them are duds. How this man managed to maintain his flow of wonderful musical ideas, decade after decade, is one of the most remarkable mysteries in the history of human achievement. Remember, in addition to 104 symphonies, he produced what is arguably the largest collection of truly outstanding chamber music by any composer in history, including INVENTING the string quartet as we know it today. In his spare time, he composed what is still today probably the best concerto for trumpet and orchestra ever written, as well as the magnificent oratorio "The Creation" and other works of consistent excellence, too numerous to mention. Why, oh why, when the discussion turns to "Who was the greatest composer of all time?", does the conversation center exclusively around Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart (with a few people parading their avant-garde credentials by advocating Stravinsky's consistently ugly "music")? Haydn does not take a back seat to any of those people.

With regard to the specific works and performances on these CD's, you are unlikely to ever do better than this set. The sound is very fine, if lacking in the latest word in brilliance that you can sometimes get on the very latest state-of-the-art recordings. Fischer obviously loves these works, and the orchestra plays with warmth and enthusiasm.

Get this set now! There is a distressing (I would actually use the word "sickening") trend toward recording any piece composed prior to Beethoven on those indescribably ugly "original instruments" that are all the rage now. In the future you might find it difficult to get recordings of these works performed on listenable instruments. So buy it!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy of Papa Haydn's Approval!, August 9, 2000

By 

C. Greco - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 40-54 [Box Set] (Audio CD)

Conductor Adam Fischer has accomplished what few other of his peers can claim: he has recorded all of Joseph Haydn's 104 Symphonies, which are available in a series of volumes (albiet not together in a massive set, which would be enjoyable). Not only has Fischer done this, but his renditions of Haydn's works are utterly superb! My own favorite Haydn symphony has long been the 48th, his "Maria Theresia." The energy and passion of the work, I submit, exceeds anything else the composer ever accomplished in his symphonic endeavors. And Fischer captures the 48th symphony with staggering accuracy and dynamic range. This point perhaps best summarizes ALL of the conductor's versions of Haydn's symphonies. Working with the polished and richly-textured Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra (a name perfectly suited for a group attempting these works) Fischer manages to capture the essential excitement, warmth, emotional surge, soothing undertones, and most importantly, the sheer musical vision of each of Haydn's symphonies.

While these works come as a set, one should not make the tragic mistake of interpreting these symphonies as a long, entertwined linkage of Haydnian thought; each of Haydn's 104 symphonic visions are unique, vastly different expressions of musical observation and explorations of musical intellect. He wrote one hundred and four symphonies! That number itself bespeaks the epic breadth of Papa Haydn's musical vision; Mozart had good reason to refer to his close friend as "The Master"!

The gloriously rich and epic history of recorded classical music will eventually hold Fischer as one of, if not THE, premiere Haydn interpreteur -- and rightfully so. This set comes HIGHLY recommended for any admirer of Joseph Haydn's accomplishments, and indeed any lover of the classical genre as a whole.