Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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!

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.

When you compose over 100 symphonies there are bound to be a few duds right? Not in the case of Haydn. Sure some are more memorable than others, but I have to say that as I have collected all the volumes in this set by Nimbus Records, Volume 3 contains some of my favorite works.

I'm more suited to comment on the technical qualities - and love the fact that every volume is a full digital recording. I also appreciate the fact that Nimbus is able to get all 5 CDs into a double-wide jewel case...really helps save on shelf space!

If you're looking to start and/or complete a Haydn symphony collection this is the set I recommend.

This set of Adam Fischer's traversal of Haydn's symphonies is perhaps the jewel of the entire series. After over a decade of Haydn performing and recording most of the early bugs in recording venue and playing together had long been resolved, and the group as here constituted plays with great confidence and tremendous brio. This is a vital selection, too, containing some of Haydn's very best symphonies, worthy to stand with the greatest of all. And a few, the serious "Sturm und Drang", have the most passionate and serious symphonic music Haydn composed.

The general level of playing is very high, especially among the soloists, but there are some lapses which can cause a raised eyebrow. However, these are not so common as to prove bothersome. I prefer this groups easy way with Haydn to the slightly frentic quality too often popping up with historic groups efforts in these pieces, a tendency made worse by their notoriously anemic string sections, at least as realized on the digital medium. I am delighted to report that Fischer's orchestra of 'modern instruments' (A funny phrase when you realize some of the violins used may pre-date Haydn!) capture almost all of the delightful color contrasts and lightness found in Haydn when played by original groups without thinning out and sacrificing beauty of ensemble.

In comparisions with other recordings from my admittedly excessive Haydn collection I was especially pleased at how well the performances on this Cd set stood up to many of my all-time favorite performances in this music. Moreover, they almost always have a little bit different take on one movement or another in every work, offering the delight of a new window onto this most evergreen of composers. Some of the solo work is especially memorable, and I found myself replaying favorite movements - a sure sign of a winning collection. I preferred these to another modern set, the performances found on Helios with Goodman and the Hanover Band; it's impossible not to notice the greater finesse displayed by Fischer's strings. Too, Goodman's way with these works, though never foursquare and certainly well-conceived and in places genuinely searching, rarely captures the personailty and wit bubbling over so constantly in the Fischer set. And personality and wit are certainly major staples in Haydn's recipe book.

If you already own later symphonies but do not have any from this period then this would be a great catch. The major competition in this group of middle symphonies, the Pinnock, was not as well recorded, and I personally think the Fischer are slightly better performances to boot.

Try starting out with Symphony 48 - you might be surprised such a work was written so early!

Excellent performance...each symphony has its own beauty. I would definitely buy another set of Haydn's symphonies by this same conductor and orchestra.

Some say Haydn's ingenuity is even greater than that of Mozart's or Beethoven's. When listening to this brilliantly played set, I find myself becoming a convert of the belief. Haydn experimented with a variety of musical tools in these works. Surprising twists and turns are abundant. You will hear chamber serenade, harpsichord run, or violin solo in the most unexpected spots. Instruments are sometimes played in very unconventional ways resulting in exotic sounds - similar to what Berlioz and Mahler did later. Structure is toyed with in many symphonies, especially in the early ones.

In Austro-Hungrarian Orchestra, Adam Fischer finds an all-in chef's toolkit needed to cook these delightful ingredients. The woodwinds not only sing but also coo and meow. Strings melt your heart to a puddle with their exquisite pianissimo. Horns are expressive yet stylish. The whole orchestra knows how to knock themselves out when the music calls for it. The overall timbre is unlike any other orchestra I've ever heard, period or conventional. It's bright, edgy and folksy at the same time. It sounds like a virtuosic chamber ensemble rather than an orchestra except in the big symphonies. I believe the closest thing to their sound is Vienna Philharmonic playing Johann Strauss waltzes. Throw in a hint of gypsy flavor then it would be even closer.

Because this is a massive 33-CD set, there are inevitably a few imperfections. In a handful of spots the strings are not perfectly together. Adding to this, some of the violins have very distinctive tones which don't blend well with others when the music gets energetic. As to the engineering, some of the symphonies recorded early in the cycle are captured with too much reverberation, especially some London symphonies which sound soft-edged. But let me assure you the vast majority of the 100 plus symphonies have been recorded with crystal-clear brilliance.

One may find more sophisticated and smooth playing in some conventional performances (Colin Davis and Jochum) or crisper articulations in some period recordings (Bruggen and Pinnock). But Fischer and his hand-picked orchestra deliver more character and expressiveness than in any Haydn performances I've ever heard. Harnoncourt comes close but Fischer's set has more smiles. And his orchestra has the devilish ability to accommodate any mood Haydn's score throws at them - whether it's charm, wit, panache, or pathos. Their playing in slow movements is simply inimitable.

This set will be the source of joy for many Haydn lovers whether they are beginners just opening up the treasure chest or seasoned collectors with many other Haydn CDs. According to others' opinions, it compares favorably to Dorati's box, the only other complete set which I have not heard.

One final point - I wrote the review without the consideration of the price. In other words, this set is worth acquiring at any price.