Haydn Symphonies

Various artists | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: March 20, 2012
• Label: eOne Music
• Copyright: (C) 2012 Vanguard Classics
• Total Length: 4:47:43
• Genres:
  • Classical
• ASIN: B007Q067V8
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,428 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)
  • #74 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Albums > Classical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the best Haydn symphonies ever recorded April 7, 2012

By Larry VanDeSande TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:MP3 Music

If you like Haydn and are satisfied with downloads, this collections offers some of the finest recordings of Haydn's symphonies ever made. David Blum, a Los Angelino that established the New York-based Esterhazy Orchestra in 1962, was a pioneer in recording authentic Haydn before Antal Dorati recorded all the symphonies for London in the 1970s. He was the first to used a chamber-sized orchestra of about 25 and used what were were then newly cleaned-up scores.

Blum specialized in recording what were then Haydn's lesser-known symphonies; all his recordings except Symphonies 52, 59 "Fire" and 75 are included in this set. Best from Blum in this group are the Symphonies 60, subtitled Il Distrato or the Absent-Minded One, a humorous symphony taken from stage music; the vastly underrated Symphony No. 70; and No. 73 subtitled La Chasse or hunt. The latter is one of a half-dozen symphonies Haydn wrote the use four hunting horns in the orchestra; in this case they are most effective in the closing pages. Blum was among the first Haydn interpreters to exploit the festive and grand Symphony No. 90.

Everything Blum does is way above the fold even today, when Haydn interpreters and recordings are as plentiful as wallpaper. But almost a decade and a half after his 1998 death, there still hasn't been another Haydn interpreter that matched Blum's abilities to find hidden voices in the music and to find the universally correct shading of dynamics and pacing. If you think every Haydn recording sounds alike, compare any of Blum's recordings against any others you know.

The others in the set are taken from Danish conductor Moegens Woeldike's set of the final half-dozen "London" symphonies (Nos. 101 and 102) that are still prized by collectors; Antonio Janigro's stylish Nos.... 22 "Philospher" and 26 "Lamentatione"; and Hans Swarowsky's Symphonies 30 and 31, "Hornsigal", the latter played very differently than we hear it today -- with kappelmeiterish slow speeds and horn playing emphasizing tone and not the bell.

These recordings were all made during the 1950s and 1960s for Vanguard's Bach Guild label in the United States. The stereo sound is good on Blum, variably less so on the earlier mono Woeldike, Swarowsky and Janigro, though everything is listenable and nothing is antique. The players use modern instruments; these are not period performances and were recorded before the advent of that style. Blum uses score editions newly minted when he recorded them, correcting mistakes that had been made for decades.

This download includes some of the finest Haydn symphonies recordings ever made and there have been many great ones. For $5.99, this is one of the great bargains of the century as most of this music is no longer regularly avialable in any other medium. You might occasionally find a CD of Blum's and the Swarowsky 31 is available through Haydn House but most of these are long gone except for the stray cutout or LP. If you value the best Haydn interpreters, spend the $6 and download this set before it's gone. Read more ›

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Music at a Terrific Price March 31, 2012

By Steve Vrana HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

I generally don't review classical music because I'm a bit out of my element here. Of the six thousand-plus LPs, cassettes and CDs in my collection, only about a hundred are classical music. However, I have augmented that with a number of MP3 downloads over the past couple years.

While this is not as extensive as X5 Music Group's "99 Most Essential" series, this is still nearly five hours of music at a very reasonable price. Also, please note that all tracks are licensed from Vanguard Classics. [All taken from out-of-print CDs from the Vanguard label.] In addition, these are complete works, so you are not getting piecemeal portions of Haydn's work.

From a technical standpoint, all bitrates range between 206 and 320 kbps. Most audiophiles accept 192 kbps as the minimum rate for providing CD-quality sound, so this is pretty good (especially if you're playing these tracks on your computer or MP3 player and not a state-of-the-art stereo). Overall, if you're looking to add to your classical music collection, you can't go wrong here. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Defects April 2, 2012

By Jon Voskuil

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

The music is great, and a terrific value!

HOWEVER: As of the date I downloaded the album (4/1/12), the tracks include lots of audio defects. I've listened to three of the symphonies so far (91, 101, 102) and have found seven defects in three tracks: track 20 (at 2:30, 3:42), track 21 (at 2:24, 3:00, 4:48), and track 41 (at 4:00, 5:19).

I sent this information to Amazon. They immediately refunded my purchase price, referred the information to their technicians, and asked me to check back in a few days for an updated album. I'm not sure how that'll be indicated -- maybe by a new release date? The listing as of this writing says "Original Release Date: March 20, 2012."

So 5 stars for the music and 5 stars for Amazon customer service (as usual), but 1 star for the defects.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars great recordings, some flaws & mislabellings April 1, 2013

By T. Anderson

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

this is a wonderful set of a handful of haydn's symphonies. a couple other reviewers have talked about the recordings, so i won't rehash. suffice it to say they are excellent.

a few of the tracks are mislabelled, though, involving symphonies 31 & 73. they are:

symphony 73 mvmt 2 is really 31 mvmt 1
symphony 73 mvmt 3 is really 73 mvmt 2
symphony 73 mvmt 4 is really 73 mvmt 3
symphony 31 mvmt 1 is really 73 mvmt 4

73 mvmt 1 and the rest of 31 are labelled correctly, although a few of the Hob numbers are screwy. but that's easy to fix.

one other problem i had is that the 2nd movement of symphony 81 would not play at all. i tried re-downloading it, and it still would not play. not sure why. edit: i tried a third time, and that was the charm. it plays.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Better deals are out there May 2, 2012

By Matthew J. Hill

Format:MP3 Music

Personally, I purchased the complete Haydn Symphonies as recorded by Nimbus and the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra in an MP3 CD format. For $32 you can get every Haydn Symphony in a complete set. They are already in 320 kbps MP3 format on the CDs, so if you want a digital copy it is as easy as copying the files from the CD to your computer. Rather than paying $10 for 13 symphonies, I would rather pay $32 for all 106. You will have to wait for it to ship, but the wait is worth it.

Complete Symphonies - MP3 Edition

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every cent May 25, 2013

By JB

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have added this collection to my already huge tunes library. Amazon's great deals on MP3 collections are a great way to expose yourself to hard-to-find works by great composers without breaking the bank. I use these collections as background music around the house while the kids are studying or I am reading. The quality is perfect for that.