My Joseph Haydn
symphony marathon is over: twelve symphonies in three different sets
by three different orchestras and conductors add up to over 36
listenings (over, since some of the recordings I listened to twice).
All in all, a most enjoyable experience. Haydn (like Handel, Bach,
and Mozart) always knew never to go on for too long. Unlike some, we
could mention.
My listening was to
Thomas Beecham and the Royal Philharmonic (1958), Otto
Klemperer and the Philharmonia (early 1960s) and Colin Davis
and the Concertgebouw Orchestra (1970s). Sonically, all three
recordings are perfectly satisfactory, even with the event of time.
Musically, all three have something to offer, and I will part with
none of them. However, the clear winner for me is Thomas Beecham's
set with the RPO. There is a love of the music with Beecham, a
lifetime's experience of tempo and phrasing, an élan and joie
de vivre, a positive swagger in some of the minuets, a
devil-may-care polishing off of the finales.
Sadly, record producers and concert managers have discovered that ensembles such as RPO/Beecham, Philharmonia/Klemperer or Concertgebouw/Davis are expensive. Better to promote the period instrument band of 25 players of the Esterhazy Promenade Baroque Players conducted by Jules Clavecin. One quarter of the price to hire, and you can tell critics, sponsors, advertisers, promoters and opinion-makers that Jules and his mixed professional and amateur players are “what Haydn would have expected”. Which may be true, but I can assure you that Haydn preferred the professional orchestras of Paris and London and would have picked Beecham and the RPO in preference to the pseudo- baroque lot. Music is for listening to. And in Haydn Beecham is the best listening.
And a pause for music for a while as I head off to Bangkok and Luang Prabang to re-charge my batteries and prepare for more listening marathons to come.
Sadly, record producers and concert managers have discovered that ensembles such as RPO/Beecham, Philharmonia/Klemperer or Concertgebouw/Davis are expensive. Better to promote the period instrument band of 25 players of the Esterhazy Promenade Baroque Players conducted by Jules Clavecin. One quarter of the price to hire, and you can tell critics, sponsors, advertisers, promoters and opinion-makers that Jules and his mixed professional and amateur players are “what Haydn would have expected”. Which may be true, but I can assure you that Haydn preferred the professional orchestras of Paris and London and would have picked Beecham and the RPO in preference to the pseudo- baroque lot. Music is for listening to. And in Haydn Beecham is the best listening.
And a pause for music for a while as I head off to Bangkok and Luang Prabang to re-charge my batteries and prepare for more listening marathons to come.
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