Haydn String Quartets complete

[verismissimo]

For his big gloves, MickyD

And you know what They say about men with big gloves

Big hands?

[amateur51]

Big hands?

Exactly that

[Gordon]

Moving on the the complete symphonies - I guess most of us would say that Dorati's was the first set. Apparently he was pipped by a scratch Viennese band [made up of VPO/VSO players] conducted by one Marzendorfer who made a set for LP started in 1968 and issued on 49 LPs from 1972 and now transferred to 31 CDs but not commercially. They are supposed to be early HIP performances using specially made drums in the late baroque manner. Produced by Kurt List who did work in London for Everest, Westminster and Pye Nixa. According to the description here they are echt Viennese HIP!! whatever that is - perhaps a bit of Harnoncourt/CMV influence? CRQ requires a subscription and is available on line as well as print.

You can hear these performances on internet radio here. Currently streaming at 192 kBit/s. They started last October 2nd [a Wednesday] and continue to be broadcast weekly at 15.00 Australian Eastern Standard time. GMT is supposedly 10 hrs behind AET so tomorrow at 15.00 in Oz is 05.00 here!!! However, the announcer [a bit Classic FM sounding, their 8 PM their time news came from the BBC!!] just said it was 17 mins to 7, yes 7 o clock AM, and my watch says 17 to 8 PM here. So there is obviously a local time variation there. Oh Well, all in the service of Art.

[Dave2002]

As I probably mentioned earlier, I already had nearly all the Buchberger survey within the 150 disc Brilliant Classics Haydn box. However, at the time that was released, nine of the string quartets had either not yet been recorded, or at the very least, not released. Buying the 'separately' would mean purchasing three double albums at a cost or rather more than the full set (if bought from JPC). That box arrived today. I think what I will do is rip the 9 'missing' quartets and burn them to three CD-Rs to add to the big Haydn box, then keep the box of 23 CDs (I'll remove the CD-ROM to the big box) in the car.

At the current jpc prices that seems a good strategy - http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/deta...e/hnum/6927043. Have you identified the quartets missing from the big box? From your post I surmise that they may be spread over more than 3 CDs on any that are available individually.

[Bryn]

At the current jpc prices that seems a good strategy - http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/deta...e/hnum/6927043. Have you identified the quartets missing from the big box? From your post I surmise that they may be spread over more than 3 CDs on any that are available individually.

It's actually precisely 3 CDs, those comprising Op. 50 Nos. 4-6, Op. 54 and Op. 76 Nos 4-6. Eight of them were the last to be recorded, and the, Op. 54 No. 2, though recorded earlier, remained unissued awaiting Nos. 1 and 3.

[Dave2002]

It's actually precisely 3 CDs, those comprising Op. 50 Nos. 4-6, Op. 54 and Op. 76 Nos 4-6. Eight of them were the last to be recorded, and the, Op. 54 No. 2, though recorded earlier, remained unissued awaiting Nos. 1 and 3.

The jpc option definitely seems to be the best option under the circumstances. I expect a future big Haydn box will contain those missing discs - this seems more probable than that Brilliant will substitute another string quartet in these works for such boxes in the next few years.

Your note that there's little vibrato was slightly helpful. I hadn't specifically noticed this before you mentioned it. I have been listening to some of these recently, and indeed there is very little. Later on I will compare some with other recordings I have. My earlier remark about some intonation errors, though I feel it was correct, was not really fully applicable. Since carrying out a more extensive listening over the last day or two I can say that there are hardly any serious lapses - which in a way makes it sadder that one or two small problems got through and those were among the first performances I listened to. This does seem a very good set which I'm enjoying greatly.

[amateur51]

The jpc option definitely seems to be the best option under the circumstances. I expect a future big Haydn box will contain those missing discs - this seems more probable than that Brilliant will substitute another string quartet in these works for such boxes in the next few years.

Your note that there's little vibrato was slightly helpful. I hadn't specifically noticed this before you mentioned it. I have been listening to some of these recently, and indeed there is very little. Later on I will compare some with other recordings I have. My earlier remark about some intonation errors, though I feel it was correct, was not really fully applicable. Since carrying out a more extensive listening over the last day or two I can say that there are hardly any serious lapses - which in a way makes it sadder that one or two small problems got through and those were among the first performances I listened to. This does seem a very good set which I'm enjoying greatly.

Those sudden changes of critical direction were worthy of a BaL reviewer - stand by for the call, Dave2002: ok:

[Dave2002]

Those sudden changes of critical direction were worthy of a BaL reviewer - stand by for the call, Dave2002: ok:

Do you have the set ams - or have you listened to any of it? I don't feel I changed direction - but it was just unfortunate that my initial sampling hit upon a problem which in the light of subsequent listening could surely have been fixed. The members of this quartet can, and usually do, play very well. Some other quartets I have heard are nothing like so capable, and that includes some professional quartets, though sometimes technical deficiencies can be compensated for by other insights.

Am I also supposed to rewrite my comments re vibrato, as just a few minutes ago, I heard a smidgen in the quartets I'm currently listening to?

[amateur51]

Do you have the set ams - or have you listened to any of it? I don't feel I changed direction - but it was just unfortunate that my initial sampling hit upon a problem which in the light of subsequent listening could surely have been fixed. The members of this quartet can, and usually do, play very well. Some other quartets I have heard are nothing like so capable, and that includes some professional quartets, though sometimes technical deficiencies can be compensated for by other insights.

Am I also supposed to rewrite my comments re vibrato, as just a few minutes ago, I heard a smidgen in the quartets I'm currently listening to?

If you heard it, you heard it Dave2002. But the anti-wobblers are not saying wobbling is verboten - they say that vibrato applied with a broad brush everywhere all the time is excessive and frankly lazy. So, discreetly used, it's an expressive device.

I've listened to the Buchberger quartet's set on Spotify & I'm greatly enamoured

[Gordon]

I must stop coming to this site, after some dithering you lot have convinced me that the Buchbergers are worth having so I've just succumbed and ordered the Buchbergers from jpc, at that price it would be silly not to, wouldn't it!

Having got to the site and found them I also saw the symphony set from Fischer which is also very competitive, so, having only a few alternatives to Dorati - some of Hannover Band/Goodman, that cycle that Hyperion never finished - and some full modern versions of the late Londons I also succumbed to that too. I know, I know....if I watch for the postman she'll never know. I suppose I could claim against tax as a self employed person......needed for professional purposes of course. Must get that form off soon.

Oh dear, it didn't stop there, further browsing found an 18 CD [!!] set of Haydn's Scottish [16CD] and Welsh [3] folk song arrangements, all 429 of them!! Oh well it's only money, E18, and dwi'n deall Cymraeg, aber nicht Schottisch, y'ken the noo! I guess they're all in English though Wee Rabbie would be upset. The singers' names do sound Scottish - Lorna Anderson, Jamie MacDougall [complete with kilt] - but not Welsh!! Why not Katherine Jenkins? Accompaniments are by a trio [violin, cello, piano] not solo piano so that'll be an interesting change. In case you're interested here is the complete Brilliant description with track listtings.

http://www.brilliantclassics.com/release.aspx?id=FM02095921

The CDs come with a booklet with texts and Gramophone thought they were good!! They are also available in smaller sets.

'Lorna Anderson and Jamie MacDougall are the ideal singers, both with a healthy, natural resonance, intelligent relish for the texts and unfailingly reliable intonation.' Gramophone.

'In the vigorous songs he (MacDougall) is excellent...Equally consistent is the standard of performance. The singers ideally suited to their tasks, the instrumentalists unfailingly lively and stylish in their playing.' Gramophone.

That order atracts only 1 P&P charge of E5.99!! So E75 gets me 74 CDs. They can't all be bad. Those people at jpc must be wondering why there has been a sudden run on the Buchbergers from the UK. We could have done a bulk buy!!

PS I already have a set of the Haydn keyboard sonatas from Brilliant and they are period performances and very good too. Working steadly though them.

[gurnemanz]

That folk song box is a snip but I think I'll resist for now. I have, however, just bought the 3CD songs set with Emmy Ameling and Jörg Demus on fortepiano, also Brilliant, which is excellent. I also really like the 10 Cd piano trio box from the van Swieten Trio, which I got quite cheaply a few years ago.

[Dave2002]

That order atracts only 1 P&P charge of E5.99!! So E75 gets me 74 CDs. They can't all be bad. Those people at jpc must be wondering why there has been a sudden run on the Buchbergers from the UK. We could have done a bulk buy!!

PS I already have a set of the Haydn keyboard sonatas from Brilliant and they are period performances and very good too. Working steadly though them.

Gordon

I hope we didn't mislead you and take you too far astray. The 2008 box is available for around £70-75 - which possibly has most of the folk song material, and the symphonies etc., plus a large quantity of baryton music. What it lacks is a few CDs of the Buchberger quartet cycle, as Bryn has pointed out. I have just ordered the quartets in order to get the missing CDs at a reasonable price. Perhaps I didn't really need to as most of the material is on Spotify, but I still don't trust streaming and download services enough to rely on that for everything.

For myself, I now have two sets of Fischer's symphonies, as it was a bargain when it first came out, and then I bought the Haydn box because I still reckoned it was cheaper that way for the items I didn't have already.

I agree about the keyboard works.

I feel sure that Brilliant will update the Haydn box eventually - currently £75.99 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haydn-Boxset...aydn+brilliant

[MickyD]

That folk song box is a snip but I think I'll resist for now. I have, however, just bought the 3CD songs set with Emmy Ameling and Jörg Demus on fortepiano, also Brilliant, which is excellent. I also really like the 10 Cd piano trio box from the van Swieten Trio, which I got quite cheaply a few years ago.

Thank you very much for bringing the songs box to my attention...I didn't realise this had been recorded by Ameling and Demus, I only have their delightful collaboration in a disc of Schubert songs on Harmonia Mundi. I agree with you over the same label's Van Swieten box, very nice indeed.

[MickyD]

PS I would also have gone for that 18 CD Haydn folk song box, but the performances are not with fortepiano, which to my mind is a shame.

[Gordon]

PS I would also have gone for that 18 CD Haydn folk song box, but the performances are not with fortepiano, which to my mind is a shame.

Package of delights turned up today!! Regarding the folk songs, I don't find the absence of a fortepiano a problem given the delightful performances that these CDs provide. The tenor sounds remarkably like Robert Tear who was Welsh of course. The box contains all the texts but not Welsh or Gaelic, only in English!!

Sampling the quartets suggests I'm in for a feast!! I had heard sme of the symphonies before when they were issued by Nimbus. Sound a bit resonant as was their style.