Bal 16.09.23 - Mozart: Symphony no 35 in D (K385) "Haffner"

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

10.30 a.m.
Building a Library: Roger Parker chooses his favourite recording of Mozart Symphony No 35 in D, 'Haffner', K 385.

In July 1782, Leopold Mozart wrote to his son. He wanted a symphony for Salzburg family friend Sigismund Haffner to celebrate the ennoblement of his son, Sigismund Jnr. In a famous letter, Mozart replied from Vienna "I am up to my eyes in work... And now you ask me to write a new symphony! I must just spend the night over it, for that is the only way... I shall work as fast as possible and, as far as haste permits, I shall turn out good work."

When Leopold returned the score and parts from Salzburg ahead of the symphony's first public performance, in Vienna the following year, Mozart wrote back "My new Haffner symphony has positively amazed me... I had forgotten every single note of it. It must surely produce a good effect." And, with a tweak to the orchestration and some judicious pruning, it surely did. The celebratory music, with its exuberant outer movements, was an instant hit with the Viennese public and, unusually, even the Emperor stayed until the end of the concert.

Available recordings:-

Orchestra Mozart, Claudio Abbado *
Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado *
Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado (DVD/Blu-ray)
Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado (DVD/Blu-ray)
Millenium Orchestra, Leonardo García Alarcón
Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim (DVD/Blu-ray)
English Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Rudolf Barshai
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham *
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Sir Thomas Beecham *
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Eduard van Beinum
Prague Philharmonia, Jiri Belohlavek*
Prague Sinfonia Orchestra, Christian Benda
Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein
London Mozart Players, Harry Blech
Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Karl Böhm (DVD)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm (DG)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm (Orfeo)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm (DVD)
Südwestfunk Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden, Ernest Bour *
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra, Iona Brown
Orchestra of the 18th Century, Frans Brüggen
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Sylvain Cambreling *
Nova Filarmonia Portuguesa, Alvaro Cassuto
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Sergiu Celibidache *
Concerto Köln
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Darlington*
Staatskapelle Dresden, Sir Colin Davis
Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit *
Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit*
Danish National Chamber Orchestra, Adam Fischer
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay *
English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Gielen
London Mozart Players, Jane Glover *
Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Hans Graf*
Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt *
Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood *
Symphony Orchestra Baden Baden, Christopher Hogwood *
Concertgebouworkest, Eugen Jochum *
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan (live Salzburg)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan (Washington)
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan *
Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan (live)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan *
Orchestra Sinfonica Della Rai Di Torino, Herbert von Karajan *
Bamberg SO, Joseph Keilberth
Wiener Philharmoniker, Istvan Kertesz *
Orchester des 13. Tons, Ulf Klausenitzer *
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Otto Klemperer *
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Zdenek Kosler *
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Josef Krips *
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik
Wiener Philharmoniker, Rafael Kubelik *
Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Giuseppe Lanzetta *
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf *
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ferdinand Leitner
Wiener Philharmoniker, James Levine
Mozart Akademie Amsterdam, Jaap ter Linden
Philharmonia Hungarica, Peter Maag *
Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Peter Maag
Prague Chamber Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras *
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras*
Slovak Sinfonietta, Matthias Manasi
Orchestre Lamoureux, Igor Markevitch
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner *
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner *
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Pierre Monteux*
Standard Symphony Orchestra (San Francisco), Pierre Monteux
Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Helmut Muller-Bruhl *
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Karl Münchinger
Wiener Philharmoniker, Riccardo Muti
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Gordan Nikolić (SACD)s
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Sir Roger Norrington *
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Paul Paray
Camerata Salzburg, Bernhard Paumgartner *
Persius Ensemble *
The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner
Philharmonisches Orchester Erfurt, Wolfgang Rögner
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Vienna Symphony, Hermann Scherchen *
Cappella Andrea Barca, András Schiff (DVD/Blu-ray)
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Carl Schuricht
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Schuricht
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Ignat Solzhenitsyn *
New York Philharmonic, Leopold Stokowski*
Dresden Staatskapelle, Otmar Suitner *
Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell *
English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate *
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt (DVD)
Symphony Nova Scotia, Georg Tintner *
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini *
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini
Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York, Arturo Toscanini
Camerata Salzburg, Sandor Vegh *
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter *
New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
European Festival Orchestra, Johannes Walter *
Gürzenich Orchestra Köln, Günter Wand
Capella Istropolitana, Barry Wordsworth

(* = download only)

[richardfinegold]

Heroic work as usual Alpiie. I’ve recently renewed acquaintance with my first, OK/Philharmonia, which I still really like. My preferred is Pinnock but I have several that I enjoy, particularly Krips

[silvestrione]

Gosh, HvK took that one around the world a bit!
For me, Maag or Mackerras, though a soft spot for my first, ECO/Baremboim

[Pulcinella]

Mine's the very bottom of Alpie's list (but only because it's alphabetical): Capella Istropolitana, Barry Wordsworth, in a Naxos 5-CD box set of 15 Famous Symphonies (Mozart).
Given top billing (with a key and three stars) in the bargain basement department in the 2009 Penguin Guide.

[MickyD]

What about the Academy of Ancient Music's version? They were surely one of the first to do the symphony on period instruments, and it still sounds good to my ears.

[edashtav]

For me Claudio Abbado and the the Lucerne F.O.. I went to hear them perform Bruckner’s 5th Symphony and came away singing the praises of their first half: Mozart’s 35th!

[richardfinegold]

What about the Academy of Ancient Music's version? They were surely one of the first to do the symphony on period instruments, and it still sounds good to my ears.

I was trying to pick between them and Pinnock. Not much differentiates them, but I think Pinnock has just a bit more bounce.

[Nick Armstrong]

A shout here for the genial Josef Krips / Concertgebouw recording (Of course it won’t get a look in during the programme )

[edashtav]

A shout here for the genial Josef Krips / Concertgebouw recording (Of course it won’t get a look in during the programme )

I’veheard the Krips recording and ‘genial’ is an apt descriptor for his music-making.

[Nick Armstrong]

I’veheard the Krips recording and ‘genial’ is an apt descriptor for his music-making.

Mot and juste are my middle names

[Alison]

For me Claudio Abbado and the the Lucerne F.O.. I went to hear them perform Bruckner’s 5th Symphony and came away singing the praises of their first half: Mozart’s 35th!

Yes I remember that Haffner very well. Exceptional.

[MickyD]

I was trying to pick between them and Pinnock. Not much differentiates them, but I think Pinnock has just a bit more bounce.

I always preferred the recorded Decca sound that the AAM enjoyed.

[smittims]

I wonder if the review will mention the two versions of the work, with and without flutes and clarinets. Chris Hogwood recorded both as part of his compendium. I too like the sound of the AAM as recorded by Oiseau-Lyre, having spent some days ow listening to their Haydn, which is equally superb. I think Hogwood cultivated a warmer sound anyway where Pinnock and the English Concert are brighter. I belieev the two ensembles contains several of the same principal players. The personnnel of the AAM in the early 'eighties is like a roll-call of the British period instrument movement, with Roy Goodman and Nicholas MacGegan faces in a crowd. No wonder it was a fine orchestra.

For all that, my favourites remain Toscanini, possibly the first recording of the work, with tempi not far off HIPP, and Beecham , who recorded it twice. Herbert I think did it three times .

[gradus]

I enjoy every performance of this wonderful work but Beecham introduced me to it and his performance with the RPO remains my favourite, beautifully shaped phrasing, fine playing and plenty of energy when needed.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I wonder if the review will mention the two versions of the work, with and without flutes and clarinets.

It's a bit more complex than that. Originally the work was a 7 movement serenade, with a march (now K385a) and a second minuet (lost). Also the composer removed the exposition repeat that had existed in the earlier serenade.