BaL 3.12.16 - Haydn: Symphony no. 99 in E flat

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

0930
Building a Library: Richard Wigmore sifts through some of the available recordings of Haydn Symphony No. 99 in E flat and comes up with a recommendation.
By the time Haydn wrote his ninety-ninth symphony he was Europe’s most celebrated and best-paid composer. Released from a lifetime of musical servitude at a provincial court, he was now catering for a sophisticated metropolitan public that couldn’t get enough of his music and the result was Haydn’s mature style, at once earthy and refined, playful and profound. Symphony No. 99 is a prime example of late, great Haydn, represented in the catalogue by recordings from grand-old-man conductor and orchestra pairings, to the latest period performance ensembles.

Available versions:-

Arco Baleno Ensemble
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham
Finnish Chamber Orchestra, Paavo Berglund (download)
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra of the 18th Century, Frans Brüggen
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Dennis Russell Davies
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Philharmonia Hungarica, Antal Dorati
Heidelberger Sinfoniker, Thomas Fey
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, Adam Fischer
South West German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Baden-Baden and Freiburg-Orchestra, Michael Gielen
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Eugen Jochum
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Wiener Philharmoniker, Josef Krips
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik
Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, Marc Minkowski
Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Helmut Muller-Bruhl
London Classical Players, Sir Roger Norrington
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Sir Roger Norrington
Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Hermann Scherchen
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Howard Shelley
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti (download)
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Ignat Solzhenitsyn (download)
Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell
English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate (download)
Cappella Coloniensis, Bruno Weil

[Barbirollians]

It is a London symphony so the winner will be RCO/Colin Davis ...

[richardfinegold]

Since he wrote many Symphonies for performance in London, why is this one called 'London'?

[rauschwerk]

Szell is top notch too, but his 1957 recording probably falls into the historical category nowadays. What a shame he didn't record more Haydn. Minkowski can be a terrible speed merchant (finale of No. 93) but I haven't heard him in this one. I have the Solti set but don't find it as good as Davis's. Davis's minuet is too slow imho. Bruggen is much livelier here but less good in other respects.

[rauschwerk]

Since he wrote many Symphonies for performance in London, why is this one called 'London'?

It isn't. That's No. 104 (can't answer your question though!)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Since he wrote many Symphonies for performance in London, why is this one called 'London'?

93-104 are all London symphonies.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

According to the Presto website, there's a Keilberth recording too, but I haven't been able to confirm this.

[MickyD]

93-104 are all London symphonies.

But I seem to recall that the melody from the final movement from No. 104 was supposedly based on a street vendor's song that Haydn heard whilst in the city, thus it got the nickname.

A pity the La Petite Bande/Sigiswald Kuijken version isn't available at the moment - I loved their version of all the London symphonies, surely ripe for reissue in a bargain box.

[vinteuil]

A pity the La Petite Bande/Sigiswald Kuijken version isn't available at the moment - I loved their version of all the London symphonies, surely ripe for reissue in a bargain box.

... possibly available from Japanese sellers : I think I'll try

http://amzn.eu/c8cMxMm

[MickyD]

... possibly available from Japanese sellers : I think I'll try

http://amzn.eu/c8cMxMm

I snapped up some second hand copies last year...I think some were editions re-issued by DHM. Sadly they didn't contain the original notes from the series. But it is nice to have all of the London set from Kuijken in my collection, they are really good.

[Bryn]

Ironically, all the La Petite Bande/Kuijken Londons bar 99 and 100 are to be found on QOBUZ. I wonder how/why those two got left out?

[Sir Velo]

I snapped up some second hand copies last year...I think some were editions re-issued by DHM. Sadly they didn't contain the original notes from the series. But it is nice to have all of the London set from Kuijken in my collection, they are really good.

One of the Amazon reviews refers to the remastered releases being in 24 bit. Presumably, therefore, available on download only and also, presumably not from Amazon!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

But I seem to recall that the melody from the final movement from No. 104 was supposedly based on a street vendor's song that Haydn heard whilst in the city, thus it got the nickname.

I thought that that was based on a Hungarian folk melody? (I "remember" seeing an Open University programme in which Christorpher Hogwood led a performance of the chamber version where - I'm sure - the claim was made. They played the original melody, which was in six-bar phrases, rather than Haydn's four-bar phrasing adaptation (in the original, Haydn's bars 3-4 are repeated with the last note altered.)

[jayne lee wilson]

One of the Amazon reviews refers to the remastered releases being in 24 bit. Presumably, therefore, available on download only and also, presumably not from Amazon!

The boxset linked to above - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 is indeed the 24-bit JVC K2 remaster and the sound is wonderful, near-perfect alignment of tonal neutrality, detail, presence and a three-dimensional acoustic. Just a shame then (having bought it from the ever-reliable samurai media) that I found Kuijken's Haydn rather straight laced and pofaced....

[richardfinegold]

... possibly available from Japanese sellers : I think I'll try

http://amzn.eu/c8cMxMm

I think I have their 'Paris' set (I have guests occupying my house for the Thanksgiving Holiday and my CDs are in a guest bedroom so am unable to verify). All my Haydn listening of late is from the Decca box featuring Hogwood and Bruggen