BaL 1.05.21 - Haydn: Symphony no. 92 "Oxford"

[antongould]

IMVVHO one of the better BALs ...... enjoyed it ......

[vinteuil]

IMVVHO one of the better BALs ...... enjoyed it ......

... yes it was good.

Amused by the Bernstein, the Klemperer was ghastly, useful to be reminded how unnecessary Colin Davis is in this repertoire. Rattle too.
I have more time for Goodman and Brüggen than he does : I share his enjoyment of the Fey and the Jacobs.
I didn't know the Berglund, which I thought was nice - but I don't feel any urge to invest...

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[prb]

...a few used copies of the CD going for £5.98 - £8.40 (plus p&p)

Go on, you know you want to -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0007A0E7W

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001ONSWDO

[ I see it cost me more than £9 when I purchased it in 2005.... ]





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That's disappointing about Qobuz - I didn't know they did that with Harmonia Mundi.

The Jacobs 'Oxford' Symphony is also available in the HM Lumières box, which some of us probably already have.

[vinteuil]

The Jacobs 'Oxford' Symphony is also available in the HM Lumières box, which some of us probably already have.

... excellent reminder. And it's such a rich box of goodies!

{ ... and to think it only cost £16.25 (incl p&p) when I got it in 2012! )

[Goon525]

No problems listening to the whole Jacobs performance on Qobuz for me - coupled with 91 and Scena de Berenice. Further investigations indicate that there are two issues of this - it may well be a mid-price reissue that for some reason is missing movements. But it IS all there in Qobuz!

[LMcD]

VPO/Bohm 'Oxford' £3.59 from World of Books.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Hmmm. Only in the sense that it highlights the conductors who push (or pull?) the music where it doesn't want to go Otherwise, orchestral players of all levels are 'at ease' with Haydn, and respond readily to ideas of phrasing and articulation...assuming they aren't ridiculous.

Almost wonder whether the “test “ is really one of self-restraint ?

[Bryn]

That's disappointing about Qobuz - I didn't know they did that with Harmonia Mundi.

The Jacobs 'Oxford' Symphony is also available in the HM Lumières box, which some of us probably already have.

I am of that "some of us". Thanks.

[vinteuil]

VPO/Bohm 'Oxford' £3.59 from World of Books.

... mmmnyerss - but do you really want Böhm's Haydn?

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[cloughie]

... mmmnyerss - but do you really want Böhm's Haydn?

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Got it, done that, yes good! ...and not troubled by Harpsichords!

[prb]

No problems listening to the whole Jacobs performance on Qobuz for me - coupled with 91 and Scena de Berenice. Further investigations indicate that there are two issues of this - it may well be a mid-price reissue that for some reason is missing movements. But it IS all there in Qobuz!

So it is - I easily found this one on my phone, but I couldn't on the website.

[LeMartinPecheur]

IIn his BBC Music Guide on the Haydn Symphonies, Robbins Landon (who normally one would trust) says that Haydn conducted it in the Sheldonian in July 1791.

Pulcinella: sorry not to have replied sooner - still living out of boxes after a house-move

My obviously unassailable source was Wiki, which says:
"The symphony is called the "Oxford" because Haydn is said to have conducted it at the conclusion of a ceremony in 1791 in which the degree of Doctor of Music was conferred on him by Oxford University. A candidate for this doctorate was required to present a specimen of his skill in composition, and that presented by Haydn was not as is sometimes said this symphony, but a minuet al rovescio, i. e. a palindrome, though not one specially composed for the occasion, as it first appears in G major in Haydn’s 1772 symphony no. 47 (Hob. I:47), and in the following year in A major as the minuet of his keyboard sonata in that key (Hob. XVI:26), where the trio is also a palindrome. The "Oxford" nickname stuck, though the symphony had actually been written in 1789 for performance in Paris. The degree was conferred fairly soon after Haydn’s first arrival in England, and as he had not by then finished composing any of the twelve "London" symphonies which he ultimately wrote for England, he brought to the Oxford ceremony his most recently completed example in the form."

There is no quoted source for this but the footnotes indicate that the writer has at least heard of HC Robbins Landon It may well be that links in an earlier posting (JLW's?) which I haven't had time to study will explain the reasons for the confusion.

[edashtav]

... yes it was good.

Amused by the Bernstein, the Klemperer was ghastly, useful to be reminded how unnecessary Colin Davis is in this repertoire. Rattle too.
I have more time for Goodman and Brüggen than he does : I share his enjoyment of the Fey and the Jacobs.
I didn't know the Berglund, which I thought was nice - but I don't feel any urge to invest...

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I have more time for Goodman, too, damned by a tinkling harpsichord (is Richard Wigmore on Beecham’s pills?) and it’s ironic that Goodman employed fortepianos from symphony#93 onwards.
The Berglund did appeal greatly to me, is that because I’m a Bournemouthian? I hope not as its crisp quality, wonderful recording quality and deft interpretation were very positive features, so I’ve sent for a secondhand CD pre-download version.

Fey and Jacobs are worth hearing but their occasional lapses from grace might irritate after a while.

[ardcarp]

Almost wonder whether the “test “ is really one of self-restraint ?

Good point.

[LMcD]

... mmmnyerss - but do you really want Böhm's Haydn?

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I'm happy with my Groves/English Sinfonia, but am always happy to recommend World of Books, who have never let me down (yet)!