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

[Barbirollians]

LPB/Kuijken has plopped onto the doormat -- fresh with classy playing & well-judged speeds. Excellent sound for a 30-year-old recording. This & Orch.18th Century/Brüggen will do me.

It seemed not to get a mention but I have a soft spot for Davis’s very necessary IMO Concertgebouw recording.

[richardfinegold]

The very last thing I would ever feel, or say, about Bruggen, such a poet of the Rostrum from Rameau to Beethoven, is that his direction is ever metronomic. His conducting, especially of the sturm und drang Haydn Symphonies (originally in a Philips OAE box from 26 to 65, better recorded in a more sympathetic acoustic than the earlier O18thC tapings of the later symphonies (often in the large and resonant Vredensburg), a personal icon rarely far from my playlist) has a unique poetry and flexibility. A very distinctive, very beautiful sound. One of the few conductors I would call a genius (echoed as such by Luciano Berio) I love almost all his work, but I no longer have health or strength or will for lengthy debate.

But one always defends one's Musical Gods. The World was a better place while he was still here. I think I still miss him, really.

The complete Decca box features may Bruggen recordings that were taken over Hogwood alternatives. I purchased the Hogwood set just to replace the Bruggen contributions, which with a few exceptions, I found pretty devoid of interest, except for the sounds of the Orchestra.

[Bella Kemp]

Apologies if this is slightly off topic or if it has been mentioned before on this thread or elsewhere, but when Simon Rattle said the other day that Haydn was the one composer he could not live without, I raised a metaphorical glass and a silent cheer. Haydn so celebrates our gift of life - and makes us reflect that it is extraordinary that we are here at all - that to hear his work gives us joy beyond words.

[LMcD]

Apologies if this is slightly off topic or if it has been mentioned before on this thread or elsewhere, but when Simon Rattle said the other day that Haydn was the one composer he could not live without, I raised a metaphorical glass and a silent cheer. Haydn so celebrates our gift of life - and makes us reflect that it is extraordinary that we are here at all - that to hear his work gives us joy beyond words.

[silvestrione]

LPB/Kuijken has plopped onto the doormat -- fresh with classy playing & well-judged speeds. Excellent sound for a 30-year-old recording. This & Orch.18th Century/Brüggen will do me.

Mine arrived too, and I basically agree with that assessment and did thoroughly enjoy all aspects of the performance, except...the trumpet blaring through the orchestral tuttis became rather wearing after a while.

[Joseph K]

Mine arrived too, and I basically agree with that assessment and did thoroughly enjoy all aspects of the performance, except...the trumpet blaring through the orchestral tuttis became rather wearing after a while.

Mine was supposed to arrive today but didn't.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Mine was supposed to arrive today but didn't.

My new Kuijken 92 has just been spun: most enjoyable: thanks to boarders above who spoke up for it. Perhaps I like 'blaring' trumpets more than Silvestrione (#125)!