BaL 22.02.14 - Haydn: Symphony no. 44

[Barbirollians]

The Pinnock did stand out throughout the BAL and sounded a very worthy winner to me .

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

wonderful and engaging BAL and case for Pinnock pretty unanswerable ..... [but the Bruggen and other out of print recordings for contrast, or is that asking too much?]

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Much as I adore Hogwood's work, I agree with NK in his assessment that his rendition of this symphony is too safe.

Yes. I was startled to find myself agreeing with NK so often this morning (I wonder if I'm coming down with a cold). But I think I might invest in the Goodman as well as the Pinnock. And the Weil. And I see Koopman is going cheap (cue joke about #82). So many good performances on record ... so little cash!

As I said in earlier post, we still need the likes of Concerto Koln to record this symphony and give it the excitement it really needs.

- and with all the repeats! (As was pointed out, everything is there in the score - the performers need "only" to play them. All of them!)

[MickyD]

Ye gods, for one moment then, I thought he'd said Jos van Immerseel and his Enema Eterna!

Badinage aside, this was a masterful BaL...nearly an hour's worth of thorough, thoughtful exegesis of the work packed full of musicological insights and backed up with a diverse array of musical samples, acknowleding old thinking on Haydn and the harpsichord continuo issue. He proved the case for Pinnock's worthiness admirably. Who could ask for more?

Enema Eterna, eek, what an awful thought!!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Enema Eterna, eek, what an awful thought!!

Halt! Who goes there?

[Barbirollians]

Enema Eterna, eek, what an awful thought!!

That's what I felt about his Symphonie Fantastique recording that was so wildly and widely praised . Those pianos !

[Tony Halstead]

Unfortunately I missed the broadcast. Did he mention Hogwood or Solomons?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

- and with all the repeats! (As was pointed out, everything is there in the score - the performers need "only" to play them. All of them!)

I bet you sit there worrying about the repeats when you listen to a recording/performance for the first time.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Unfortunately I missed the broadcast. Did he mention Hogwood or Solomons?

Both - and certainly illustrated the Hogwood, finding it a little too polite and lacking in the fire he felt the work needed*. One of the occasions I agreed with him - certainly from the excerpt he played. I might've missed a Solomons excerpt, but he referred to it as from one of the complete cycles that were casualties of the profit-greedy recording companies.

Edit: * = not his exact words, my summary of what I understood him to be suggesting.

[HighlandDougie]

That's what I felt about his Symphonie Fantastique recording that was so wildly and widely praised . Those pianos !

It certainly made me very wary of Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna but, having then been persuaded to buy their - excellent - Poulenc disc, that Berlioz is something of an aberration in an otherwise distinguished list of good recordings. J van I is a remarkably accomplished musician and imaginative conductor of repertoire as varied as Johann Strauss ll, Haydn and Tchaikovsky. While the Haydn Symphonies 44 (and 45) may not be played with quite the polish of Pinnock or Hogwood, they are never bland, which is more than can be said of some what we heard this morning.

[Bryn]

It certainly made me very wary of Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna but, having then been persuaded to buy their - excellent - Poulenc disc, that Berlioz is something of an aberration in an otherwise distinguished list of good recordings. J van I is a remarkably accomplished musician and imaginative conductor of repertoire as varied as Johann Strauss ll, Haydn and Tchaikovsky. While the Haydn Symphonies 44 (and 45) may not be played with quite the polish of Pinnock or Hogwood, they are never bland, which is more than can be said of some what we heard this morning.

The first CD Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna made of Beethoven's 9th (Sony) rather put me off them, but their later survey of all nine for Zig Zag Territoires entirely changed my opinion of what they were capable of revealing in Beethoven performances.

[waldo]

It certainly made me very wary of Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna but, having then been persuaded to buy their - excellent - Poulenc disc, that Berlioz is something of an aberration in an otherwise distinguished list of good recordings. J van I is a remarkably accomplished musician and imaginative conductor of repertoire as varied as Johann Strauss ll, Haydn and Tchaikovsky. While the Haydn Symphonies 44 (and 45) may not be played with quite the polish of Pinnock or Hogwood, they are never bland, which is more than can be said of some what we heard this morning.

Quite. I am surprised that Immerseel needs any defending. A really exciting conductor with plenty of terrific, pioneering recordings under his belt. I have to say that I enjoyed his Berlioz disc, too: especially lovely instrumental colours. I don't even mind "those pianos". At least it is something new; and not without justification.

[Bryn]

Quite. I am surprised that Immerseel needs any defending. A really exciting conductor with plenty of terrific, pioneering recordings under his belt. I have to say that I enjoyed his Berlioz disc, too: especially lovely instrumental colours. I don't even mind "those pianos". At least it is something new; and not without justification.

Their Debussy disc is a real delight.

[waldo]

Their Debussy disc is a real delight.

I haven't heard that.......thanks for the suggestion.

[waldo]

Currently, half way through this BAL and getting annoyed. First, he makes a big deal about the precise character of the orchestral writing, then dismisses the whole continuo issue with barely any comment. The continuo has an enormous impact on the sound of the piece, but NK doesn't seem to care whether it is there or not. Moreover, there really doesn't seem to be any justification for it. If Haydn didn't write for one and didn't use one himself, why is it acceptable for performers to add it? Can they add a kazoo, as well, or a moog synthesiser?

After that, NK goes on to say that it is a pity the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra version has disappeared from the catalogue? What catalogue is this? You can get it quite easily on the internet. It has been reissued (as a new physical CD) by archivmusic, among others. In addition, you can get it on spotify and download it from dozens of sites etc. Just what arcane criteria are used to determine "official availablity"? Are the people at Radio 3 even aware that the internet exists?

But I am only half way through........