Your essential ten Haydn symphonies

[gurnemanz]

Can't do ten - too many to choose from. The Hen is my favourite.

[salymap]

Can't do ten - too many to choose from. The Hen is my favourite.

At least it's got us talking/posting about tnese wonderful works. I can't really do ten only either.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

This is very difficult:
How do I add the last three as well?

Chris, do you listen to R4's The Museum of Curiosities?
Last week's edition had a Mathematician guest who told a story of how some "researchers" once asked a man from a village what he'd get if he had ten fish and gave away three. The answer was "13", because when you give away a fish, the recipient would give you two in return.

So, you give me, say, Nos 26, 31, and 73 from your list, and you can have Nos 1, 6, 88, 103 & 104 from my list, and we can sing No 102 together!

Sorted!

[3rd Viennese School]

Okay then. Mine are

49 (because its good)
102 (because its good)
100 (because its good)
52 except mvt 2

that'll do.

3VS

[EdgeleyRob]

You can listen to Haydn's symphonies online http://www.haydn107.com/index.php?id=1&lng=2

JS many thanks for that.I was not familiar with any of the symphonies up to no 90 but that sight is a revelation.

I see the Dorati complete set download is on i tunes for £39.99,which is a better bargain than the one I mentioned in post #11. Roll on pay day!

[rauschwerk]

I see the Dorati complete set download is on i tunes for £39.99

If you're happy with download sound quality, why not consider the Fischer/Nimbus set on mp3 CDs, currently available from MDT for £22.00.

[salymap]

Rather than buy them all as I know I shall never get through them I prefer my little boxes of favourites,
6 from Rattle and the Berliner PO, 6 of the London symphonies from Colin Davis and the Concertgebouw, 4 from Nicholas Kraemer and the BBC Philharmonic. Also oddities like the wonderful Beecham no 88. I stillhope to add to them as and when I am able.

[aeolium]

Rather than buy them all as I know I shall never get through them I prefer my little boxes of favourites

I know what you mean, salymap. I have resisted complete set purchases as I like to have undiscovered delights to look forward to if a symphony I don't know is broadcast. Also, I rarely find that complete sets are very satisfying - I like to hear different styles of interpretation (e.g. Kuijken/OAE in the Paris symphonies and Furtwängler in no 88).

Many wonderful symphonies have already been mentioned and of these I could not do without 44 and 88 (132 would have been a cracker if he had lived that long). Here are another eight, some of which may not have been mentioned:

47 "The Palindrome", with that minuetto al roverso, a variation slow movement and typically inventive outer movements
48 "Maria Theresa" - gloriously majestic opening movement, one of his most beautiful slow movements, and then ebullient 3rd and 4th movements
52 in C minor - perhaps an intense last farewell to the Sturm und Drang style
65 first movement sounds almost Mozartian, the others most definitely pure Haydn, with hunting calls in the finale
70 another superb slow movement, an almost elegiac double variation canon
73 (has already been described)
84 for the woodwind in the slow movement
97 another inventive set of variations in the slow movement (and for van Beinum's performance of it)

If I had to pick out one quality that marked Haydn out from other symphonists, it would be his extensive use of variation movements, a form he mastered like no-one else. And didn't he make those Esterhazy horn-players work!

[barber olly]

88 90 92 96 98 100 101 102 103 104 No real reasons other than Beecham, Bohm, Jochum and others, even Klemperer bring them out as happy cheerful Symphonies. With Mahler I have struggled to get past number five, with Haydn I haven't got down beyond 82, maybe I should take my Dorati off the shelf and listen to them in reverse order, once a day before a meal!

[Alison]

Good to see a mention of 52 from 3VS.

In addition to that fine work my favourites would be 73, 84, 86, 94, 96, 99, 101, 103 and 104.

[salymap]

I apologise to Papa Haydn for the heading of this thread. I had two goes at getting a capital H but it defeated me. I just got the first post twice

[Alison]

Sorry, that's three votes for 52 now !!

[salymap]

What happened to Mario's list?

[EdgeleyRob]

If you're happy with download sound quality, why not consider the Fischer/Nimbus set on mp3 CDs, currently available from MDT for £22.00.

Many thanks ,that is another option.

[Auferstehen2]

salymap, knuckles suitably rapped, I update my message accordingly – apologies for the delay. This is up to and including message 44 and includes ferneyhoughgeliebte’s message 27 corrections:-

001 2
006 Morning 3
007 Midday 1
008 Evening 1
022 Philosopher 3
026 Sturm und Drang – Lament 5
031 Hornsignal 4
039 2
043 Sturm und Drang – Mercury 1
044 Sturm und Drang – Mourning 4
045 Strum und Drang – Farewell 2
046 Sturm und Drang 2
047 The Palindrome 1
048 Strum und Drang - Maria Theresia 3
049 Sturm und Drang – Passion 3
052 2
053 Imperial 1
057 1
058 1
059 Sturm und Drang – Fire 1
064 Tempora mutantur 1
065 1
067 1
070 1
072 1
073 The Hunt 5
080 2
082 Paris – Bear 1
083 Paris – Hen 1
084 Paris – In nomine Domini 2
085 Paris – Queen 3
086 Paris 2
088 11
089 2
090 d’Ogny Symphony 6
091 d’Ogny Symphony 3
092 d’Ogny Symphony – Oxford 5
093 London 3
094 London – Surprise 6
095 London 4
096 London – Miracle 5
097 London 3
098 London 5
099 London 4
100 London – Military 8
101 London – Clock 8
102 London 9
103 London- Drum Roll 9
104 London – Salomon 10

Streaking in the lead therefore is No. 88 with 11 votes, followed by No. 104 with 10 votes. I myself am unable to vote as I don’t know ten Haydn symphonies, but I shall make amends.

Mario