Search - Haydn, Harnoncourt, Royal Concertgebouw :: Symphonies 101-104

Haydn, Harnoncourt, Royal Concertgebouw
Symphonies 101-104
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
1. Symphony No. 101 'The Clock' In D Major: Adagio - Presto
2. Symphony No. 101 'The Clock' In D Major: Andante
3. Symphony No. 101 'The Clock' In D Major: Menuet : Allegretto - Trio
4. Symphony No. 101 'The Clock' In D Major: Finale : Vivace
5. Symphony No. 102 In B Flat Major: Largo - Vivaci
6. Symphony No. 102 In B Flat Major: Adagio
7. Symphony No. 102 In B Flat Major: Menuet : Allegro - Trio
8. Finale : Presto
Track Listings (8) - Disc #2
1. Symphony No. 103 'Drum Roll' In E Flat Major: Adagio - Allegro con spirito
2. Symphony No. 103 'Drum Roll' In E Flat Major: Andante piu tosto - Allegretto
3. Symphony No. 103 'Drum Roll' In E Flat Major: Menuet
4. Symphony No. 103 'Drum Roll' In E Flat Major: Finale : Allgro con spirito
5. Symphony No. 104 'London' In D Major: Adagio - Allegro
6. Symphony No. 104 'London' In D Major: Andante
7. Symphony No. 104 'London' In D Major: Menuetto : Allegro - Trio
8. Symphony No. 104 'London' In D Major: Finale Spirituoso

CD Details

All Artists: Haydn, Harnoncourt, Royal Concertgebouw
Title: Symphonies 101-104
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Elektra / Wea
Release Date: 3/17/1998
Genre: Classical
Styles: Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Symphonies
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPC: 706301895320

Synopsis

Amazon.com essential recording

Like everything Nikolaus Harnoncourt does, his Haydn performances are full of fresh insights mingled with occasionally bizarre features. The minuet of the London Symphony is a case in point: almost incredibly fast, but also exciting as hell. Similarly, No. 103 begins not with the customary drumroll, but with an entire improvised timpani solo. All of this has its justification in the score, of course, only no other conductor has dared attempt the extremes of expression that seem to be the norm with this conductor. He is aided by the superb Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam--a group famed for the quality of its woodwind playing in particular. These performances will provide many hours of enjoyable, provocative listening to fans of the composer and newcomers alike. --David Hurwitz

CD Reviews

This about That

Wayne A. | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 11/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"About 35 years of listening to "Classical Music" and Harnoncourt's handling of the andante of the "Clock" symphony completely changed my listening habits and the way I hear music. Think of a pleasant but unremarkable painting that's cleaned up a bit or seen under different lighting and it suddenly becomes a stunning masterpiece. I worried that I'd just missed something that was there in other performances but when I went back through my various recordings of this work, well, what Harnoncourt found just wasn't there. Worse, most conductors, even the best, just danced competently through this movement and missed the gold.

Harnoncourt's been arguing that Haydn was a far more advanced composer than we've taken him to be, more advanced even than his illustrious peers, and insightful interpretations of this sort add a lot of weight to that assessment. I'm now noticing this elsewhere in Haydn's music, thanks to these recordings.

Haydn's situation is reminding me of Berlioz's, and in the last century maybe Ives's--initially interesting and entertaining but essentially limited and shallow pools, that on closer inspection turn up being nearly bottomless."