Haydn

Symphony No 82, 'L'ours' - Symphony No 83, 'La poule' - Symphony No 84 - Symphony No 85, 'La reine' - Symphony No 86 - Symphony No 87

Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra/Adám Fischer

Nimbus NI5419/20 (148 minutes : DDD)

Reviewed: Gramophone (3/1995)

Tackling their huge task of recording the complete Haydn symphonies, Adam Fischer and the Austro-Hungarian orchestra are making a sort of pincer movement. Having completed the earliest and latest symphonies first, they are beginning to fill in the middle. This set of the ""Paris"" Symphonies, recorded like the rest in the Haydnsaal of the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, follows in its approach the pattern already set of well-paced, finely sprung readings that steer a well-judged middle course between traditional and period practice. Though modern instruments are used, playing at modern pitch, the scale of the orchestra and the crispness and clarity of the playing reflect some of the lessons learned from the period movement.
I listened to this set immediately after reviewing Muti's Philips disc of Mozart symphonies (to appear next month), and the contrast was most refreshing, with sound very different from that of the Vienna Philharmonic as recorded in the great hall of the Musikverein. Where, for all the beauty of sound, the Vienna Philharmonic seem too soft-centred for Mozart, the weight and warmth of the Austro-Hungarian orchestra's sound as recorded in the Haydnsaal readily allows important detail to emerge. So in passages where the flute or bassoon is following the violin line, as in the finales of Nos. 85 and 87, the woodwind sound is clearly audible, yet not too prominent. What I was delighted to find is that since the first recordings of the series the engineers seem to have come to terms with the reverberation in the Haydnsaal. The agreeable bloom remains, but with what seems like closer microphone placing, there is far less tendency for tuttis to grow opaque. The result is full and beefy with plenty of presence, letting one enjoy the geniality of Fischer's readings.
My comparisons have not only been with two of my favourite period readings, those of Kuijken and Goodman, but with the vintage Dorati performances. Generally Fischer and his players sound more relaxed than Dorati, allowing a degree more affection in the phrasing at similar speeds, with even more spring in the rhythm, as in the witty pointing of the clucking second subject of No. 83, La poule. As for the comparisons with Kuijken and Goodman, it is striking that Fischer frequently chooses faster speeds than Kuijken, and is sometimes faster than both, while achieving a comparable elegance, with textures hardly less clear. In the finales of Nos. 83 and 87 Fischer, unlike Kuijken and Goodman but like Dorati, omits the second half repeats. Though there is formidable competition from rival sets of the ""Paris"" Symphonies, often at mid price, this two-disc box can be warmly recommended to those who appreciate Fischer's intermediate approach to style. It is reassuring to have the Nimbus series so strongly reinforced.
[Adam Fischer's recordings of Symphonies Nos. 82-92 and the Sinfonia concertante in B flat major, previously reviewed in January 1994, have been collected together in a mid-price two-disc set to form Vol. 7 of the Nimbus Haydn series: (CD) N5417/8: 144 minutes: DDD—Ed.]