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| Philips (Full price) (CD) 434 921-2PH (53 minutes: DDD). |
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| [No.] Nos. 97 and 98—selected comparisons: |
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| Concertgebouw, C. Davis (7/92) (PHIL) 432 286-2PSL4 |
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| RPO, Beecham (2/93) (EMI) CMS7 64389-2 |
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| Symphony No. 97—selected comparison: |
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| Concertgebouw, Harnoncourt (4/94) (TELD) 9031-77315-2 |
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| Symphony No. 98—selected comparison: |
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| Concertgebouw, Harnoncourt (4/94) (TELD) 2292-46331-2 |
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Bruggen's recordings of these two contrasted symphonies from Haydn's first "London" set are, by my reckoning, the first on original instruments. Both the assertive, martial C major and the more searching, inward-looking B flat benefit from the sharply etched sonorities of this cosmopolitan period orchestra, with its bright, incisive (though never overbearing) valveless horns and trumpets and dry, brittle timpani; and the actual execution is phenomenal in its brilliance, delicacy and precision of articulation and ensemble; the intonation, too, is virtually flawless. I can't recall ever hearing a period orchestra play better in this repertoire.
Bruggen's interpretations are typically arresting: dramatic, forcefully accented, with exemplary textural clarity (the distinct audibility of the bassoons a particular delight), and a minute care for rhythmic and dynamic detail. Tempos are well chosen, never hectic, the first movements (especially that of No. 97) quite spacious, the minuet of No. 98 properly Allegro but not pressed unforgivingly, as it is by Harnoncourt. These are more obviously 'conducted' readings than period performances from, say, Hogwood or Goodman. Strict purists may prefer the music to speak more for itself, though I relished Bruggen's considered phrasing, his pointing of inner lines that often go for little (one example is the syncopated second-violin figure in No. 98's first movement from 1'30") and his careful control of tension over long spans: the developments of both opening movements have an uncommonly powerful reach, Bruggen as ever acutely aware of the music's harmonic direction, giving characteristic attention to the shaping and articulation of the bass line.
Not everyone will like Bruggen's flexibility of tempo in some movements: his lingering in the coda (7'58" ff) of No. 97's opening Vivace, for instance, or, more obviously, his wild fluctuations in the long piu moderato coda of the finale of No. 98, where he also plays around with the rhythms at one point (drunken-sounding notes inegales at 6'43"). Here and there, too, he can shade away a crucial climactic phrase, undermining its force, most noticeably at the end of the disquieting development of No. 98's Adagio. In the main, however, these bold, strongly profiled performances (which are beautifully recorded), do brilliant justice to the music's grandeur, subtlety and symphonic power.
Nearest in approach among the competition are the readings, differently coupled, by Harnoncourt with a period-influenced Concertgebouw Orchestra. Harnoncourt is that much more abrasive and aggressive than Bruggen, stressing the strange, disturbing aspects of late Haydn (especially in the slow movements), but downright perverse in the minuet of No. 98. His are provocative, often compelling performances. I suspect, though, that it is these new Bruggen readings which will more often vie with the modern-instrument versions by Davis (Philips) and Beecham (EMI) when I want to listen to these particular works.
RW