Paris Match
Hello again! Just a quick note to draw your attention to some exciting developments on planet Haydn. First of all, my ‘prosecution’ of the Harnoncourt recording of the ‘Paris’ Symphonies is in the latest (July) issue of Gramophone, along with Jed Distler’s ‘defence’. It all started last September when I stood next to Jed’s CD shelves in his apartment overlooking the Hudson and West New York, and he indicated this set and described it as something along the lines of ‘the best Haydn recording of recent years’. I know it won a Gramophone Award but it’s a set that’s always been irritated me as much as I’ve enjoyed it. So I had great fun digging into it and comparing it with other recordings for the new ‘Trial’ feature. For what it’s worth, my advice would be to go for Thomas Fey and his Heidelbergers in the ‘Paris’ Symphonies, except that they’re spread over three separate discs (which would be even more annoying if their couplings of Symphonies Nos 69 and 88 weren’t so damn good). Anyway, if you vehemently disagree with Threasher’s considered view (or even with Distler’s), you can now vent your spleen over at Gramophone’s online forum.
Also on the shelves at the moment is the May/June issue of International Piano, which contains my review of the available recordings of the ‘Gypsy Rondo’ Trio. Not quite such a challenging exercise as my Bartók Concerto for Orchestra Collection in the April Gramophone – shorter piece, fewer recordings, not left to the last minute by a lazy freelancer – but great fun to do. Susan Tomes of the Florestan Trio has already blogged about the piece over on her site.
On the ‘to do’ pile at the moment are the newly released set of ‘London’ Symphonies from Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre, which I’ll be covering for the September Gramophone (it may sound far off but the busy people at Gram Towers started putting it together last Thursday). The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Ton Koopman have embarked on their own ‘London’ cycle with Nos 97 and 98, a disc that plopped onto the doormat just yesterday. Plenty of listening there (and I’m impressed so far) – not to mention comparative listening to Frans Brüggen’s ‘London’ Symphonies, recordings I’m only now getting to know, and that I have to admit I’m being happily and pleasantly surprised by. I also managed to dig out a pair of Japanese SACDs by the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden containing Nos 31, 72 and 73, and Nos 92, 94 and 97. My reviews of Nos 48 and 56 from that man Fey and Mozart’s Nos 39 and 40 from René Jacobs and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra will shortly appear in the August issue of Gramophone. Last year’s Haydn commemorations seem to have woken quite a few people up, and we’re enjoying the harvest of their labours now. Alleluia!