Franz Joseph Haydn

“The British Admiral had ousted the Napoleonic fleet at the Battle of the Nile just as Haydn was in the middle of writing his Nelson Mass. Although the news could not have reached him until after its completion, Haydn's awareness of the international situation was expressed in the work's subtitle, 'Missa in Augustiis', or 'Mass in times of fear'. With its rattle of timpani, pungent trumpet calls, and highly strung harmonic structure, there's no work of Haydn's which cries out so loudly for recording on period instruments; and it's the distinctive sonority and highly charged tempos of this performance which set it apart. The dry, hard timpani and long trumpets bite into the dissonance of the opening Kyrie, and the near vibrato-less string playing is mordant and urgent. The fast-slow-fast triptych of the Gloria is set out in nervously contrasted speeds, and the Credo bounces with affirmation.
Just as the choral singing is meticulously balanced with instrumental inflexion, so the soloists have been chosen to highlight the colours in Pinnock's palette.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“A superb achievement. It's nigh-on impossible to imagine better 'big-band' Haydn than you encounter here on Colin Davis's four well-filled CDs. His direction has exemplary sparkle and sensitivity. Minuets are never allowed to plod, outer movements have an ideal combination of infectious zip and real poise, and the humour is always conveyed with a genial twinkle in the eye.
Quite marvellous, wonderfully unanimous playing from the Amsterdam orchestra, too (the woodwind contributions are particularly distinguished), with never a trace of routine to betray the six-year recording span of this acclaimed project. The Philips engineering, whether analogue or digital, is of the very highest quality, offering a natural perspective, gloriously fullbodied tone and sparkling textures within the sumptuous Concertgebouw acoustic. Invest in this set: it will yield enormous rewards for years to come.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Marvellously alert Concertgebouw performances” The Times, 10th May 2013

“Dorati's famous integral recording of all 104 of the published Symphonies now returns in a Decca bargain box containing 33 CDs. It still holds its place in the catalogue as the only complete set to contain everything Haydn wrote in this medium, including the Symphonies 'A' and 'B', omitted from the original numbering scheme because at one time they were not thought to be symphonies at all. The survey also encompasses additional alternative movements for certain works (notably Nos 53 and 103) and alternative complete versions of the Philosopher Symphony and No 63, which are fascinating.
The remastering confirms the excellence of the vintage Decca sound. No more needs to be said, except that the one minus point in these very convincing modern-instrument performances is Dorati's insistence on measured, often rustic tempos for the minuets. For those who can run to the complete series this is self-recommending – a source of inexhaustible pleasure.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Dorati was ahead of his time as a Haydn interpreter when, in the early 1970s, he made this pioneering integral recording of the symphonies. Superbly transferred to CD in full, bright, immediate sound, the performances are a consistent delight.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“fully worthy of the composer’s inexhaustible invention” Penguin Guide (on the Kodály Quartet)

“A superb achievement. It's nigh-on impossible to imagine better 'big-band' Haydn than you encounter here on Colin Davis's four well-filled CDs. His direction has exemplary sparkle and sensitivity. Minuets are never allowed to plod, outer movements have an ideal combination of infectious zip and real poise, and the humour is always conveyed with a genial twinkle in the eye.
Quite marvellous, wonderfully unanimous playing from the Amsterdam orchestra, too (the woodwind contributions are particularly distinguished), with never a trace of routine to betray the six-year recording span of this acclaimed project. The Philips engineering, whether analogue or digital, is of the very highest quality, offering a natural perspective, gloriously fullbodied tone and sparkling textures within the sumptuous Concertgebouw acoustic. Invest in this set: it will yield enormous rewards for years to come.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Marvellously alert Concertgebouw performances” The Times, 10th May 2013

“This disc offers delectable performances of five shrewdly contrasted works: two troubled, trenchant minor-key sonatas from the 1770s juxtaposed with a pair of lightweight pieces from the same period and culminating in the great E flat Sonata.
Andsnes is responsive to the individual character of these sonatas, to their richness and variety of incident, and their sheer unpredictablility. With his wide spectrum of colour and dynamics he makes no apologies for using a modern Steinway.
But his playing, founded on a pellucid cantabile touch and diamantine passagework, marries classical refinement and clarity with a spontaneous exuberance, a sense that the next phrase is yet to be created. Andsnes is always ready to add stylish and witty touches of embellishment to the repeats. The opening movements of both minorkey sonatas have a lithe, sinewy urgency, above all in the vehement sequences of their developments, together with a rare delicacy of nuance: and here, as elsewhere, you notice how alive and concentrated is his piano and pianissimo playing. Andsnes brings a bright, buoyant yet lyrical approach to the E flat Sonata's outer movements, to the wonderful Adagio a limpid line, a subtly flexed pulse and, in the B flat minor central episode, a true sense of passion. This is just the sort of playing – joyous, imaginative, involving – to win Haydn's sonatas a wider following. The recording of the E flat, made in a church in Oslo, has slightly more ambient warmth than that of the remaining sonatas, recorded at EMI's Abbey Road studios. But throughout, the piano sound is natural and present without being too closely miked.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

'Don't even hestitate. This is a true must-have.' ***** The Independent on Sunday