Haydn: Symphony No. 94 in G Major 'Surprise' (Mit dem Paukenschlag)

Recorded live at the Philharmonie, Berlin, January/February 1976

Born in Vienna in April 1902, the cheery-looking Josef Krips seems to have been pre-destined to achieve eminence in the Viennese classics. He recorded with both, the Wiener Philharmoniker and the key London orchestras for Decca in the 1940s, 50s and 60s and the interpretations have genuine expressive power while remaining devoid of exaggeration or affectation.

What could be more enjoyable than spending an hour or two in the company of Haydn, Schubert and Mendelssohn in their sunniest moods, especially when our guide is the amiably expert Viennese conductor Josef Krips? The recordings here take in two London orchestras as well as the Vienna Philharmonic and span nearly ten years (1948-1957). They are especially notable for bringing together all of Krips’s Haydn recordings for Decca. The notes for this issue are by Tully Potter and it forms part of a series of five reissues devoted to the art of Josef Krips.

Recording producers: Erik Smith (Haydn Nos. 94, 99); Victor Olof (Haydn Nos. 92, 104, Schubert, Mendelssohn)

Recording engineers: James Brown (Haydn Nos. 94, No. 99); Kenneth Wilkinson (Haydn Nos. 92, 104, Schubert, Mendelssohn)

Recording locations: Kingsway Hall, London, UK, April 1948 (Schubert), April 1949 (Haydn No. 104), May 1953 (Haydn No. 92), October 1953 (Mendelssohn); Sofiensaal, Vienna, Austria, September 1957 (Haydn Nos. 94, 99)

In 1961, at age 86, Pierre Monteux was appointed chief conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra on a 25-year contract. It was typical of his sense of humour that he chose to sign a contract of such length at this time in his life, but there is no doubt that the brief period he enjoyed with the LSO – he died three years later, in 1964 – was one of the most remarkable Indian summers enjoyed by any conductor.

Here reissued are absolute classics of the recorded oeuvre, in absolutely sublime sound and with a real degree of punch that informed the “Decca” sound of the 1950s-70s. For all the historically-informed, so called ‘authentic’ recordings of Haydn, the Monteux/Wiener Philharmoniker synthesis is one of absolute magic. And deeply felt, expertly paced, are the Brahms Haydn Variations.

Recording producers: John Culshaw (Haydn); James Walker (Brahms)

Recording engineers: James Brown (Haydn); Cyril Windebank (Brahms)

Recording locations: Sofiensaal, Vienna, Austria, April 1959 (Haydn); Kingsway Hall, London, December 1958 (Brahms)

In September 1790, following the death of his princely employer, court composer Haydn and his entire orchestra were sacked. As he was considering this change in circumstances, Haydn received an unexpected visit from Johann Peter Salomon, a German impresario based in London, who made him a tempting offer: an opera, six symphonies and twenty other pieces to be written for the city, and a guaranteed income from a new concert series. So it was that, on 2 January 1791, Haydn arrived in England for the first of two visits that would leave an indelible mark both on the musical life of his host country and on the composer himself. This program was innovatively devised by one of the leading Haydn interpreters of our time, Christopher Hogwood, who also directs the performances and plays the fortepiano parts. It explores the more intimate side of Haydn, and the extensive notes by Hogwood himself give us a glimpse of the more intimate world of Haydn's relationship with the patrons and the many real friends he met while he was this side of the Channel. It intersperses songs with chamber music, includes a late but rarely-performed String Quartet (Op. 71 No. 3) and concludes with a delectable arrangement of the ‘Surprise’ Symphony for piano, string quartet and flute. Hogwood is, of course, well known for his Haydn interpretations and while his Haydn symphony cycle for L’Oiseau-Lyre will go down in recording history as one of the Great Incomplete Projects, this 2-LP set, originally recorded in 1978 for L’Oiseau-Lyre, now appears complete on CD for the first time.

Executive producer: Ian Atkins

Recording producer: Adam Skeaping

Assistant producer: Fanny Warnock

Balance engineer: Adam Skeaping

Recording location: Rosslyn Hill Chapel, London, UK, September 1978