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)
“Delightful Viennese peasants in minuet of Surprise and warm good humour in No. 99” BBC Music Magazine, June 2011 ****
“This remains the best available version of Haydn’s splendid Symphony No. 99 in E flat” Gramophone Magazine
“meticulous dynamics and sensitive phrasing” Gramophone Magazine (Schubert Symphony No. 6)
“gracious pleasure to be obtained from the sunshine” Gramophone Magazine (Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4)
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