Haydn: Symphony No. 85 in B flat major 'La Reine' (Die Konigin, The Queen)

Following the success of the Mozart Mass in C minor and Requiem releases, CORO is delighted to announce its third recording with Harry Christophers and the Handel and Haydn Society. Soloists Teresa Wakim, Paula Murrihy, Thomas Cooley, Sumner Thompson joined Harry and the Society to record Mozart’s Coronation Mass live at Boston’s Symphony Hall earlier this year.

Mozart’s Mass in C major is one of his most popular and enduring works. Know as the ‘Coronation Mass’ – a nickname it acquired following a performance conducted by Antonio Salieri in 1791 in Prague at the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia – it includes the beautifully tender Agnus Dei. Alongside the Mass on this CD are Mozart’s soprano solo Exsultate, jubilate, beautifully performed by Teresa Wakim, and Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 85, which was a favourite of Marie Antoinette, leading to the name ‘La Reine’, by which it is still known today.

Harry Christophers was appointed Artistic Director of Boston’s internationally acclaimed Handel and Haydn Society in 2008. Founded in 1815, the Society is considered the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the U.S. and has given the American premieres of major works by Handel, Bach and Haydn, has won a Grammy Award, and will celebrate its Bicentennial in 2015.

Thomas Fey’s repertoire ranges from Bach to Brahms and he has focused on the symphonies and solo concertos of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn. The international music press has poured out a flood of acclaim for the Heidelberger Sinfoniker’s fiery, unusual interpretations. A number of their recordings have received international awards.

Ernest Ansermet was the first conductor to record the six "Paris" symphonies of Haydn. Charming works, full of humorous touches, they were reissued often on LP, with some of the most entertaining covers ever seen (these are reproduced in the booklet).

What do modern scholars of Joseph Haydn have to say about the Paris Symphonies? Robbins Landon calls them "a remarkable fusion of brilliance, elegance, and warmth." Charles Rosen writes: "There is not a measure, even the most serious, of these great works which is not marked by Haydn's wit; and his wit has now grown so powerful and so efficient that it has become a sort of passion, a force at once omnivorous and creative.”

Parisian audiences loved the works of the Austrian Haydn, and were thrilled when the Comte d'Ogny commissioned a set of six symphonies for performance by the finest orchestra in Paris at Le Concert de la Loge Olympique.

Fortunately in our time, this re-release of the Paris Symphonies also has a superb group of the finest musicians in Jeanne Lamon and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

The Wiener Concert-Verein is a chamber orchestra of international renown and was founded in 1987 by members of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Their repertoire ranges from Viennese, classical works to contemporary Austrian compositions.

The London Chamber Orchestra, the UK's oldest chamber orchestra, has nurtured the new and paid homage to the traditional for 88 years. For 22 years, as Principal Conductor and Music Director, Christopher Warren-Green has brought together the inspirational musicians and repertoire for which LCO is renowned. The remarkable acoustic and intimate ambience of St. John's, Smith Square, its London home, enable LCO, the only chamber orchestra resident in London, to give vibrant performances and establish a close rapport with its audiences.The recordings on the LCO Live label, in partnership with Signum Classics, are the result of this happy marriage of orchestra and venue.

Christopher Warren-Green, LCO Music Director & Principal Conductor is a highly experienced musician and one of the UK's most engaging conductors who recently featured in BBC TV's Maestro.

"…everyone on stage seems to be having a whale of a time and this feeds into a performance in which the music sounds new-minted" The Guardian

"pristine pianism of Tan with exquisite articulation and colouring" Glasgow Herald (on Melvyn Tan)

These works were popular from the very first performances. The Estonian-born conductor Kristjan Järvi is well known for his insight into a wide range of repertoire.

The programme for the Concert Spirituel given on 13 April 1784 lists 'a symphony in which the players leave, by Haydn', whilst an article published in the Mercure de France provides definite confirmation that it was the symphony that we know as the 'Farewell' Symphony. We cannot know how this score made its way to Paris, but Haydn and his music were extremely popular there.The rival to the Concert Spirituel, the Concert de la loge Olympique, commissioned the six 'Paris' symphonies the following year.