Classical Net

The Internet's Premier Classical Music Source

Related Links

Recommended Links

Give the Composers Timeline Poster



Site News

What's New for
Winter 2018/2019?

Site Search

Follow us on
Facebook    Twitter

Affiliates

In association with
Amazon
Amazon UKAmazon GermanyAmazon CanadaAmazon FranceAmazon Japan

ArkivMusic
CD Universe

JPC
ArkivMusic

Sheet Music Plus Featured Sale

CD Review

Franz Joseph Haydn

The Barbirolli Society Presents

  • Symphony #83 "The Hen"
  • Symphony #88
  • Symphony #96 "Miracle"
Hallé Orchestra/John Barbirolli
Dutton CDBP9750 65m ADD
Find it at AmazonFind it at Amazon UKFind it at Amazon GermanyFind it at Amazon CanadaFind it at Amazon FranceFind it at Amazon Japan

From the very beginning of Sir John's career as a conductor, Haydn's works, particularly his symphonies, featured regularly in the Maestro's concerts and recordings. In fact, one of the earliest studio forays was of Symphony 104, 'London' way back in 1927. This lifelong love for Haydn's music is very evident in the three symphonies presented on this disc.

Recorded in 1949, 1953 and 1954 respectively they were among Barbirolli's favourites, especially #88 of which he was extremely fond. Throughout his composing life, Haydn always sought to bring happiness and optimism to all those who heard his works, and these three symphonies are no exception. The sprightliness of the rhythms, the nobility and humour of the phrasing and the sparkling energy of the 'finales' blended with the wit in the minuets make these symphonies among the sunniest that Haydn ever composed.

Sir John rises to all these delightful diamonds with aplomb and a considerable dose of light-heartedness, delivering interpretations that are fresh and enthusiastically youthful. Hearing them almost 55 years on has not diminished their infectious timbre and style. Maybe one might hesitate to buy due to their being recorded more than half a century ago, but this is precisely the reason why this disc should be in everyone's library.

The remastering by Michael Dutton is a truly amazing miracle of today's state of the art technology. The clarity of detail and excellent balance are of course the feat of Arthur Clarke, Francis Dillnut and Robert Beckett, but hearing this disc on headphones as I did confirms the astonishing soundscape achieved by these great engineers. Distortion is non-existent and tape-hiss is barely audible, if at all. The annotations by Michael Kennedy, although brief, are also an asset to this issue, imparting information not only about Sir John, but also on the symphonies themselves. A wonderful example of what good music mixed with modern expertise can achieve.

Copyright © 2005, Gerald Fenech

Trumpet

© 1995-2022 Classical Net
Use of text, images, or any other copyrightable material contained in these pages, without the written permission of the copyright holder,
except as specified in the Copyright Notice, is strictly prohibited. All Rights Reserved.