Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn
Orchestra: Danish Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Ádám Fischer
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8574517
Release: 2023
Size: 2.18 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 96 in D major ‘Miracle’
01. I. Adagio – Allegro
02. II. Andante
03. III. Menuetto – Trio
04. IV. Finale. Vivace assai
Symphony No. 97 in C major
05. I. Adagio – Vivace
06. II. Adagio ma non troppo
07. III. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio
08. IV. Finale. Spirituoso
Symphony No. 98 in B flat major
09. I. Adagio – Allegro
10. II. Adagio cantabile
11. III. Menuetto – Trio
12. IV. Finale. Presto
The second volume in this series (Volume 1 is on 8.574516) is devoted to three more ‘London’ symphonies. No. 96 in D major ‘The Miracle’ – so named, as the legend goes, after a falling chandelier narrowly missed the audience during its Hanover Square Rooms premiere – exemplifies the grandeur of these works. The structural surprises of No. 97 in C major and the hymnal slow movement of No. 98 in B flat major reinforce Haydn’s inexhaustible compositional versatility and inventiveness. These recordings are the product of a two-decade partnership between Adam Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra during which they have explored the most effective technical solutions necessary for performing these works.
Physical album buyers will get a clue as to the intentions of conductor Ádám Fischer on this 2023 release, the second in a Danish Chamber Orchestra series devoted to Haydn’s 12 London symphonies. For Haydn’s audiences, Fischer writes, “there was an atmosphere at his concerts that is only felt at rock concerts today.” This is a good point, but Fischer’s methods for achieving this atmosphere will be a matter of taste. In place of rock concert amplification, he uses really loud timpani, seemingly hit with a hard mallet. Paired with this are unusual string attacks, with a great variety of articulation and an overall punchy sound. It might seem busy, or it might be just the ticket, depending on one’s perspective. Sample the outer movements to decide; Fischer is a bit more straightforward in the slow movements and minuets. Finally, as they were on Fischer’s first album in the series, tempos are quick, raising the overall tension level. That first album was greeted with a variety of critical opinions, and this one probably will be similarly received. This is all to the good; these are genuinely adventurous Haydn recordings from the septuagenarian Fischer, and they made classical best-seller lists in the autumn of 2023. The sound from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen is clear; it is a great improvement on the murky acoustic of Fischer’s earlier recordings of these works on the Nimbus label with the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra.