Hermann Scherchen: 1950’s Haydn Symphonies Recordings (6 CD box set, FLAC)

Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn
Orchestra: Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Staatsopernorchester
Conductor: Hermann Scherchen
Audio CD
SPARS Code: AAD
Number of Discs: 6 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Size: 2.2 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc 1:
01. 1. Allegro con brio – 1. Allegro con brio
02. 3. Adagio – 2. Adagio [Symphony in E minor, H.I No.44 – “Mourning”]
03. 2. Menuetto (Allegretto) – Canone in Diapason – 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) [Symphony in E minor, H.I No.44 – “Mourning”]
04. 4. Finale (Presto) – 4. Finale (Presto)
05. 1. Adagio – Allegro spiritoso – 1. Adagio – Allegro spiritoso
06. 2. Adagio – 2. Adagio
07. 3. Menuet (Allegretto) – 3. Menuet (Allegretto)
08. 4. Presto – 4. Presto
09. 1. Allegro assai – 1. Allegro assai
10. 2. Adagio – 2. Adagio
11. 3. Menuet (Allegretto) – 3. Menuet (Allegretto)
12. 4. Finale (Presto – Adagio) – 4. Finale (Presto – Adagio)

Disc 2:
01. 1. Adagio – 1. Adagio
02. 2. Allegro di molto – 2. Allegro di molto
03. 3. Menuet – 3. Menuet
04. 4. Finale (Presto) – 4. Finale (Presto)
05. 1. Allegro di molto – 1. Allegro di molto
06. 2. Adagio, ma semplicemente – 2. Adagio, ma semplicemente
07. 3. Menuetto – Trio – 3. Menuetto – Trio
08. 4. Finale (Presto) – 4. Finale (Presto)
09. 1. Allegro spiritoso – 1. Allegro spiritoso
10. 2. Adagio – 2. Adagio
11. 3. Menuetto – 3. Menuetto
12. 4. Finale (Presto) – 4. Finale (Presto)
13. 1. Adagio – Allegro – 1. Adagio – Allegro
14. 2. Largo – 2. Largo
15. 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) – 3. Menuetto (Allegretto)
16. 4. Finale (Allegro con spirito) – 4. Finale (Allegro con spirito)

Disc 3:
01. 1. Adagio – Allegro assai – 1. Adagio – Allegro assai
02. 2. Largo cantabile – 2. Largo cantabile
03. 3. Menuetto (Allegro) – 3. Menuetto (Allegro)
04. 4. Finale (Presto ma non troppo) – 4. Finale (Presto ma non troppo)
05. 1. Adagio – Vivace assai – 1. Adagio – Vivace assai
06. 2. Andante – 2. Andante
07. 3. Menuet (Allegro molto) – 3. Menuet (Allegro molto)
08. 4. Finale (Allegro di molto) – 4. Finale (Allegro di molto)
09. 1. Adagio – Allegro – 1. Adagio – Allegro
10. 2. Andante – 2. Andante
11. 3. Menuet (Allegro) – 3. Menuet (Allegro)
12. 4. Finale (Spiritoso) – 4. Finale (Spiritoso)

Disc 4:
01. 1. Allegro moderato – 1. Allegro moderato
02. 2. Andante – 2. Andante
03. 3. Menuetto – 3. Menuetto
04. 4. Finale (Vivace) – 4. Finale (Vivace)
05. 1. Adagio – Allegro – 1. Adagio – Allegro
06. 2. Adagio – 2. Adagio
07. 3. Menuetto (Allegro) – 3. Menuetto (Allegro)
08. 4. Finale (Presto) – 4. Finale (Presto)
09. 1. Adagio – vivace assai – 1. Adagio – vivace assai
10. 2. Adagio – 2. Adagio
11. 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) – 3. Menuetto (Allegretto)
12. 4. Finale (Vivace) – 4. Finale (Vivace)

Disc 5:
01. 1. Adagio – Allegro – 1. Adagio – Allegro
02. 2. Andante – 2. Andante
03. 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) – 3. Menuetto (Allegretto)
04. 4. Finale (Vivace) – 4. Finale (Vivace)
05. 1. Adagio – Vivace – 1. Adagio – Vivace
06. 2. Adagio ma non troppo – 2. Adagio ma non troppo
07. 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) – 3. Menuetto (Allegretto)
08. 4. Finale (Presto assai) – 4. Finale (Presto assai)
09. 1. Adagio – Allegro con spirito – 1. Adagio – Allegro con spirito
10. 2. Andante più tosto allegretto – 2. Andante più tosto allegretto
11. 3. Menuet – Trio – 3. Menuet – Trio
12. 4. Finale (Allegro con spirito) – 4. Finale (Allegro con spirito)

Disc 6:
01. 1. Adagio – Allegro – 1. Adagio – Allegro
02. 2. Allegretto – 2. Allegretto
03. 3. Menuet (Moderato) – 3. Menuet (Moderato)
04. 4. Finale (Presto) – 4. Finale (Presto)
05. 1. Adagio – Presto – 1. Adagio – Presto
06. 2. Andante – 2. Andante
07. 3. Menuet (Allegretto) – Trio – 3. Menuet (Allegretto) – Trio
08. 4. Finale (Vivace) – 4. Finale (Vivace)
09. 1. Largo – Vivace – 1. Largo – Vivace
10. 2. Adagio – 2. Adagio
11. 3. Menuetto (Allegro) – 3. Menuetto (Allegro)
12. 4. Finale. Presto – 4. Finale. Presto

Glorious, absolutely fabulous Haydn

Beecham might be charming and witty and Szell might be nicely precise and sparkling, but Scherchen’s Haydn resonates from its own planet. It is rich, caring and soulful—the kind, I feel, that provides deep and lasting satisfaction. The level of quality in these interpretations is never in question. For example, as the first movement unfolds in Symphony 49 ask yourself if you’ve ever heard Haydn played so marvelously, with this sort of depth and noble feeling. Then revel in the rhythm and rich texture of the second movement, the wonderfully tuneful, striding expression of the third and finally the attractive vibrancy of the short lived final movement. If this performance doesn’t move you or give you real satisfaction I don’t know what will.

There are many moments in this set where string work in particular is articulated with telling and beautifully shaped detail. In Symphony 92 (“Oxford”) an absolute rightness prevails with respect to Scherchen’s musical compass, especially in the second movement. In Symphony 88 the largo may be slow, but listen to the heartfelt expressiveness elicited by the conductor. Next, hear the magical weaving of melody he displays in the menuetto, and lastly, the joie de vivre he invests the finale with.

Another area where Scherchen excels is in dynamic shading and power. Symphony 93 is exemplary here and so is the conductor’s passion….Scherchen also enhances nicely the wonderful air of stately sentiment that illuminates Symphonies 99 and 104….And the plaudits go on. By the way, the sound is quite fine.

While this set obviously will not entirely satisfy every purchaser or would be purchaser, including some of those great Haydn lovers, I consider it an extremely gratifying collection. There are some moments where I might prefer a slight touch of the characteristic Szell or Beecham approaches. But, I think I could live solely and quite easily with Scherchen’s committed performances for an indefinite period of time. Not many conductors can offer such consistent quality in so fairly wide a range of symphonic output. If I were you I wouldn’t wait to let this one lapse into discontinuance.

Scherchen-sational!

Hermann Scherchen is generally thought of as the greatest champion of modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg, but surprisingly he was also the first conductor to record Haydn’s complete “London” Symphonies. These early mono accounts from 1950-53 (with one exception — see below), originally made for the Westminster label with both the Vienna Symphony and Vienna State Opera Orchestras, are reissued here in DG’s “Original Masters” series in a handsome six-disc thin, paper-sleeved box set. In addition to the 12 “Londons,” this set includes Symphonies Nos. 44, 45 (the set’s only stereo performance from 1958), 49, 55, 80, 88 & 92, plus the first ever recording of Haydn’s “Military” Symphony (No. 100) from 1950. (Different from the 1958 stereo remake recently included on Scherchen’s “Great Conductors of the 20th Century” title — see my review.) Historical significance aside, these are majestic Haydn performances that share the same rarified air as those by Dorati, Davis, Bernstein and Jochum (see my reviews of the latter two). In all, this is another first rate set in the “Original Masters” series.

Brash and Gutsy Haydn Performances

Back when almost all conductors favored a lush and warm big band sound for Haydn, that fascinating maverick Hermann Scherchen opted for a much leaner, grittier performance style. As a result, Scherchen’s 1950s Westminster Haydn recordings, seen with the benefit of hindsight, seem to foreshadow the preferences of today’s period style conductors like Norrington and Harnoncourt. But however you view them, these recordings still sound refreshing today because of the rhythmic vigor and drama Scherchen consistently projects. In fact, no other conductor so persuasively establishes the linkages between Haydn and Beethoven as Scherchen does, but without forcing Haydn into an anachronistic Beethoven sound world. For this reissue, Deutsche Grammophon’s Emil Berliner studios have excellently re-processed Westminster’s master tapes (mono, with one exception) and the resulting CDs are astonishingly vibrant considering that the masters are over 50 years old. As with all Scherchen recordings, expect some hell-for-leather tempos and ragged ensemble … Scherchen was not at all interested in manufacturing sterile, well-manicured artifacts in the recording studio, and this is raw, not elegant, Haydn playing. The laendlers and minuet movements in particular postively burst with elemental energy, eloquently revealing this so-sophisticated composer’s rural origins (in the Austrian Burgenland) and peasant roots. Really unique music-making!