Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 88 - 92 / Sinfonia Concertante

As with the other volumes that I have reviewed, this one is also technically flawless. It is a full digital recording so even the finest details can be heard.

Great discs, impressive packaging and its part of a set that is destined to become the benchmark for a complete symphony set.


Masterful   October 9, 2000
Rudy Avila (Lennox, Ca United States)
2 out of 7 found this review helpful

Franz J. Haydn is considered by many to be the father of the symphony, having composed over a hundred. The symphonies 88-92 are excellent music that characterize the classical symphony. No. 92 is the "Oxford " symphony which Haydn composed while receiving a degree at that prestigious university. The Minuet movement of No. 89 is a popular Haydn tune. Haydn, although not as celebrated as Mozart, remains a masterful Classical composer. His greatest achievement has to be his spectacular "Creation " for chorus and orchestra. His symphonies, including the famous "Surprise " and "London " symphonies and his quartets are all very excellent. Mozart loved all of Haydn's works. And with good reason.


Worthy of Papa Haydn's Approval!   August 10, 2000
Christian R. Greco (Boston, MA USA)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

Conductor Adam Fischer has accomplished what few other of his peers can claim: he has recorded all of Joseph Haydn's 104 Symphonies, which are available in a series of volumes (albiet not together in a massive set, which would be enjoyable). Not only has Fischer done this, but his renditions of Haydn's works are utterly superb! My own favorite Haydn symphony has long been the 48th, his "Maria Theresia." The energy and passion of the work, I submit, exceeds anything else the composer ever accomplished in his symphonic endeavors. And Fischer captures the 48th symphony with staggering accuracy and dynamic range. This point perhaps best summarizes ALL of the conductor's versions of Haydn's symphonies. Working with the polished and richly-textured Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra (a name perfectly suited for a group attempting these works) Fischer manages to capture the essential excitement, warmth, emotional surge, soothing undertones, and most importantly, the sheer musical vision of each of Haydn's symphonies.

While these works come as a set, one should not make the tragic mistake of interpreting these symphonies as a long, entertwined linkage of Haydnian thought; each of Haydn's 104 symphonic visions are unique, vastly different expressions of musical observation and explorations of musical intellect. He wrote one hundred and four symphonies! That number itself bespeaks the epic breadth of Papa Haydn's musical vision; Mozart had good reason to refer to his close friend as "The Master"!

The gloriously rich and epic history of recorded classical music will eventually hold Fischer as one of, if not THE, premiere Haydn interpreteur -- and rightfully so. This set comes HIGHLY recommended for any admirer of Joseph Haydn's accomplishments, and indeed any lover of the classical genre as a whole.