Haydn is another composer who was so prolific, it may be hard to narrow down his best compositions. He is just as well knows for his Oratorios as his symphonic and orchestral works. This list is focused on the instrumental pieces, and I will be adding a listing of Hadyn's vocal works in the future.
Haydn's London
Symphonies, composed for his two visits to London, are given a great performance
by Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. These circa
1950s-60s recordings of the 'First' London Symphonies 92-97 are wonderful,
and Sony has re-repackaged them in two Bargain CDs. For the "Second'
London Symphonies, my favorites by Jochum, Reiner and Slatkin are deleted
from the current catalogs for some reason. No matter, Mackerras and the
St. Luke's Orchestra have a stirring account of No. 101 'The Clock'
and No. 104 'London', or Dorati and the Philharmonia Hungarica give
us No. 94 'Surprise, No, 100 'Military' and No. 104 'London'.
If you would like a nice set of the major works Nos. 93-104, the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Sir Colin Davis have two Philips Duo
Sets. Volume One has Nos. 95-96-98-102-103-104 and Volume Two
has Nos. 93-94-97-99-100-101.
Haydn's String Quartets have lost performances by The Lindsays and The Salomon Quartet in the current catalog, again for no reason that I can think of, except that the labels [ASV and Hyperion] are not the major classical labels. However, Naxos and the Kodaly Quartet have Haydn's complete String Quartets on disc now, so I suggest the String Quartets Op 76 Nos. 4-6 'Sunrise' and the String Quartets Op 64, 4-6 'The Lark' single CD recordings.
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101 &102 Conductor: Sir Charles Mackerras Ensemble: Orchestra of St. Luke's Label: Telarc Catalog: 80311 |
Symphony
94-100-104 Conductor: Antal Dorati Ensemble: Philharmonia Hungarica Label: Polygram / Penguin Classics Catalog: 460628 |
London Symphonies Volume One Conductor: Sir Colin Davis Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orch Label: Philips Duo Catalog: 442611 |
London Symphonies Volume Two Conductor: Sir Colin Davis Ensemble: Royal Concertgebouw Orch Label: Philips Duo Catalog: 442614 |
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String
Quartets Op 76 Nos. 4-6 |
String
Quartets Op 64 Nos. 4-6 |
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Symphonies
92 94 & 96 |
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OUT OF PRINT CDs
Symphonies
93 95 & 97
Conductor: George Szell
Ensemble: Cleveland Orchestra
Label: Sony
Catalog:: 67175