Berlin Classics' Greatest Works series does not just draw on recordings from the recycling bin; it reaches all the way down to the bottom. With the exception of the final Piano Trio in G major, Hob. 15/25, the recordings here date back to the 1970s, and in one case to 1967. And they sound it, both technically and interpretively. Really this is no way to achieve the contemporary feel that will draw the new listeners classical music supposedly needs. This said, you can do worse than this double-disc set, both within this series and for a Haydn collection in general. The choice of pieces is reasonable, although few would pick the trio as one of Haydn's greatest works, and the booklet's bewailing of the neglect of the composer's vocal music goes unaddressed by the program. The symphonies are the responsibility of
Günther Herbig, one of the workhorse conductors from the eastern side of the Iron Curtain and still very much active. Leading the oversize-for-Haydn
Staatskapelle Berlin and
Dresden Philharmonic, he can't keep the minuets from lurching a bit from the weight, but is sensitive to Haydn's humor. He delivers a truly surprising "Surprise" Symphony by quickly skating past the surprise as if it had never occurred. (The German nickname for this symphony, "Mit der Paukenschlag," or with the tympani stroke, effectively spoils the surprise.) Things gradually decline from there, with a ragged Trumpet Concerto in E flat major and a humorless Sinfonia Concertante in B flat major in which the players seem bewildered by the instrumental recitative, anticipating Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, at the beginning of the last movement. The chamber pieces on disc two come off unobjectionably, but it's hard to imagine this release making many converts to Haydn's endlessly entertaining output. A better place to start with Haydn would be one of the symphony recordings by conductor
Thomas Fey and his historical-instrument
Heidelberger Sinfoniker.