Ever had enough of period instruments? Ever had enough of authentic performance practice? Ever wish you could just hear music played with soul, with spirit, and with the kind of joie de vivre that makes performances truly live, whether or not it is played authentically on instruments of the period? If so, try this set of
Haydn's "Paris" symphonies performed the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra lead by
Adam Fischer. Consisting of players drawn from the
Vienna Philharmonic, the
Vienna Symphony, and the
Hungarian State Orchestra, the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra plays on modern instruments in a modern style, that is, with touches of rubato and portamento, but especially with a sense of freedom that comes with a lifetime of playing the instruments of their time and place. Formed and led by
Fischer in 1987, the orchestra has, naturally enough, recorded all of
Haydn's symphonies for Nimbus and, as these discs demonstrate, they may be the finest set of the symphonies ever recorded. The grace of the strings, the color of the winds, the sweetness of the strings, the blend of the brass, the balance of the ensemble, the lightness of the rhythms, the rightness of the tempos: this is
Haydn playing of the highest quality.
Fischer himself is a superb
Haydn conductor, catching the composer's combination of the wit and solemnity, of roughness and sophistication, of vitality and profundity. Recorded at Esterhazy in the Haydnsaal, Nimbus' sound is admirably lifelike.