Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 88-92; Sinfonia Concertante

Unfortunate Haydn from Rattle and BPO

Daniel Lelchuk | NH, USA | 08/26/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"With all respect to the Berliners, this is one of those discs that really should never have been made. The biggest problem is with the wonderful Sinfonia Concertante. Rattle seems to force his soloists and orchestra to produce an exaggerated interpretation in many respects. There are so many crescendi done that are not in the score, and they are so overplayed, it sounds almost as if the recording engineer was literally having a good time playing with the volume knob. The soloists are not particularly distinguished sounding either, especially the violinist, who seems only able to play a phrase in the daintiest, most overly-delicate, and almost crudely mannered form.

The symphonies seem plagued by some of the same habits. It is hard to imagine that the Berlin Philharmonic plays Haydn like this, when so recently, under Abbado, they were doing some wonderful classical music. Is this the way Rattle aimed to change the orchestra? As much as one would like to think not, it seems all but sure.



A wonderful alternative is Bernstein with the VPO doing some of the same symphonies and the Sinfonia Concertante."

HIP Haydn from Rattle and the Berliners

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 08/14/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The most famous Haydn recorded by the Berlin Phil. was under Furtwangler and Karajan, neither of whom came within a mile of being Historically Informed. Here Rattle goes for total HIP-ness, employing fleet tempos, small forces, and no vibrato in the strings. In this outing he goes a few steps farther than his semi-period-style Beethoven cycle. There, his biggest successes came in the two earliest symphonies, so it's no wonder that he finds Haydn congenial, and one must admit that Haydn's symphonies take more naturally to period styling.



The only named symphony here is the 'Oxford,' No. 92, although Sym. #88 is equally popular. For many youger listeners No. 89-91 may come as entirely new, and to encourage buyers EMI offers a great two-for-one bargain. If you want to hear Haydn in HIP style from world-class musicians, here's your chance. There's no doubt that the Berliners play exquisitely, and for that reason alone Rattle's reading of the wonderful Sinfonia Concertante ranks close to the top of the list. There is a hint of timidity in the interpretation, however.



I feel a little guilty not giving this delightful set five stars, because my reservations are intangible. It's not enough to say that the minuets shouldn't be taken super-fast, basically as Scherzos without a hint of court dance. But Rattle makes everything so fizzy and bright that I don't find enough relaxation, much less tenderness; he doesn't leave space for this music to be loved. Many listeners may not agree, and if you want exhiliration above all else, you shouldn't hesitate to buy this new set. God knows it's getting harder and harder to hear Haydn's music in the concert hall."

Total Mess

Doug - Haydn Fan | California | 06/02/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I have no idea what Rattle is attempting here - but somewhere in his rise to the top of his profession he's managed to forget all the things that once made him an excellent Haydn conductor - or for that matter, an excellent conductor, period!



From the lame unsprung rhythms of the Minuet of 88, where, instead of the bracing life-affirming fff stomp of a Furtwangler or a Scherchen, Rattle gives us a matter of fact statement of the forte carefully played and incapable of awakening anybody to stepping out - let alone back from the dead as Scherchen plays it! - and all the way to Rattle's handling of the final Presto of 92, where the opening woodwind's notating is completely smeared - and all the way between - this is just a total mess. Volumes too often merge together, rather than contrast. Playing continually runs down rhythmically, like water seeking the lowest level. One minute Rattle goes for rubato and odd tempo changes with all the trimmings and odd quirks ala Frans Bruggen and his Orchestra of the 18th Century, forgetting that Bruggen can do this without losing his edge because he brings far more alacrity to his proceedings through knowingly playing off the harsher contrasts of his period instruments. By comparison, Rattle's ensemble using modern instruments designed and played by the Berlin players for optimum melding sounds like a nun on a burleske stage. Then, just as you wonder what possibly could be the point to such contradictory proceedings, Rattle suddenly alters his style, and rushes things along to a strict metronome count as unyielding as Gardiner. It's positively crazy - there's no overall unifying vision, and the playing ends up saying nothing.



I have no idea whose idea was this disaster - but why would one go out of his - or her- way to drastically reduce the forces of the Berlin Philharmonic in the first place for such grandly symphonic music is beyond my comprehension. We have far too many examples of smaller bands! As I have said before, and often, Haydn would LOVE to hear the full Berlin play his music. I mean really, would you tell Haydn, "We're only going to use the full orchestra for this Shostakovitch piece later in the program, your music gets the small group." Yeah, right. Haydn was a reasonable man, but he knew his worth, and were he brought back from the grave I'm sure his reply would be ferociously and clear - "Like Blazes you're going to sell my music short! You play it with the full orchestra or don't bother!"



Why articifically create another smaller ensemble from a group so peerless as the Berlin? Is this what we can expect from Rattle in the futrue when he essays Mozart's Jupiter? It makes no sense - especially for this large scaled - yes, even Olympian music. But worse, having shrunk the forces, one might at least expect period instruments and far more careful delineation, and better more precise readings. The idea that one reviewer claims, that you can have your cake and eat it too, with 18th century period style and late 20th century super smooth intonation and teamwork is laughable! This is the worst of both worlds.



Symphony 88 is one of the grandest, most heroic symphonies in the entire classical repetorie. And 92 is not far behind. Denying these works their true glory with the full complement of the Berlin Philharmonic, as Furtangler used, is not so much a blunder, as unmitiagted baloney! Rattle does not expand our vision of the mighty works, he shrinks it!



Boo!



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