An enterprising Haydn
programme from Gordan Nicolic, until
recently the leader of the London Symphony
Orchestra. He directs strong and vital
performances, aided by recorded sound
that allows the music’s dynamic range
to make a powerful impact.
The virtuosity of the
playing was on Haydn’s agenda when he
composed his London Symphonies for Johann
Salomon’s concerts at the Hanover Square
Rooms. And in a venue of that size the
dramatic impact must have made a terrific
impression. As such this performance
carries much conviction and is impressive
and exciting. The quieter moments are
also enjoyable, in that Haydn’s miraculous
attention to contrapuntal detail is
so well articulated. When the tutti
climaxes arrive, as they do in all four
movements, the effect is thrilling,
but the sound does seem somewhat congested.
There is still a lot of interest in
the complex textures, but the weight
of the sound dominates in a way that
it does not, for example, in the Philips
recording by the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis (Philips
Duo 442 614 2). Perhaps this has more
to do with the acoustic of the venue,
the Concertgebouw itself in Davis’s
case, compared with the smaller Vakult
Hall in Nicolic’s.
This is an interesting
compilation of repertoire, even if at
just over fifty minutes the CD contains
less music than we might expect nowadays.
The Overture to the 1779 opera L’isola
disabitata (The uninhabited island)
is typically appealing. This work
was first performed soon after the disastrous
fire at Eszterháza which destroyed
the new theatre, and it is a rarity
well worth hearing. Haydn is never less
than imaginative and the performance
serves the music well. Given that this
work is less well known, the insert
notes prove particularly helpful, and
the translation is so fluent that it
reads as though it were the original.
In fact the whole presentation is a
model of its kind, the font size and
clear layout contributing to the success.
The Sinfonia Concertante
was composed for London, for Haydn’s
first visit in 1794 rather than the
second visit two years later, when he
wrote the Military Symphony.
It was a response to the rival Professional
Concerts directed by the Frenchman Ignaz
Pleyel, which specialized in this type
of composition that had been made famous
by the celebrated Mannheim orchestra.
An amalgam of symphony and concerto,
this was the successor of the baroque
concerto grosso, featuring a team of
soloists while acknowledging the importance
of the full ensemble also.
Haydn’s Sinfonia
Concertante is a three-movement
piece, but in other respects it has
much in common with the other London
Symphonies, such is the richness
of its material. Of course the music
affords opportunities for the concertante
group – violin, cello, oboe and bassoon
– to trade their virtuosity, but more
importantly, there is a true sense of
symphonic direction and some distinguished
melodic invention delivered via rhythmic
vitality. Nicolic himself plays the
violin solo, and his colleagues match
his exacting standards. The recording
projects the relationship between the
orchestra and the solo group to perfection,
its subtlety surpassing that in the
distinguished Decca recording featuring
the Philharmonia Hungarica conducted
by Antal Dorati. For in this new compilation
from Pentatone the Sinfonia Concertante
is the jewel in the crown.
Terry Barfoot
for details
PENTATONE
CLASSICS SACD PTC 5186 300 [51:08]
