Haydn 'The Esterhazy Recordings' Complete Symphonies - MP3 Edition

The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra Adam Fischer, conductor

DISC 1. SYMPHONIES 1-16

1 D Major 1-3 13.19 I Presto 5.07 II Andante 6.03 III Finale: Presto 2.09

2 C Major 4-6 9.27 I Allegro 3.21 II Andante 3.03 III Finale: Presto 3.03

3 G Major 7-10 17.32 I Allegro 5.28 II Andante moderato 6.51 III Menuet & Trio 3.10 IV Finale: Alla breve (Allegro) 1.55

4 D Major 11-13 17.29 I Presto 6.12 II Andante 5.30 III Finale: Tempo di Menuetto 5.47

5 A Major 14-17 18.29 I Adagio, ma non troppo 6.53 II Allegro 6.26 III Minuet & Trio 3.22 IV Finale: Presto 1.48

6 ‘Le matin’ D Major 18-21 22.36 I Adagio-Allegro 5.46 II Adagio-Andante-Adagio 7.52 III Menuet & Trio 4.32 IV Finale: Allegro 4.26

7 ‘Le midi’ C Major 22-25 25.19 I Adagio-Allegro 7.42 II Recitativo: Adagio-Adagio 9.59 III Menuetto & Trio 3.38 IV Finale: Allegro 4.00

8 ‘Le soir’ G Major 26-29 21.48 I Allegro molto 3.54 II Andante 7.36 III Menuetto & Trio 5.15 IV La Tempesta: Presto 5.03

9 C Major 30-32 12.12 I Allegro molto 4.09 II Andante 4.55 III Finale: Menuetto & Trio 3.08

10 D Major 33-35 16.23 I Allegro 5.29 II Andante 7.38 III Finale: Presto 3.16

11 E-Flat Major 36-39 22.34 I Adagio cantabile 10.30 II Allegro 4.38 III Minuet & Trio 3.58 IV Finale: Presto 3.28

12 E Major 18.38 I Allegro 5.07 II Adagio 9.28 III Finale: Presto 4.03

13 D Major 18.06 I Allegro molto 3.45 II Adagio cantabile 5.51 III Menuet & Trio 5.13 IV Finale: Allegro molto 3.17

14 A Major 14.53 I Allegro molto 4.15 II Andante 3.39 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 3.40 IV Finale: Allegro 3.19

15 D Major 19.43 I Adagio-Presto-Adagio 6.37 II Menuet & Trio 5.00 III Andante 4.37 IV Finale: Presto 3.29

16 B-Flat Major 12.10 I Allegro 3.54 II Andante 4.57 III Finale: Presto 3.19

 

DISC 2. SYMPHONIES 17-35

17 F Major 14.44 I Allegro 5.13 II Andante, ma non troppo 6.18 III Finale: Allegro molto 3.13

18 G Major 13.47 I Andante moderato 4.21 II Allegro molto 5.03 III Tempo di Menuet 4.23

19 D Major 10.38 I Allegro molto 4.15 II Andante 3.11 III Presto 3.06

20 C Major 14.27 I Allegro molto 3.24 II Andante cantabile 4.35 III Menuet & Trio 3.05 IV Presto 3.23

21 A Major 15.53 I Adagio 4.25 II Presto 4.34 III Menuet & Trio 2.50 IV Finale: Allegro molto 4.04

22 ‘Der Philosoph’ E-Flat Major 16.50 I Adagio 6.28 II Presto 4.02 III Menuetto & Trio 3.10 IV Finale: Presto 3.10

23 G Major 16.34 I Allegro 5.39 II Andante 6.32 III Menuet & Trio 2.28 IV Finale: Presto assai 1.55

24 D Major 19.03 I [Allegro] 5.11 II Adagio 5.00 III Menuet & Trio 3.57 IV La Finale: Allegro 4.55

25 C Major 13.34 I Adagio-Allegro molto 7.21 II Menuet & Trio 3.16 III Presto 2.57

26 ‘Lamentatione’ D Minor 13.06 I Allegro assai con spirito 3.53 II Adagio 5.20 III Menuet & Trio 3.53

27 G Major 13.40 I Allegro molto 6.00 II Andante: siciliano 4.37 III Finale: Presto 3.03

28 A Major 17.45 I Allegro di molto 6.02 II Poco Adagio 6.14 III Menuet & Trio: Allegro molto 2.25 IV Presto assai 3.04

29 E Major 17.30 I Allegro ma non troppo 4.59 II Andante 4.21 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 3.16 IV Finale: Presto 4.54

30 ‘Alleluja’ C Major 13.21 I Allegro 4.35 II Andante 3.45 III Finale: Tempo di Menuet, piu tosto Allegretto 4.52

31 ‘Hornsignal’ D Major 25.08 I Allegro 4.55 II Adagio 6.24 III Menuet & Trio 3.52 IV Finale: Moderato molto-Presto 9.57

32 C Major 15.05 I Allegro molto 4.48 II Menuet & Trio 3.01 III Adagio ma non troppo 4.57 IV Finale: Presto 2.19

33 C Major 15.35 I Vivace 3.58 II Andante 5.32 III Menuet & Trio 2.21 IV Finale: Allegro 3.44

34 D Minor 17.00 I Adagio 6.27 II Allegro 5.14 III Menuet & Trio: Moderato 2.56 IV Presto assai 2.23

35 B-Flat Major 15.26 I Adagio di molto 5.01 II Andante 4.07 III Menuet & Trio: Un poco allegretto 3.00 IV Finale: Presto 3.18

 

DISC 3. SYMPHONIES 36-50

36 E-Flat Major 16.14 I Vivace 5.12 II Adagio 4.05 III Menuetto & Trio 3.06 IV Allegro 3.51

37 C Major 13.07 I Presto 4.24 II Menuet & Trio 2.54 III Andante 3.33 IV Presto 2.16

38 C Major 15.55 I Allegro di molto 5.27 II Andante molto 3.13 III Menuet & Trio: Allegro 2.41 IV Finale: Allegro di molto 4.34

39 G Minor 16.45 I Allegro assai 5.28 II Andante 3.29 III Menuet & Trio 2.44 IV Finale: Allegro di molto 5.04  

40 F Major 17.17 I Allegro 4.46 II Andante piu tosto Allegretto 5.01 III Menuet & Trio 4.27 IV Finale-Fuga: Allegro 3.03

41 C Major 18.35 I Allegro con spirito 6.01 II Un Poco Andante 5.47 III Menuet & Trio 3.24 IV Finale: Presto 3.23

42 D Major 26.04 I Moderato e Maestoso 8.18 II Andantino e cantabile 9.37 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 4.05 IV Finale: Scherzando e presto 4.04

43 ‘Merkur’ E-Flat Major 23.37 I Allegro 7.19 II Adagio 8.47 III Menuetto & Trio 3.15 IV Finale: Allegro 4.16

44 ‘Trauersinfonie’ E Minor 22.56 I Allegro con brio 6.19 II Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 4.19 III Adagio 7.22 IV Finale: Presto 4.56

45 ‘Abschiedssymphonie’ F-Sharp Minor 26.18 I Allegro assai 7.00 II Adagio 7.26 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 4.06 IV Finale: Presto-Adagio 7.45

46 B Major 16.56 I Vivace 5.31 II Poco adagio 5.05 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 2.35 IV Finale: Presto e scherzando- L’istesso Tempo di Menuet 3.45

47 G Major 20.17 I Allegro 5.12 II Un poco adagio, cantabile 7.07 III Menuet & Trio 2.15 IV Finale: Presto assai 5.43

48 ‘Maria Theresa’ C Major 26.43 I Allegro 7.30 II Adagio 10.18 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 4.22 IV Finale: Allegro 4.33

49 ‘La passione’ F Minor 21.56 I Adagio 8.20 II Allegro di molto 6.19 III Menuet & Trio 4.20 IV Finale: Presto 2.57

50 C Major 17.45 I Adagio e Maestoso-Allegro di molto 4.39 II Andante moderato 4.54 III Menuet & Trio 4.40 IV Finale: Presto 3.31

 

DISC 4. SYMPHONIES 51-64

51 B-Flat Major 19.20 I Vivace 6.19 II Adagio 6.02 III Menuetto-Trio I-Trio II 2.57 IV Finale: Allegro 4.01

52 C Minor 20.51 I Allegro assai con brio 6.19 II Andante 8.17 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 2.47 IV Finale: Presto 3.27

53 ‘L’Impériale’ D Major 22.23 I Largo maestoso-Vivace 8.02 II Andante 6.17 III Menuetto & Trio 3.38 IV Finale. Cappriccio: Presto 4.26

54 G Major 24.38 I Adagio Maestoso-Presto 5.46 II Adagio assai 9.32 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 3.28 IV Finale: Presto 5.52

55 ‘Der Schulmeister’ E-Flat Major 20.30 I Allegro di molto 5.32 II Adagio, ma semplicemente 5.59 III Menuetto & Trio 4.39 IV Finale: Presto 4.20

56 D Major 24.37 I Allegro di molto 6.44 II Adagio 8.03 III Menuet & Trio 5.37 IV Finale: Prestissimo 4.13

57 G Major 22.55 I Adagio-[Allegro] 7.49 II Adagio 5.19 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 4.30 IV Prestissimo 5.17

58 F Major 16.40 I Allegro 4.40 II Andante 5.54 III Menuet alla zopp-Trio Un poco Allegretto 2.30 IV Finale: Presto 3.36

59 ‘Feuersymphonie’ A Major 17.22 I Presto 4.30 II Andante o piu tosto Allegretto 6.17 III Menuetto & Trio 3.37 IV Allegro assai 2.48

60 ‘Il distratto’ C Major 24.43 I Adagio-Allegro di molto 5.58 II Andante 5.54 III Menuetto & Trio 4.13 IV Presto 3.11 V Adagio (di Lamentatione) 3.58 VI Finale: Prestissimo 1.38

61 D Major 20.33 I Vivace 5.30 II Adagio 7.03 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 4.08 IV Prestissimo 3.51

62 D Major 20.10 I Allegro 5.19 II Allegretto 6.25 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 2.33 IV Finale: Allegro 5.52

63 ‘La Roxelane’ C Major Versione seconda 19.42 I Allegro 5.31 II ‘La Roxelane’ Allegretto (o piu tosto allegro) 6.25 III Menuet & Trio 3.35 IV Finale: Presto 4.10

64 ‘Tempora mutantur’ A Major 18.20 I Allegro con spirito 6.16 II Largo 6.26 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 2.34 IV Finale: Presto 3.03

 

DISC 5. SYMPHONIES 65-78

65 A Major 17.02 I Vivace e con spirito 5.03 II Andante 5.53 III Menuetto & Trio 2.51 IV Finale: Presto 3.14

66 B-Flat Major 21.58 I Allegro con brio 6.06 II Adagio 8.15 III Menuetto & Trio 3.24 IV Finale: Scherzando e presto 4.13

67 F Major 28.06 I Presto 6.13 II Adagio 9.27 III Menuetto & Trio 2.41 IV Finale: Allegro di molto-Adagio e cantabile-Allegro di molto 9.45

68 B-Flat Major 22.46 I Vivace 4.22 II Menuetto & Trio 2.56 III Adagio cantabile 10.15 IV Finale: Presto 5.13

69 ‘Laudon’ C Major 20.23 I Vivace 4.19 II Un poco adagio piu tosto andante 9.10 III Menuetto & Trio 2.55 IV Finale: Presto 3.59

70 D Major 17.10 I Vivace con brio 3.34 II Specie d’un canone in contrapunto doppio Andante 7.36 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 2.59 IV Finale: Allegro con brio 3.01

71 B-Flat Major 22.30 I Adagio-Allegro con brio 6.32 II Adagio 6.45 III Menuetto & Trio 3.30 IV Finale: Vivace 5.43

72 D Major 18.45 I Allegro 3.29 II Andante 4.38 III Menuet & Trio 3.13 IV Finale: Andante (Thema. Var.I-IV)-Presto 7.25

73 ‘La chasse’ D Major 19.31 I Adagio-Allegro 6.57 II Andante 5.09 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 2.41 IV La Chasse Presto 4.43

74 E-Flat Major 19.14 I Vivace assai 6.30 II Adagio cantabile 5.42 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 2.58 IV Finale: Allegro assai 4.04

75 D Major 19.32 I Grave-Presto 5.45 II Poco adagio (Andante con variazioni) 7.26 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 2.50 IV Finale: Vivace 3.31

76 E-Flat Major 20.42 I Allegro 5.55 II Adagio, ma non troppo 7.04 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 2.43 IV Finale: Allegro, ma non troppo 5.00

77 B-Flat Major 17.58 I Vivace 5.56 II Andante sostenuto 5.02 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegro 2.32 IV Finale: Allegro spiritoso 4.28

78 C Minor 19.35 I Vivace 5.16 II Adagio 6.29 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 3.29 IV Finale: Presto 4.20

 

DISC 6. SYMPHONIES 79-90

79 F Major 20.45 I Allegro con spirito 6.15 II Adagio cantabile-un poco allegro 6.13 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 3.26 IV Finale: Vivace 4.51

80 D Minor 22.32 I Allegro spiritoso 5.10 II Adagio 8.55 III Menuetto & Trio 3.24 IV Finale: Presto 5.03

81 G Major 22.08 I Vivace 6.42 II Andante 6.46 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 3.40 IV Finale: Allegro, ma non troppo 5.00

THE PARIS SYMPHONIES 82-87

82 ‘L’ours’ C Major 25.23 I Vivace assai 7.49 II Allegretto 7.38 III Menuet & Trio 4.18 IV Finale: Vivace 5.38

83 ‘La poule’ G Minor 25.21 I Allegro spiritoso 7.29 II Andante 9.33 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 4.13 IV Finale: Vivace 4.06

84 E-Flat Major 23.02 I Largo-Allegro 7.30 II Andante 6.34 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 3.11 IV Finale: Vivace 5.47

85 ‘La reine’ B-Flat Major 23.52 I Adagio-Vivace 8.18 II Romance: Allegretto 7.03 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 4.51 IV Finale: Presto 3.40

86 D Major 26.45 I Adagio-Allegro spiritoso 8.20 II Capriccio: Largo 6.27 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 5.34 IV Finale: Allegro con spirito 6.24

87 A Major 22.35 I Vivace 7.00 II Adagio 6.42 III Menuet & Trio 4.14 IV Finale: Vivace 4.39

88 G Major 21.45 I Adagio-Allegro 6.34 II Largo 6.48 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 4.30 IV Finale: Allegro con spirito 3.53

89 F Major 21.23 I Vivace 7.02 II Andante con moto 5.47 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 3.57 IV Finale: Vivace assai 4.37

90 C Major 26.23 I Adagio-Allegro assai 7.26 II Andante 8.27 III Menuet & Trio 5.39 IV Finale: Allegro assai 4.51

 

DISC 7. SYMPHONIES 91-100

91 E-Flat Major 25.52 I Largo-Allegro assai 8.49 II Andante 7.03 III Menuet & Trio: Un poco Allegretto 4.20 IV Finale: Vivace 5.40

92 ‘Oxford’ G Major 27.11 I Adagio-Allegro spiritoso 7.46 II Adagio 7.39 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 5.58 IV Presto 5.50

THE LONDON SYMPHONIES 93-104

93 D Major 24.12 I Adagio-Allegro assai 8.13 II Largo cantabile 6.11 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegro 4.34 IV Finale: Presto ma non troppo 5.14

94 ‘The Surprise’ G Major 23.43 I Adagio-Vivace assai 8.37 II Andante 6.18 III Menuet & Trio: Allegro molto 4.59 IV Finale: Allegro di molto 3.49

95 C Minor 21.16 I Allegro moderato 6.53 II Andante 5.36 III Menuetto & Trio 5.00 IV Finale: Vivace 3.47

96 ‘The Miracle’ D Major 23.22 I Adagio-Allegro 7.24 II Andante 6.42 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 5.42 IV Finale: Vivace (assai) 3.34

97 C Major 25.57 I Adagio-Vivace 8.23 II Adagio, ma non troppo 7.51 III Menuet & Trio: Allegro molto 4.13 IV Finale: Presto assai 5.30

98 B-Flat Major 29.40 I Adagio-Allegro 8.04 II Adagio 7.18 III Menuet & Trio: Allegro 5.54 IV Finale: Presto 8.24

99 E-Flat Major 27.32 I Adagio-Vivace assai 8.44 II Adagio 8.29 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 5.57 IV Finale: Vivace 4.22

100 ‘Military’ G Major 24.19 I Adagio-Allegro 7.52 II Allegretto 5.50 III Menuet & Trio: Moderato 5.14 IV Finale: Presto 5.23

 

DISC 8 SYMPHONIES 101-104, ‘A’, ‘B’

101 ‘The Clock’ D Major 29.34 I Adagio-Presto 8.21 II Andante 8.17 III Menuet & Trio: Allegretto 8.25 IV Finale: Vivace 4.31

102 B-Flat Major 26.41 I Largo-Allegro vivace 9.00 II Adagio 6.10 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegro 6.49 IV Finale: Presto 4.42

103 ‘Drumroll’ E-Flat Major 30.17 I Adagio-Allegro con spirito 9.25 II Andante piu tosto allegretto 10.30 III Menuet & Trio 5.11 IV Finale: Allegro con spirito 5.11

104 ‘London’ D Major 29.12 I Adagio-Allegro 8.49 II Andante 8.24 III Menuetto & Trio: Allegro 5.18 IV Finale: Spiritoso 6.41

‘A’ B-Flat Major 12.58 I Allegro 5.03 II Andante 3.44 III Allegro molto 4.11

‘B’ B-Flat Major 11.37 I Allegro molto 2.56 II Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto 3.09 III Andante 2.53 IV Finale: Presto 2.39

Concertante B-Flat Major 21.38 Rainer Küchl, violin; Wolfgang Herzer, cello Gerhard Turetschek, oboe; Michael Werba, bassoon I Allegro 9.34 II Andante 5.38 III Allegro con spirito 6.26

Violin Concerto in C Major, Rainer Küchl, violin 20.37 I Allegro moderato 10.32 II Adagio 5.35 III Finale: Presto 4.30

Violin Concerto in G Major, Rainer Küchl, violin 18.41 I Allegro moderato 8.08 II Adagio 6.53 III Allegro 3.40

Overture: La Vera Costanza, Jozsef Vajda, bassoon 5.46 Overture: La fedeltà premiata 3.55

March for the Royal Society of Musicians 4.08

Also included on disc 8 is a 19,000 word Essay: The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn in pdf format written by David Threasher and Geraint Lewis. Also an essay by Dominic Fyfe: The story of the Nimbus Haydn Cycle (pdf)

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF COMPOSITION

Before 1761: 1, 18, 37 (the earliest) 2, 3? 4, 5, 10, 11, 15? 17, 19, 20, 25, 27, 32, ‘A’,

1761-5: 6-9, 12-16, 21-4, 28-31, 33, 34, 36, 39, 40, 72, ‘B’

1766/7: 35, 38, 58, 59

1770: 26, 41-9, 52, 65

1773/4: 50, 51, 54-7, 60, 64

1775-81: 53, 61-3, 66-71, 73-5

1782-4: 76-81 1785/6 82-87 ‘The Paris Symphonies’

1787/89: 88-92

1791/95: 93-104 ‘The London Symphonies’, Concertante

 

KONZERTMEISTER

Wolfgang Redik 21, 23, 26, 28-39, 55-81, ‘A’, ‘B’

Rainer Honeck 1-5, 9-20, 40, 84, 87

Rainer Küchl 6, 8, 22, 24, 25, 88, 90, 92, 94, 100-103, Concertante

Erich Binder 82, 86, 93, 95, 99, 104, March for the Royal Society

Rainer Küchl, Rainer Honeck, Eckhard Seifert, Wolfgang Redik41-44, 46-54

Thomas Brandis 83, 85, 89, 91

Werner Hink 7, 96, La fedeltà premiata

Mária Bálint 27, 97, 98

István Várkonyi 45

Ivan Dimitrov La Vera Costanza

 

SOLOISTS

Symphonies 1-20

Wilhelm Hübner (6-8) & Peter Wächter violin II; Friedrich Dolezal (6-8, 13) & Rezsö Pertorini cello; Peter Lukacs viola; Franz Bauer double-bass; Gerhard Turetschek oboe; Béla Dráhos (13) & Imre Kovács flutes; Jozsef Vajda bassoon; Günter Högner & Willibald Janezic horns; Christian Dreo (6-8) & Judith Peteri (14-17) harpsichord 

Symphonies 21-39 and ‘A’ & ‘B’ (Solos – 2000/2001 sessions)

Rezsö Pertorini cello; Franz Bauer double-bass; Harald Hörth oboe; Béla Dráhos (24) & Imre Kovács flute; Jozsef Vajda bassoon; Martin Bramböck, Robert Lorenzi, Andrej Kasijan, Thomas Fischer horns. 

Symphonies 70-81

Martin Bramböck & Robert Lorenzi, with Lars-Michael Stransky & Andrej Kasijan (no.72) horns; Harald Hörth oboe; Jozsef Vajda bassoon; Hansgeorg Schmeiser (1997) & Imre Kovács (1998) flutes. 

Symphonies 82-87

Peter Schreiber oboe; Béla Dráhos flute; Jozsef Vajda bassoon. 

Symphonies 88-92

Friedrich Dolezal (88) cello; Gerhard Turetschek (90) oboe 

Symphonies 93-104

Károly Botvay (95, 102) cello; Gerhard Turetschek (96) oboe

 

RECORDING DATES

1987 101, 103 (June)

1988 96, 102, La fedeltà premiata (June); 45, 94, 100, Concertante (September)

1989 6-8, 22, 24 (April); 27, 93, 95, 97, 98, March (June); 99, 104 (September)

1990 1-5, 9-12 (June); 25, 88, 90, 92, Concertos, (September)

1991 13-20, 40 (May); 83, 85, 89, 91, La Vera Costanza (September)

1992 82, 86 (September)

1994 42-44, 51, 52, 84, 87 (June)

1995 41, 46-50, 53, 54 (June)

1996 55-61, 63 (May)

1997 62, 64-69, 70, 71, 73 (June)

1998 72, 74-81 (May)

2000 21, 23, 26, 28, 29, ‘A’, ‘B’ (June)

2001 30-39 (May)

Recorded by Nimbus in the Haydnsaal, Esterházy Palace, Eisenstadt, Austria.

Produced by Adrian Farmer & Dominic Fyfe

The Symphonies were originally released by Nimbus Records between 1987-2002

This compilation and MP3 transfer P 2009 Wyastone Estate Limited © 2009 Wyastone Estate Limited

 

Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra

The Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra was created in 1987 by Adam Fischer with the dual aim of performing Haydn’s works in the places where he lived and worked, and of bringing together some of the finest musicians from Austria and Hungary. Together with Wilhelm Hübner - formerly Director of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Fischer hand-picked the players (thirty to forty-five in number, according to the demands of the repertoire) who include members of the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony and Hungarian State Symphony Orchestras. Many noted chamber musicians are also invited, including the current Konzertmeister Wolfgang Redik who is violinist of the Vienna Piano Trio.

 

The Orchestra performs in the Esterházy Palaces at Esterháza in Hungary and at Eisenstadt in Austria, where it is resident for the annual Haydntage and where, in the famous Haydnsaal, these recordings were made. Many of Haydn’s works were first performed in the Haydnsaal and it is one of the few concert halls of the period to have survived largely unchanged to the present day.

 

The Orchestra’s foreign tours has taken it to many of the most important international musical centres: the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Royal Albert Hall, London (for the BBC Promenade concerts in 1993 and 2001), London’s Barbican Centre, the Salzburg Mozarteum and both the Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna. In 1993 the Orchestra made its first tour of the Far East, playing in China, Korea and in Japan at Osaka and Tokyo where their concert was voted one of the best of the year by the Japan Times. The Orchestra made its North American debut in Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York as part of the 1994 Mostly Mozart Festival, a concert heralded by the New York Times as ‘An Empire Heard Again’. Of their 1998 opening concert of the Festival of Central European Culture at London’s Barbican The Times wrote:

 

‘Their dialect is as Central European as it comes. To listen to their phrasing and articulation is the musical equivalent of hearing the heady lilt of rural Austrian compared with the standard German of so much mainstream music-making. Adam Fischer takes such care in balancing his instrumental ensemble that cross-currents of melody and twitches of accent are frequently uncovered as if for the first time. And elusive strains of distant folk music from a border region rich in emigrant and immigrant cultures become newly apparent in the bows of those for whom this music is bred in the bone’.

 

The Hungarian-born Adam Fischer originates from Budapest and began his studies of conducting and composition at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of his home town. Further studies were completed with the legendary Hans Swarovsky in Vienna. Adam Fischer’s first engagement brought him to the Graz Opera where he had the functions of repetiteur and assistant conductor. Following this engagement he assumed the position of „Kapellmeister” at the operas in Helsinki, Karlsruhe and Munich (Bavarian State Opera). From 1981 to 1983 he served as General Music Director in Freiburg im Breisgau and from 1987-1992 in Kassel. As of 2001 Adam Fischer holds also the position of General Music Director at the National Theatre of Mannheim.

 

Adam Fischer regularly conducts at all the major opera houses in Europe and the USA. His collaboration with the Wiener Staatsoper began in 1973, where he has led a large number of performances and highly successful premieres. In 1984 he gave his début at the Paris Opera (Der Rosenkavalier) and in 1986 at La Scala in Milan (The Magic Flute). In 1994 he made his début at the Metropolitan Opera New York with Otello and in 1989 at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden with Die Fledermaus. In 2001 he gave his premiere performance of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at Bayreuth. These performances were met with outstanding international media acclaim, which culminated to him being named „Conductor of the Year” by the German periodical Opernwelt.

 

On the concert stage Adam Fischer is also a welcome guest of many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Orchestre de Paris, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra London, Royal Philharmonic, Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra as well as both the Hungarian National Philharmonic and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the latter of which he is also Principal Guest Conductor.

 

In 1987 Adam Fischer was co-founder of the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt in Austria. On this occasion he also founded the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra with which he continues to share a close collaboration up until today.

 

Adam Fischer has received the coveted „Grand Prix de Disque” twice for his recordings of Goldmark’s Königin von Saba (Hungaroton 1980) and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle (CBS/Sony 1987).

 

As of 1998 he is Principal Conductor of the Danish Radio Sinfonietta in Copenhagen, with which he is presently recording all the „Opere Serie” of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

 

Haydn with modern instruments?

Let me say first of all that I’m very much in favour of period instruments. I conduct orchestras which use them, and I believe passionately that every musician should at least learn how to play them, as they help to form a player’s musical taste and are a key to understanding the function of old music.

 

We use modern instruments for two reasons: firstly, our musicians come from the leading orchestras of Vienna and Budapest. They play the instruments they have grown up with - including, for example, Viennese horns and oboes - and they need these instruments to express themselves. Secondly, it is an important intention of the Austro- Hungarian Haydn Orchestra to offer an alternative to historic ensembles for eighteenthcentury music. Our style is based on this living tradition of Austro-Hungarian musicmaking. We cultivate our own ‘local dialect’, a flow of little rubatos, accents, and so on, that makes Haydn’s music alive, and gives dramatic sense to the performance. Some elements of that tradition have already been developed on new instruments, and can be realized better on them.

 

Even radical supporters of period instruments agree that the personality of the player is more important than the question of what instrument he or she plays. I endeavour to choose players who feel a personal affinity with Haydn’s music, who are able to express this identity in their playing and who react instantly and automatically to the other players’ rubatos. The vital point is that a concert should be exciting and convincing. A boring performance remains a crime, even if it is historically ‘correct’.

 

And last but not least, we only play authentically if we reach the same feelings in the listener as the music did two hundred years ago. Since our sense of perception has changed much more than the instruments have, it is really not enough to recreate the sound in order to recreate the emotional effect.

 

The Austro-Hungarian Way of Music-Making.

When founding the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra one of my aims as an artist was to preserve, cultivate and develop the Central-European ‘oral’ tradition of performing and interpreting music. There exists something like a local ‘vernacular’; in other words a special style of interpretation which is characterised by a certain freedom of dynamics and use of rubato within the framework of notation, if encouraged by the conductor. We believe that this performing tradition is a cultural heritage of the highest value and that it must be protected.

 

From the very beginning it has been extraordinary to realise to what extent Hungarian and Austrian musicians share this traditional style of interpretation. It is difficult to describe this style in words; it is a natural flow of ritardandi, rhythmical deviations, accelerandi, accents and so on, which make the music alive and reveal its innate dramatic quality. These ‘musical licences’ should not be realised in detail by the audience. Their function can best be compared to good seasoning in food: you only notice it when it is missing.

 

Since I would like to give you some idea of what I mean, I will try to do the impossible; to describe music-making in words. Let me give you some examples of the orchestra’s ‘slang’ expressions we use in our rehearsals to describe musical solutions:

Achtzehntelnote: a slightly shortened semi-quaver note with a dance-like character.

Der aufstampfende Auftakt: a rustic ritardando in the upbeat followed by a slightly delayed first beat with a heavy accent, mostly used in menuets.

Fesches Präsentieren: a special accent on syncopation, often in accompanying figures in the second violins and violas.

Hinspielen zur Spitze: a natural crescendo towards the highest note in demi-semi-quaver figures used, for example, to enhance the contrast with figures in other groups.

These are just some illustrations. It has been fascinating for me to see to what extent this ‘vernacular’ has survived in Austria and Hungary in spite of decades of separation through the Iron Curtain.

Adam Fischer