Today I’m going to survey records that I’ve been listening to and enjoying. The concentration this time will be on the symphonies from the “Classical” period of Classical music: Mozart and Haydn. I’ve also been back in my Mahler hole a bit, but we’ll get to that later.
Links are mostly to the Presto Music web site, which is the best current classical music merchant on the Interweb IMHO. Discogs and Apple Music are also mixed in as needed.
The first thing to say about Mozart and Haydn is that (almost) everyone plays it wrong these days. Yes I’m just a guy on the Internet with no real musical training and no real basis for holding this opinion against the collected wisdom of thousands of people who know more than me. But, I know what sounds good when I play it in my ear holes. I find the period style string sound to be unpleasant and the small chamber orchestras just make me crave the sound of the entire Pittsburgh Symphony filling Heinz hall with their wonderful sound. Since this is never going to happen again, older recordings with big bands are the next best thing.
As always, I have ranted about this before. Also, in all honesty there are pretty good sets of these symphonies done by the period crowd. I hesitate to recommend anything just because it’s not really my thing and I have not listened to what’s available in any systematic or comprehensive way.
Thus, this page will restrict itself to old fashioned anti-historical recordings of Mozart and Haydn with full orchestras and lots of vibrato on the strings.
Mozart
The big players here are Bruno Walter, Sir Thomas Beecham, Karl Bohm, George Szell and Otto Klemperer. The Beecham records are pre-stereo and a bit rough. If you like the classic big 1960s/1970s stereo sound the Szell, Bohm and Klemperer are the best bets. The Walter recordings are somewhere between, being mostly decent but not great early stereo.
Generally what I like about these performances is their personality and style. Each conductor is pretty distinct and comparing the performances is a never ending source of interest and curiosity. Of course I also like the big sound of the full orchestra. Even the best and most stylish “historical” style performances just feel small at best and anemic at worst.
Here are download links to all of the above, mostly just for the later symphonies.
The Beecham performances are hard to track down. The ones I like are from a set of LPs from the 1950s. Sadly these are not in the streaming services, but you can find them on CD. Sony put out two CDs that are here and here. You can also get them from an outfit called Pristine Classical, but don’t think too hard about the copyright implications. Their stuff is here and here and here. Beecham also recorded these in the 1930s but those CDs are long out of print and the sound is even rougher. If you dig around you can probably find these in the streaming places.
There are also a few great alternate choices that might catch your fancy:
- This set from Jane Glover and the London Mozart Players is great.
- I like Josef Krips a lot. You can get all of his performances in one big download. Or you can get them in ones and twos on streaming. The link above is to the download.
- Some people will tell you to get the Colin Davis records. Others will tell you the Colin Davis records are awful. I am somewhere in the middle. I like others on this list better.
- I also tracked down a few CDs recorded by István Kertész. But they are pretty hard to find so I’m not going to take you down that hole. But you can get them on Discogs if you get interested.
OK now Haydn.
Haydn
The story with Haydn is very similar to Mozart. Mostly the same names even. With a couple of exceptions.
The biggest twist, to me, is that the Haydn to get first is Bernstein. He recorded most of the late symphonies and every single one is a banger.
You can also get 88 on Sony as a single, and a later recording of 88, 92, 94 on DG. These recordings have such joy, energy, humor and spirit that they make you want to dance. They make you wonder if you could open a Haydn dance club with a light show. It’s just great.
The next set to pick up is Beecham. Like his Mozart his Haydn oozes style and grace. Unlike the Mozart the sound is a lot better. Very good late mono and good early stereo. And it’s all in this one convenient box.
If you want to listen to every symphony there are a few complete sets. The two best known are from Antal Dorati from the 1970s and Adam Fischer from the 1980s and 1990s. I have the Dorati and like what I have heard from it. But I’ve never played it end to end.
Finally, there are all the other usual suspects and more:
- Szell
- Klemperer
- Karl Bohm had a set of 88 through 92. You can stream it at Apple Music and Presto, but no one seems to have it for download in the U.S.
- Bruno Walter did 88 and 100, and they are nice.
- Extra bonus: Ernest Ansermet’s Paris Symphonies
- Again a lot of people love Colin Davis, and a few don’t.
These will all have that deliciously warm and vibrant big band sound, but are never stodgy or tedious. At least not to me.
References
My main references for this material are the American Record Guide overviews of the two composers from the early 2000s. Yes this publication is run by a bunch of old fashioned reactionary old men who spend most of their time screaming at clouds and the declaring the general downfall of man. But in this case they are right. For some reason they also always have it in for Colin Davis. I don’t know why.
The extensive Dave Hurwitz youtube catalog also has a lot of opinions about this stuff that’s mostly along the same lines. He likes Colin Davis more than ARG. Especially in the Mozart.