On Friday we saw a modernization of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, an opera I have never heard before. This adaptation sets the opera in a reality show where contestants are supposed to pledge their love to each other without actually meeting, similar to the original plot I assume.
Tag: Classical
Trumpet Concertos (2008) by Alison Balsom, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
This is a collection of Classical and Baroque trumpet concerti, and it’s a good selection of these pieces, giving a good idea of how the music progressed…only the sequencing is, um, kind of backwards.
Joseph Haydn: String Quartets Op. 20 ‘Sun’ (2011) by the London Haydn Quartet
As with his symphonies and some of his other works, Haydn wrote a ton of String Quartets. Just an absolute ton. This set collects the 23rd through 28th, all of which were written at the same time, as one cycle or collection. They are considered by most people to be the birth of the modern …
Joseph Haydn: Die Sieben letzten Worte (2014) by Cuarteto Casals
This is supposedly an “instrumental” oratorio. Haydn first wrote it for orchestra (with no vocals!). Then he adapted it for String Quartet. Then he adapted it for Choir (as if it was an actual oratorio). Then he “approved” an adaptation for solo piano, but apparently didn’t write that one himself. This is the String Quartet …
Classic Trumpet Concerti of Haydn/Hummel (1992) by Gerard Schwarz, Y Chamber Symphony of New York
The trumpet has always been a jazz instrument for me. I guess that’s in part because I came to jazz before I came to concertos and solo pieces from the classical repertoire and because there really aren’t many trumpet pieces out there. It’s an under-utilized instrument, for sure. The trumpet always sounds regal or martial …
Franz Joseph Haydn: Keyboard Works 1773-1779 (1995) by Lola Odiaga
This is a collection of six of Haydn’s keyboard sonatas (played on piano) ostensibly written between 1773 and 1779. (However, there appears to be some debate as to when they were authored.) The sonatas are Nos. 39, 40, 41, 48, 49 and 51, which seems an arbitrary selection. However, the alternative cataloguing of Haydn’s works …
Haydn: Cello Concertos; Pereira: Concertino for Cello (2010) by Antonio Meneses, Northern Sinfonia
This is an odd collection that pairs Haydn’s two most famous (and likely sole surviving) cello concerti with a totally unrelated piece of music by the 20th century composer Clovis Pereira. Grumble. Haydn’s first cello concerto is a fine piece of music but it strikes me as typical of the era (though I don’t really …
Haydn: London Symphonies (2010) by Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski
This is an excellent collection of Haydn’s final symphonies, the “London symphonies.”
Haydn: Piano Concertos in D / F (2008) by Ralf Gothoni, Finlandia Sinfonietta
This is a hodgepodge of the 2nd, 6th and 11th concertos for keyboard, all played on a piano (shock horror).
Missa in Angustiis aka Nelson Mass (1987) by Margaret Marshall, Carolyn Watkinson, Keith Lewis, Robert Holl, Rundfnkchor Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Neville Mariner
This is widely considered to be the greatest of Haydn’s masses and, according to some people, the greatest of Haydn’s compositions.
Symphonies Nos. 44, 88 and 104 (1989) by Joseph Haydn, performed by Capella Istropolitana conducted by Barry Wordsworth
This is a pretty arbitrary collection of three of Haydn’s symphonies, one from the middle period, and two from the end of his career, including his famous final symphony, the “London.” I have heard both 88 and 104 before. The performances are fine. The “Trauer” is pretty good. The first movement doesn’t really fit the …
The Paris Symphonies (1989) by Joseph Haydn, performed by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken
This is a collection of all six of Haydn’s “Paris” symphonies and is probably as close as one can get to a definitive collection of Haydn’s music on two discs, as he wrote so many damn symphonies (104 I believe). The first symphony, No. 82 (aka “The Bear”), was apparently written last. And that seems …
Symphonies Nos. 45, 46, 47 (1994) by Joseph Haydn, performed by Tafelmusik conducted by Bruno Weill
This disc collects three of Haydn’s “middle” symphonies, at a time when Haydn was getting more and “romantic” for lack of a better word. Like all Tafelmusik recordings, they are played on period instruments.