From the very first slashing chords of this trio of Sturm und Drang Haydn symphonies, you know that you are in for an appropriately wild ride. Annotator Eckhardt van den Hoogen, even as he concedes that the problem of linking the literary and musical manifestations of the "storm and stress" idea is a tricky one, unearths a terrific quote from a play that brings alive something of how audiences of Haydn's time must have heard these works: "Hey there!" it reads. "Have a go at tumult and noisemaking, so the senses whirl around like roof flags during a storm." (One thinks of Skink, Carl Hiaasen's deranged ex-governor of Florida, swinging gleefully from the Keys skyway as he welcomes a hurricane.) Conductor
Thomas Fey and his
Heidelberger Sinfoniker realize this mood in sound in an exceptionally exciting way.
Fey uses modern strings and winds but period brasses, which jump out of the texture like blazing klaxons of doom. He favors tense, fast-moving outer movements with sharp attacks, acquainting the listener "with Joseph Haydn the experimenter, and with the boldness and beauty of his impassioned musical contrasts...." Sample the last movement of the disc, the finale of the Symphony No. 58 in F major, for a taste of the compact power of the interpretations here. The intermittent use of harpsichord continuo, still a rare feature of Haydn performances even though it's right there in the score, amplifies the punchy, percussive feeling. If there is one complaint, it's that the minuets don't have quite the sly grace that they do in quieter readings;
Fey seems always to be pushing forward. When Haydn's approach is broad, however, as in the "Menuet alla Zoppa" (the "minuet of the lame"), the stark contrasts in
Fey's versions work well (sample the bizarre trio of this minuet). The album was recorded in two different locations, one a former synagogue; they sound different but complementary. A fine choice for anyone starting out with the middle of Haydn's career, or for anyone already well-acquainted with it. This disc is part of a slow-moving series on Hänssler that will eventually encompass the complete symphonies of Haydn.