July 27, 2009http://audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=6161
HAYDN: 12 London Symphonies; Paris Symphonies; Die Schoepfung (TheCreation); Four Masses - Leonard Bernstein conducting - Sony Classical (12CD box)
By: Laurence VittesThe recorded sound is smoother than I remember the vinyl to have been.
HAYDN: 12 London Symphonies; Paris Symphonies; DieSchoepfung (The Creation); Four Masses - Leonard Bernsteinconducting the New York Philharmonic, Camerata Singers,Norman Scribner Choir, Westminster Choir, London SymphonyOrchestra, London Symphony Chorus with Judith Raskin,Alexander Young, John Reardon, Bernard Altmann, BrucePrince-Joseph, Simon Estes, Frederica Von Stade, KennethRiegel, Judith Blegen, Alan Titus, Gwendolyn Killebrew,Michael Devlin, Patricia Wells, Paul Hudson, Rosalind Elias, Robert Tear, LuciaPopp - Sony Classical 88697480452 (12 CD Box, with booklet listing recording datesand places, 765:24) *****:
The truth has long been known: Leonard Bernstein loved to fool around with JosephHaydn. Both men's radiant musical visions were rooted in serving God, and fearing Himas well; both had prodigious skills, temperaments and appetites; both liked to laugh outloud in public. And so, for Bernstein's sake, for Haydn's sake, and for our sake, welcomea specially-priced, 12-CD set of his recordings for Columbia.Recorded over a twenty-year period, beginning in 1959 with the "London" Symphony,they coincided with Bernstein's own voyage of discovery during the Kennedy years andtheir aftermath, when his country was losing its innocence. Many of these profoundly beautiful, deeply spiritual works must have meant something special to him.Everything the New York Philharmonic did - live and recorded - was a special event, areason for celebration, the way classical music life was meant to be. To imagine howreally exciting those days must have been, in many of the same years Bernstein and thePhilharmonic were also recording their groundbreaking Mahler cycle!
Bernstein's speeds for Haydn fast are just fast enough to minimize Haydn's clunkier side(a constant threat to stylistically uninformed performances), the drive is sometimesferocious in character but relatively plush in upholestery, laughter's everywhere the ear wanders and the composer's heartbreaking slow melodies are played with a rapt virtuositythat marked Bernstein's Big Apple orchestra in its prime.
The Creation
and the four masses (
In Time of War, Nelson, Harmonie
and
Theresa
) are miracles of instrumental power and beauty. The celebrated vocal soloists occasionally sound transitional.The recorded sound is smoother than I remember the vinyl to have been; there is moreinterior detail in the strings, more intimate detail in the woodwinds, and more gold in the brass. Unexpectedly, a finely-judged aura of space surrounds the orchestra. [Similar towhat I heard with the new Bernstein Mahler reissue set...Ed.]The packaging reflects Bernstein's film noir roots and toughness. The famous photographic portraits on the six foldable envelopes look fabulous. No liner notes, but better: details of where and when each recording was made.
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