In their recordings apart, neither Mariss Jansons nor the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks have recorded much Haydn. Russian-trained Jansons specializes in Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Shostakovich and has not heretofore recorded any of Haydn's works while the Bavarian Radio Symphony has stuck with the nineteenth century German and Austrian masters from Beethoven to Bruckner and likewise sidestepped eighteenth century Haydn. Thus this 2008 Sony/BMG disc featuring Haydn's Symphony No. 100 and No. 104, plus the ...
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In their recordings apart, neither Mariss Jansons nor the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks have recorded much Haydn. Russian-trained Jansons specializes in Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Shostakovich and has not heretofore recorded any of Haydn's works while the Bavarian Radio Symphony has stuck with the nineteenth century German and Austrian masters from Beethoven to Bruckner and likewise sidestepped eighteenth century Haydn. Thus this 2008 Sony/BMG disc featuring Haydn's Symphony No. 100 and No. 104, plus the Sinfonia Concertante, is a major departure for both conductor and orchestra.Against all the odds, Jansons and the Bavarians turn in exemplary accounts of all three works. To be sure, this is modern instrument, big band Haydn: the tone is virile, the attack strong, and the rhythms brawny. But the Bavarians do not overwhelm nor distort the music because the symphonies are already large-scale late Haydn. The 100th, of course, earns its nickname the "Military" because of the enormous...
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