When these recordings were made in the '50s, Haydn was not considered to be among the front-rank of composers. Certainly, some of his works were highly esteemed -- some of the later symphonies and string quartets along with The Seasons and The Creation have never left the repertoire -- but the vast majority of his works were rarely performed after his death and those that were, even the mighty symphonies, were not considered to be in quite the same league as Mozart's or Beethoven's. Of course, not all conductors at the time ...
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When these recordings were made in the '50s, Haydn was not considered to be among the front-rank of composers. Certainly, some of his works were highly esteemed -- some of the later symphonies and string quartets along with The Seasons and The Creation have never left the repertoire -- but the vast majority of his works were rarely performed after his death and those that were, even the mighty symphonies, were not considered to be in quite the same league as Mozart's or Beethoven's. Of course, not all conductors at the time treated Haydn like a second-rank composer. There are excellent recordings by Furtwängler, Toscanini, Walter, and Klemperer of a handful of Haydn's later symphonies, and, on this disc, Carl Schuricht turns in exceptional performances of Haydn's Symphony No. 100 and No. 95. With the admirable playing of the Radio Sinfonie Orchester Stuttgart, Schuricht's Haydn is wise and witty, lyrical and dramatic, humane and sublime. In Schuricht's hands, Haydn is in every way the musical equal of...
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