Recorded in 1964 and 1978, this falls into the category of historical historical recordings, a small segment of the market, but not without interest. Actually, these readings by Les Solistes de Paris hold up better than many recordings from the early days of the historical-performance movement. The historical-performance descriptor isn't even really relevant for the 1964 recordings of the Symphony No. 44 in E minor, "Trauersinfonie", and the Concerto for violin, harpsichord, and orchestra in F major, airy, very French ...
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Recorded in 1964 and 1978, this falls into the category of historical historical recordings, a small segment of the market, but not without interest. Actually, these readings by Les Solistes de Paris hold up better than many recordings from the early days of the historical-performance movement. The historical-performance descriptor isn't even really relevant for the 1964 recordings of the Symphony No. 44 in E minor, "Trauersinfonie", and the Concerto for violin, harpsichord, and orchestra in F major, airy, very French versions, with a notable lack of Sturm und Drang in the intense minor-key symphony. The most interesting thing is how far the musicians came between 1964 and 1978, with a new interest in historical procedures on the part of conductor Henri-Claude Fantapié and help on the ornamentation from the leading Haydn scholar of the day, H.C. Robbins Landon. It makes the difference in an emotionally penetrating reading of Haydn's still-underrated Stabat Mater and in the dark Libera me, a work just...
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