This day marks the anniversary of the premieres of two Haydn symphonies, from the group of 14 known as the ‘London’ symphonies.
While many Haydn symphonies are labelled with nicknames, their unnamed counterparts are far from inferior! That is certainly the case for Symphony no.98 in B flat major, premiered at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on this day in 1792 with Haydn directing from the keyboard and the violinist Johann Peter Salomon, who commissioned the symphonies, leading the orchestra:
Haydn’s penultimate published symphony is no.103, the Drumroll – which was also given its first performance in London, on this day in 1795. It was given in the King’s Theatre, again with Haydn at the fortepiano and the famed violinist, Giovanni Battista Viotti, leading the orchestra.
The symphony is scored for a larger orchestra, with a fulsome wind and brass section – plus the timpani, responsible for the drum roll that opens the work:
Laura van der Heijden (cello, above), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Richard Egarr (harpsichord)
J.S. Bach Orchestral Suite no.3 in D major BWV1068 (1730) Haydn Cello Concerto in D major Hob.VIIb/2 (1784) J.S. Bach Fuga a tre sogetti BWV1080 no.19 (1748-9) Schumann Symphony no.2 in C major Op.61 (1845-6)
Symphony Hall, Birmingham Tuesday 14 November 2023
Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has put on smaller-scale concerts over several seasons, and tonight’s wide-ranging programme saw the players being conducted or directed – and frequently at the same time – by the personable and always enthusiastic Richard Egarr.
Egarr and Laura van der Heijden ensured Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D remained unaffected by that understatement, bordering on somnolence, which so often used to characterize it in performance. Although a staple of its repertoire from the outset, it was only discovery of its autograph in 1951 that confirmed it as by Haydn rather than Anton Kraft who had reworked the solo part extensively. Here the initial Allegro had a vibrancy that never wavered, and if Van der Heijden’s tone was not always flattering, the impetus instilled into its development and cadenza (by Colin Matthews?) ensured this movement’s vivid projection. The brief yet eloquent Adagio was enticingly rendered, while the final Rondo had an agility maintained from the first appearance of its indelible theme through to the buoyancy of its closing bars.
Egarr had opened proceedings with Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite, welcome not least because this composer’s orchestral works (other than his Violin Concertos) are seldom encountered at ‘mainstream’ concerts these days. Although its Aria (Air on the G string) – rendered so that its pathos never cloyed – will always be its chief attraction, the Ouverture had grandeur and energy redolent of Handel, then the alternate Gavotte movements evinced a genial humour to which the boisterous Gigue with its clarion-like trumpet writing made an admirable foil. After the interval, an unexpected but absorbing take on the final and unfinished fugue from Bach’s The Art of Fugue. Once more speculated on than actually heard, Contrapunctus XIV remains a fete of technical and imaginative dexterity arguably intensified by its breaking off just after the appearance of the B-A-C-H motif. Whether abandoned from failing eyesight or for reasons of intellectual game-playing, its fascination remains endless and, as heard in this lucid if dour transcription for strings, its fusing of the visceral with the arcane is not in doubt.
Richard Egarr
Photo: Marco Borggreve
Not an inappropriate entrée, moreover, to Schumann’s Second Symphony: formally the most rigorous of this composer’s cycle, and one whose historical or aesthetic lineage is evident at every level. Egarr ensured the first movement’s lengthy introduction, pensive yet expectant, led seamlessly into a main Allegro whose momentum carried through to a propulsive close; then into a Scherzo whose pivoting between the agitated and whimsical was not resolved by its headlong coda – superbly articulated here. Nor was there any lack of emotional gravitas in the Adagio, surely among Schumann’s most potent creations, though Egarr’s not always tacit encouragement of applause between movements rather undermined the expectancy of a coda being fulfilled by the final Allegro as this sets out on its joyous while always eventful course.
Just on occasion the inevitability of that course seemed to lose focus, most likely as Egarr’s concept of ‘authenticity’ tended to impede more seamless formal cohesion – but, as the piece headed to its close, a sense of affirmation in the face of daunting odds could hardly be denied.
You can read all about the 2023/24 season and book tickets at the CBSO website. Click on the artist names for more information on cellist Laura van der Heijden and conductor / harpsichordist Richard Egarr
Carolin Widmann (violin, below), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Nicholas Carter
Haydn Symphony no.96 in D major Hob.1/96 ‘Miracle’ (1791) Ligeti Violin Concerto (1989-93) Brahms Symphony no.3 in F major Op.90 (1883)
Symphony Hall, Birmingham Wednesday 1 November 2023
Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse
Tonight’s concert by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra saw a collaboration with the well-regarded Nicholas Carter – former chief conductor of the Adelaide Symphony, now holding that position with Bühnen Bern alongside guest appearances in Europe and the US.
Few conductors would nowadays begin a programme with a Haydn symphony, and Carter’s take on no.96 did not lack for conviction. The Miracle of a falling if harmless chandelier may have taken place at the premiere of no.102 but does not lessen the quality of this work, its slyly portentous Adagio introducing an Allegro whose motivic unity is most evident in a tensile development and agile coda. With felicitous writing for oboe (rendered so by Helena Mackie) and violin (a welcome ‘guest lead’ from Zoë Beyers), the Andante is the highlight – Carter making the most of antiphonal violins where the gains in clarity or incisiveness were never in doubt. Steady but with a lilting grace then a piquant trio, the Minuetto was a perfect foil to the final Vivace – its energetic interplay duly capped by a coda of uninhibited verve.
Good that the CBSO marked György Ligeti’s centenary with his Violin Concerto, combining the composer’s love of polyrhythms and varied tunings with a heady recall of his Hungarian heritage. No stranger to this piece, Carolin Widmann emphasized the teasing reticence of its Praeludium and found aching nostalgia in the folk inflections of its Aria-Hoquetus-Choral. The coruscating build-up of its Intermezzo and finely wrought intensity of its Passacaglia were well judged, Carter bringing out the strangeness of orchestral writing with its extremes of register and an array of unorthodox instruments. The final Appassionato was trenchantly done, and while Widmann’s overly matter-of-fact cadenza robbed the closing ensemble bars of their barbed humour, it proved a small blemish on this otherwise captivating performance.
Brahms’ Third Symphony has done well by the CBSO in recent seasons, and Carter’s reading was no exception. Any hint of stolidity at the outset of the initial Allegro had gone during the exposition’s repeat, then the development accrued a momentum such as carried through to the end of this movement. The coda’s transfigured poise (Brahms’ riposte to Tristan?) was no less evident in the Andante, its melodic simplicity belying an emotional ambiguity as was implied by its ruminative asides before suddenly being made explicit during the confiding final pages.
The Poco allegretto was (rightly) taken not as an extra slow movement, rather an intermezzo of a pathos which was accentuated by its deft forward motion. The final Allegro then brought a culmination in all respects – Carter alive to its stark contrasts between the speculative and the combative, with a thrilling transition into the reprise then a coda that recalled the work’s defining motto with mingled aspiration and benediction on its way to an ending of perfectly judged repose. Never the easiest symphony to bring off, this was a Brahms Three to savour.
Carter will hopefully be working with this orchestra again soon. Next Wednesday’s concert brings Cristian Macelaru in a programme with Sibelius and Mendelssohn, while Thursday’s Centre Stage recital has a welcome revival of the Clarinet Quintet by Elizabeth Maconchy.
You can read all about the 2023/24 season and book tickets at the CBSO website. Click on the artist names for more information on violinist Carolin Widmann and conductor Nicholas Carter, and for more about composer György Ligeti
Haydn Piano Sonata in D major Hob.XVI:24 (c1773) Piano Sonata in A flat major Hob.XVI:46 (c1767-8) Piano Sonata in E flat major Hob.XVI:49 (1789-90)
Wigmore Hall, Monday 20 February 1pm
by Ben Hogwood
Haydn’s piano sonatas remain an underappreciated corner of his output as a composer. This is understandable on one hand, given the sheer volume and consistency of his output in other forms. The symphonies, string quartets and piano trios all enjoy higher billing, but gradually the sonatas are coming up on the rails.
This is in part due to recent recordings from pianists such as Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Marc-André Hamelin and Peter Donohoe. Bavouzet, however, has gone further, completing a cycle of the sonatas in eleven instalments for Chandos. If they are all as stylishly played as this BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert, then many treats await.
First of three works in this recital was a D major sonata full of vim and vigour. Bavouzet enjoyed its brightly voiced start, securing a lovely articulation to the right hand while bringing the historical connections through. The energy of Domenico Scarlatti was in evidence, while in the aria-like slow movement there was an operatic air. With an expressive right hand and softly alternating left, Bavouzet found Haydn’s soft centre, before enjoying the florid right hand and the playful nature of in the finale.
In the second work we enjoyed classic, ‘exploratory’ Haydn, the composer experimenting with different forms and far flung keys – such as the D flat major chosen for the slow movement. Here the influence is more C.P.E. Bach, heard in a captivating Allegro, adorned with ornaments in the right hand. Bavouzet once again showed off a bright, clear sound and lightness of touch, with sleights of humour visible at every turn. The slow movement did indeed travel further afield, creating an air of mystery, with exceptional playing in the upper reaches of the right hand. The finale was crisp and clear.
Proof that Haydn sonatas are starting to make themselves better known came with the third work. This was not the E flat sonata placed 52 in Haydn’s output – often chosen as an example sonata in a concert programme. Instead we had a winsome and deeply personal work, written for the composer’s personal friend and confidant, Maria Anna von Genzinger at the turn of 1789 and 1790. As the musicologist Daniel Heartz notes, we know more about the composition of this piece than any other in Haydn’s output, due to the correspondence between the pair, where the composer gives uncharacteristic outpourings of feeling and loneliness.
Bavouzet’s performance immediately took on a conversational air, wit and underlying tenderness lying just beneath the relatively grand gesture of the opening. The intimate, thoroughly enjoyable dialogue between the hands spoke of two people enjoying a one-on-one rapport, before the first movement ended with a flourish and an exclamation mark. The second movement had a lovely disposition to its main theme but then a darker tint to the central section, moving to such ‘un-classical’ keys as B flat minor. The finale also stressed the importance of the silences between the notes, Bavouzet observing these just as closely in the overall phrasing.
This was a wonderful recital, a reminder that Haydn’s importance and influence within the piano sonata medium should not be overlooked. The music had an endearing freshness throughout, communicated with persuasion by a pianist on top of his game.
As an encore, Bavouzet switched styles to Massenet, dedicating his performance of the French composer’s whirlwind Toccata to his dear friend Paul Westcott, a much-missed presence with whom he worked in the beginnings of his career with Chandos, and through to the Haydn itself. Paul would have loved the pizzazz of this version, and Bavouzet’s virtuosity and brilliance would have been appreciated from afar – of that there is no doubt!.
For more livestreamed concerts from the Wigmore Hall, click here. Meanwhile the Spotify playlist below contains recordings made by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet of all the repertoire in this concert:
Arcana.fm 