On the strength of this video and some of your others, I have been finally listening to Haydn in recent weeks for the first time with renewed appreciation and understanding. This video, in particular, inspired me to pick up a cheap copy of Walter conducting No. 88. I’m thinking a major label gave an 85-year-old conductor his own orchestra to record what he wants (cough, Mahler, cough) and he chooses something uncommercial like Haydn. It better be good, I thought. And, boy, is it! Walter’s 88 is a knockout! As gorgeous and passionate as a Beethoven symphony (and I never even have been a big fan of Bruno Walter’s). Meanwhile, I’m waiting for my Bernstein 88 on DG to arrive but having a luxuriant wallow through The Royal Edition of Bernstein doing the Paris Symphonies. Truly stunning. You deserve some kind of award, David, for your part in getting people through the pandemic. I have had hours of listening joy through your inspiration!
Back in the 1980s Pepsi used this symphony opening in a cute commercial. In the slow intro, a woman loads her groceries into her car's hatchback with two large plastic gallon jugs of Pepsi. Then as she takes off, the Allegro begins, and the bottles pop out of their bag and as the music swells, the jugs bounce more and more all over the back of the car. It is really funny! It's a wonderful symphony, too.
So brilliant an analysis....I used to describe to my Music 1 students that a symphony was like a tree..with roots, trunk, bark, branches and leaves being all of one substance but changed in a cohesive way!......
One of my most loved Haydn-symphonies brought to me the most memorable concert: I was in there, when Bernstein conducted the 88 in Vienna. I cannot tell you, how extraordinary it was. 1st Weber's "Euryanthe"-Ouverture, 2nd Haydn, 3rd Brahms' 1st Piano Concerto with Zimerman. Although the Brahms was very good, the most impressive work was the Haydn. And it was interesting: At this time, Haydn was not so often performed in Vienna, and when it was, it was at the beginning of a concert as "Einspielstück". And then came Bernstein, and Haydn got, what in Vienna is the best place, the one before the pause. It was overwhelming!
@@antwerpsmerle1404 Yes, just this performance. It was terrific! Bernstein at his best. Viewed from the audience, one had the impression that he didn't conduct at all, perhaps with tiny movements of his head. One of the greatest concerts I had the pleasure to witness.
I first heard 88 in the spring of 1971, in my introductory classical music class at Dartmouth College taught by Professor and pianist Gabriel Chodos. [He later moved to the New England Conservatory of Music and spent the remainder of his career there.] The 88 is a piece I have not ever forgotten, love it still, and I am very happy to see it reviewed here. Thank you. PS All the music in that class was played on the original and simplistically beautiful Acoustic Research turntable with a Shure M91e cartridge. I still have both too. :)
Klemperer actually performs the final movement in least than 4 minutes but never sounds rushed. Sounds charming, joyous in his hands and the rhythms are like clockwork. Tick tock
I share your love and admiration of this symphony. Great talk. Your passion for Haydn and Symphony 88 is a shining beacon. Dorati’s Haydn cycle came out when I was a student in the 1970s. Living off cheap over ripe bananas and drinking milk meant I could afford the LP boxes as they were issued. Nowadays I have got Bruggen too. Must hear Bernstein and the Vienna Phil soon. Thanks again.
It comforts me massively that, after so many many decades, that an expert musicologist gives credit to Joseph Haydn .... why in heaven's name is Haydn so under-observed and appreciated? It is so wonderful to hear this exceptional expert give such a wonderful appreciation to Symphony 88 - a work I have known since I was a young man. Thank you so much, deeply appreciated.
Remember Bach was almost forgotten, until revived by Mendelssohn and friends. For a long time concert programmers scheduled single movements at random or for popularity of the movements.
I agree with you 100% about this symphony! The slow movement makes me cry! It’s so god forsaken beautiful! Another recording you forgot to mention was Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. It’s coupled with a really powerful 104th symphony.
Thank you for your personal appreciation as well as analysis of this wonderful symphony! It has always been my favorite Haydn symphony, but commentators in the radio never have made a big deal of it - the way you do and the way it should be done! I always learn so much from you - thank you for all of your marvelous commentaries!!!
The first piece that "talked to me without words" that I understood what it meant, was the first movement of Mahler 9... I was in HS. I worked my way back to Beethoven and Haydn, and Mozart....
Hi David: Continue to enjoy your chats whether I agree or disagree, the enthusiasm and love of music is wonderful. As per Haydn, Really, Really , woefully underrated composer.....if stuck on a desert island, all his Opus could easily keep anyone who loves music happy ...as to the matter at hand Bruggen's Haydn is wonderful...I have traversed all his Haydn Symphonies; whether you like / agree-disagree it catches your ear and engages you. I started listening to a few..and then music FEVER ensued , could not stop ( not a Haydn Newbie having owned Dorati's complete Symphonies since I was early twenties...Bruggen does what music making is about....it communicates through the care and personality and love of Haydn's music...whether agreeing with Bruggen more or less at times.. art (in general) needs to engage, move, communicate in some fashion, if it doesn't ...get ice cream instead, Perhaps one day , address his many string quartets good lord do I adore them....Also heartily agree Bernstein a great Haydn and Mahler conductor (special) whether you like, agree or not...He usually committed himself fully to what he was doing....I attended concerts with him, but also many rehearsals as well...He was just as engaging personally as in his work.a warm intense human being... It reminds me of the Cortot story about his wrong notes, where a defender stated "ah! but what wonderful wrong notes" but I drone on ...Thanks David!!
Despite your charming self-restraint and modesty, each of your words have been carefully weighed, none is superfluous and all of them wonderfully serve their purpose!! Thanks again for this masterful and warm invitation to pay attention to this masterpiece. Chapeau !!! 🥰🥰
Haydn 88 is a treasure! The last movement always tickles my funny bone and as a Scot that’s saying something! I love Bernstein (both) but agree that the VPO recording is special. I’ve never understood why his Haydn is not more touted. That Sony box is the heart of my huge Haydn collection. It’s great! Other favorites of mine include Furtwangler, Fey (sorry, Bernard), and Bruggen. And Dave you are spot on that Bruggen’s tempo in the last mvt. is wonderful! The first time I heard it I laughed out loud! A pudgy chicken trotting around the farm yard!
I've played Haydn symphonies and quartets, but there were things pointed out here, especially about what holds the piece together, that I hadn't noticed before. Even if it's not exclusively about this work, the explanation helped me understand why Haydn's music was such a game-changer. The emergence of the symphony as a form and way of listening, is not unlike what happened to jazz in the years of transition from 78 rpm to the dimensions of albums, with their potential for elaboration and consolidation. By making you hear something a second time, the exposition repeat trains the ear to recognize what was played before, whether as a full quote, abbreviated allusion, or in other kinds of resemblance. With music from any period, you have to think about what made it fresh, new, maybe even difficult, when it was first performed. Haydn breaks new ground by opening the door, as it were, to music from countryside or the street, even from Balkan and Roma traditions, just as he broke ground earlier with counterpoint and expressionist elements in his Sturm und Drang works. What makes the earthy personality of the music even more engaging is that it's not necessarily to be taken at face value. Charles Rosen took note of this in "The Classical Style," where he said that Haydn was a master in the guise of a servant, outwardly observing pre-established norms in a way that was inwardly subversive. It's the same dynamic that Mozart would take to another level in some of his operas.
Dave: I note your sincere, burning enthusiasm for Haydn, one that I share. Thank you for this wonderful, dare I say rhapsodic, review of Symphony 88. I can't think of any critic/reviewer past or present that has expressed quite the passion for Haydn that you have. I can just picture Lenny Bernstein in the great beyond blushing and saying "Dave, when it comes to Haydn, don't you dare steal MY thunder." Thanks again!
I always try to start the day with Haydn, so it was a great pleasure to find this video as the latest edition to the happy Hurwitz playlist when I sat down to breakfast this a.m. Golly, David, you really outdid yourself this time! David, this was one repertoire video where I failed predict your choices. What's happening? Apart from Bernstein and Dorati, they're all HIPsters! (I'm one of those old-school Furtwangler/ Klemperer/ Walter/ Bohm/ Bernstein guys. Heck, Szell's H88 is too HIP for me.) . (On the other hand... I am sort of intrigued by that Bruggen box that you hold up at 14:57. I just did a quick check at Amazon and found that there's one, and only one, copy available--for $389.99 plus s&h, from our friends at Academy Records. Yeah, I know... it's worth every penny. Unfortunately, my piggy bank hasn't got that many pennies at the moment.) More Haydn talks, please! Thanks! ~ John Drexel
Great to see Nic McGegan in your list. In 1970 I heard him conducting the orchestra of the Cambridge University Music Club in Bartok’s Music for SP&C. I’d never heard any Bartok before and it blew my mind!
Thank you for discussing my favorite Haydn symphony! My first exposure was the old Furtwangler recording along with his wonderful Schumann 4th on LP. When I purchased a CD player one of my early purchases was Frans Bruggen’s Haydn CD on Philips with 88, 89, and the Sinfonia concertante! I like to celebrate composers’ birthdays and that Haydn disc is the one I usually turn to first. What a terrific 88, and the other performances on that disc are also great.
Thank you so much for this video. It's a shame that Haydn is often kind of underrated compared to Mozart and Beethoven when he was just as brilliant as the both of them and in some aspects even better. He's probably the composer which I spend the most time listening to at the moment simply because there's so much cool stuff to discover.
This symphony is beautiful. Thank you very much. I just add that I like Jochum who is a great performer of Haydn and I mention the very spiritual version of Hermann Abendroth in 1956 with the Rundfunk S.O. Leipzig (what a finale !...)
Hello Dave, my favorite Haydn symphony is #82 The Bear; and #88 is definitely my 2nd favorite. I'm very partial to the Bernstein on DG. Thanks for the commentary and your expert insight.
What a great video: personal, informative, passionate, on point. And what a great performance Bruggen's is: warm, detailed, perfectly paced, shocking where needed. A gift. Thank you David for pointing it out.
Wonderful talk. Such enthusiasm for this great work . I like very much the Furtwangler, but it's good to have some new recommendations. Bruggen is so interesting!
Many years ago I had an LP recording of Haydn's Symphonies 88 and 98 on DG by Jochum and the Berlin Philharmonic which I really enjoyed.I don't know if this recording has been issued on CD
Thanks for highlighting this work, and particularly discussing it in detail. I don't know it that well, so will check out the Bruggen. I like Bruggen's work with the Orchestra of the 18th Century (his Mozart 40th was a revelation to me, as was has Rameau Les Boreades and Dardanus suites). On a bagpipe note, apparently there's a Thomas Beecham anecdote that a woman once confided to him that her son wanted to learn an instrument, but she couldn’t bear the purgatory of him practicing in the initial stages. “What is the best instrument?” she asked. “I have no hesitation, madam”, he said, “in saying the bagpipes. They sound exactly the same when you have finished learning them as when you start learning them”. My father had a record of the Scottish Highlander's - I hated it apart from the lone, distant piper's lament which was strangely affecting!
Great channel!!! Haydn and Mozart are not from this world, and this symphony also struck me the same way!!! Adam Fisher recording is sublime too! The best 2nd movement ever. Lmk if you like it… Thanks for the recommendations on the recordings
I think the first period instrument performance I heard was a disc of Kuijken's Haydn. I did not care for it. It seemed kind of scratchy and there was a harpsichord plinking away that seemed to interfere with the music more than support it. I went back to my big band Davis/Concertgebouw Haydn, which I loved and still love. But I had heard good things about Bruggen and was tempted to try it. This was probably like 25 years ago, before you could hear anything and everything on the interwebz. If you wanted to hear what something sounded like, you pretty much had to buy it. But I gave Bruggen a shot and never regretted it. He was a bit rough around the edges, but never ugly. He had a lot of energy, but never felt rushed. He just seemed like a really musical guy.
Orfeo also has a great live 88 with Sándor Végh and Camerata Academica. All in all Orfeo has 4 CD with Végh conducts Haydn, now I have 2 of them but next month I will buy the other 2 also.
@@rtisom Now I have all live recordings by Végh and Camerata on Orfeo. I like them very much. In my opinion one of the best live recording by Végh is on BMC CD called "Végh In Hungary". It contains a Coriolan overture, a Mozart "Haffner" and a Haydn 103. symphony and Schubert 9th. Classicstoday ranks Szell's "Live in Tokyo 1970" album as one of the best live recording of the century. If that is one of them, that Végh BMC album is the other greatest live recording of the century in my opinion.
I played a late Bernstein recording of 88 for good friends I had invited over for dinner, because I loved it so much. It made me so happy. The hated it and acted fake offended and made me play Schumann instead. Now, years later, they refuse to speak to me any longer. What's wrong with these people?
@@DavesClassicalGuide they thought it was too mechanical, apparently. Thanks for your enthusiasm over this wonderful piece. Re your comments on the intellectualism of Haydn:. Double ditto for Bach!
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve been leaning toward Brugge since I have Tafelmusik’s box of Haydn sacred works and the sound pretty subdued or unenthusiastic. But the sound engaged with the music on the Boccherini disc I have. I have Kuijken in the 88th...what do you think of that one? I’m gonna get Brugge just because I want to hear another view of it. Did Harnoncourt ever do no. 88?
Kuijken's set of Paris symphonies is excellent, and there are also some good things in his London symphonies. Unfortunately, his set of 88-92 is a real drag. Dreary tempos, no real engagement. Regarding Weil/Tafelmusik in Haydn, I highly recommend their recordings of the "sturm und drang" symphonies. They are also good in 88 and 90, but I think their Paris symphonies are not recommendable over Kuijken.
Great chat. Leonard Bernstein used this symphony (among others) in one of his "Young Peoples Concerts" (yes, I've seen a lot of those)to illustrate stylistically appropriate performance practices; it was great. We had Bernstein's VPO recording on LP , and I agree it is excellent. Also have the CBS/Sony recording on CD. Currently my go-to is Fey, a wonderful performance, very well recorded. I have not heard any of Bruggen's Haydn, but I may check out his# 88 based on your enthusiastic recommendation. What do you think of Bruggen's performances of the later symphonies?
For his time, H very carefully noted dynamic and expression marks. It allways shocked me how many performances simply ignore these. One could say, if you just do what H wanted, there is no weak of his symphonies. A pity that the metronome was not invented in his time yet, H would surely have notated the tempo also. The Dorati recording is very good, but I have my doubts about the tempo of the finale, it seems a bit dragging and heavy. If we had H 's exact tempo indication it would have dispelled all doubts.
Superb video! Thanks for the backstory and exploration of this great work’s musical features. It was one of my first Haydn experiences as well. On a side note, I want to reassure you that your singing always helps me remember themes. It’s actually quite efficient and appreciated!
Hi Dave. I am so glad that you love H88. I do too but i love H92 even more. As expected, my favourites did not appear on your podium but that's OK: the famous Furtwangler recording with the Berlin Philharmoniker and Uncle Karl Bohm with the VP from the Seventies. Best wishes, Bernard. PS - there is also a Kna in circulation so beware!
Oh boy, I wasn't going to opine for fear of being raked over the coals, but since O'Hanlon mentioned it - Knappertsbusch VPO 1958, live has to be heard. It's the most earthy, clod-hopping, rustic, yes, cow manurey document of 88 I've ever heard. There's nothing like it. The VPO sounds like they are saying "what the hell is he doin", and yet they get totally into it. Surprising tempi, phrasing, you name it. I couldn't hardly believe how the finale started, initially thinking it's not going to work. But it magically does, and it just made me smile big time. Kna - he was one of a kind! Thank God!
@@toddschurk8143 Todd, one should never be afraid of venturing a position if it is rooted in one's personal truth. The easiest thing to say about Kna is "how slow he can be." The better questions to ask are "Why is he slow, and to what musical end?" I am so glad that you get it. No-one does climaxes like Kna. Exhibit One is that Beethoven 8th with the Berlin Phil. Here, I will need to check my collection but I am pretty sure that I have his H88 from Dresden. Best wishes, B
@@toddschurk8143 today another Kna H88 came my way: a 20th of March 1962 concert with the SInfonie-orchester des Hessischen Rundfunk on Tara. It's another performance that only Kna could have engineered with its deceptively slow start and inexorable build of momentum to genuine climaxes. He also nails the drollness too. From what I now understand, there are 4 x H88 Knas in circulation. OMG - David, save us, save us from all this Kna!!!!
That’s truely great talk David! Maybe we all should write here about piece that bring us to classical music world where your website and you in person are very important part? For me it was WAM „Requiem” for example just after watching Milos Forman movie way back in early 90s.And you Folks?
Summer 1980, at a Schools Prom concert given by the BBC Welsh Orchestra. There were several lovely works on the programme, but the one that got me was the _Siegfried Idyll_ - not so much the music (it's still not a piece I particularly rate), but because the presenter mentioned its connection to the Ring. Being very interested in Norse mythology I was intrigued, so I borrowed the LP set of Solti's _Siegfried_ from my library and was hooked.
Mine was an LP of Mozart 40 in my parents collection. I was about 10. Also, the Schubert Unfinished...the Beethoven Pathetique...Shostakovich 5. I wore these records out. But it was Mozart 40 that hooked me. I was a goner. Now I have about 30,000 classical records! Of course, I started 43 years ago!
My introduction was from my parent's LP collection when I was about eight - one was called Heart of the Concerto (Music for Pleasure), a compilation of concerto movements, another on Arcade records with the LSO and Ezra Rachlin (actually recorded by the great engineer Bob Auger I think). They also had Beethoven's Fifth and Eighth Symphonies, Cluytens' BPO version, which inspired me to use my pocket money to start getting his whole cycle! That's where it really started!
@@DavesClassicalGuide Dave's absolutely right. The Marriner set on Eloquence is worth every penny and would give you 33 of the 107, including the 6 "Paris" symphonies. You can then fill-in the rest from there if you're so inclined as I am currently doing.
Loved your analysis of this wonderful symphony which I first heard in the Dorati version (coupled with 89). Tend to listen to Colin Davis and the Concertgebouw nowadays (you would probably say the trio is too polite) This is part of a series of Haydn symphonies Colin Davis did with the Concertgebouw for Phillips’s - this one released on CD thanks to Pentatone. I still await the appearance of their recordings of 86 and 87 on CD. Your mention of the Bernstein with the VPO makes me wonder why Haydn appears so rarely in the discography of Haydn’s home town band. Finally during April the Berlin Philharmonic digital concert hall was free so I enjoyed all their Haydn symphony recordings No 88 gets A great performance (very rustic trio) the conductor I think was Ivan Fischer. looking forward to more Haydn symphonies from you David
No, he is not the gold standard. The London Symphonies are mushy, diffuse and cavernously recorded, but the performances and sound get better as the numbers get lower. I like his No. 88 too. Why does your preference have to be a "gold standard?" Isn't it enough that it's your preference?
@@DavesClassicalGuide I have the Dorati and the Fischer complete Haydn symphonies sets. I agree with you regarding the “London Symphonies” by Dorati, I enjoy his versions more than the Fischer set: probably No. 96 - 104. Dorati’s concert-master really pushes the pace. The result is greater effect. I think they are the best recordings available. However, the remaining symphonies without a doubt I give to Fischer. His performances are crisper, sharper, and the timing and pacing are better than Dorati’s. Pick-out any named symphony, after the “London Symphonies” for instance, the No. 82”the Bear”, Fischer’s version is much crisper. Symphony No. 31”The Hornsignal” the last note of the first horn melody is draw-out. It lingers and creates a not-very good effect, but Fischer’s hornist plays smoothly without a drawn note and it makes the first movement sound better. The engineering (i.e. sonics, etc.) of the recordings in comparison I think is a toss-up and a matter of preference. The Dorati set was made in the studio and lacks range and depth. Some passages are muddled and homogenized. The sound is absorbed in the padded studio walls. There isn’t enough space between the instruments as in the Fischer set. The Fischer set is an open-air sound with broader range and deeper timpani and bass than Dorati’s set. You refer to Fischer’s set as cavernous. I refer to it as dynamic. The Fischer set was recorded in Haydnsaal-Esterhazy Palace; the very place where Haydn premiered his symphonies and the acoustics are board and wide-open. This is way they sounded when they were first played and are the most original replications of his symphonies. The Dorati’s set was recorded in a studio with everyone jammed in there and you lose some of those wind sections and quiet moments. With the Fischer set I can pick-out instruments more easily.
@@camillesaint-saens3166 "This is way they sounded when they were first played and are the most original replications of his symphonies." That is a completely unprovable and speculative statement, You sound far too smart to be taken in by that kind of PR puffery. As for the rest, feel free to like whatever you want. I enjoy some of the Fischer recordings of the earlier symphonies too, once Nimbus had gotten its act together, sonically.
@@DavesClassicalGuide On another note, in the past I have had a difficult time enjoying G. MAHLER's symphonies. There are very long and just do not hold my attention. Please recommend your top three-complete cycles so I can change my view of him. Thanks..aficionado....
@@camillesaint-saens3166 Please check out my reviews at ClassicsToday.com or watch the videos for the individual works. I discuss complete cycles, but don't recommend going in that direction if you're starting out. Take it slowly, one work at a time.
I completely agree about this symphony. It's my favorite Haydn symphony maybe because it was the first one I really enjoyed, too. However, for me it wasn't the Minuet, it was the Rondo Finale. I just love that dancing pastoral feel, so humorous and full of joy. My favorite recording is my first - Dorati's from his complete symphony cycle. However, I adore Furtwangler's classic version on DG usually coupled with an equally revelatory Schubert 9. I know you probably hate it because it's as much Furtwangler's symphony as Haydn's, but he brings out the essence of the music more than almost anyone else in my opinion. Is there any Furtwangler recording you like? Just wondering.
@@stevenmsinger Or print reviews, etc. But for the record, I am very enthusiastic about his Schubert 9th in that video. I'm sorry if I sounded snappy, but I have been doing this for over 35 years and so I get annoyed when people generalize about my position based on one or two examples. I don't expect you to know it all--obviously not.
@@DavesClassicalGuide no problem. No offense taken. I know Furtwangler is controversial just as Karajan is. (I can't stand Karajan that Nazi bastard, by the way.)
Mr. Hurwitz, this is such a wonderful video--so glad to hear the story of your youthful love for this amazing symphony. One small correction-and I hate to be "that guy"-but the first recording of the complete Haydn symphonies was by Ernst Marzendorfer in the early 1960s (and now available on CD from Scribendum). I mention this not to be pedantic but to try to bring this wonderful cycle to your and your fans' attention.
Yes, I have that set, but Dorati was readily available and Marzendorfer was not--it was a mythical beast, so to speak. However, I do stand corrected and I appreciate your saying so. I tend to be casual in these chats in a way I wouldn't be in writing.
Dear Dave, today is Sunday, Courts are closed, so I can´t sue you right now. But I will tomorrow. The reason is you omitted mentioning the performance of La Petite Bande, under Sigiswald Kuijken !. Okay, I´m a peaceful character, and I already dropped the idea of the legal action against you. Very nice recommendations, but the zest of La Petite Bande is soooo refreshing. I do love Bruggen a lot, also. Other recording that has nailed it is Adam Fischer´s (Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra). Best, J.
Kuijken's Haydn is drab and colorless, small-scaled and backward-looking. and completely lacking in humor and personality. I'll defend that position in court any day. He had no business playing Haydn,
@@DavesClassicalGuide Besides (so we can avoid the Courts !) I very strongly agree with your Sibelius 2nd recommendation. That 1970 Sszell is, is, is.... And of course Barbirolli on Chesky is a killer. But Tokyo´s Szell.....
I've been listening to Haydn symphonies in period style, so have some opinions on 88: I can't listen to Fey because of the harsh sound. Bruggen is good but his slow movement is a bit fast and his menuetto a bit slow. McGegan gets the tempos right but lacks charm. Kuijken is a drag. Weil's last two mvts feel a bit rushed, but his is my preferred recording. When you come to Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante, don't overlook Hogwood/Kammerorchesterbasel on Arte Nova!
Well, Thread and Others: There are a pile of "must have" symphonies, and you mention the Sinfonie concertante. (103 my favorite). But you've opened the door to a larger # of great quartets and a bunch of fabulous vocal works: "The Seasons" (preferable to "The Creation" in my mind) and several great masses, to begin with. The "Lord Nelson" Mass is the most famous and a half-century companion of mine. (Your religion doesn't matter---great music! ) If Dave tries to do them all, it will end long after my time, but a worthy project.! So glad you're hooked! The "earlier" symphonies were not too well-known until Bernstein did "The Hen" and "The Bear".
Great to see such palpable enthusiasm for a great composer and you make analysis very understandable. He is still possibly overlooked. How he ever got the “Papa Haydn” tag l’ll never know. 104 symphonies and not one of them is a dud I suspect. May be wrong but even today his symphonies are hardly clogging up the live concert schedules. The quality of his output in all genres is staggering.
Hi mr Hurwitz being a kind of parochial dude I never really appreciated szell because my college roommate was from Cleveland and I thought there was no way Cleveland could have a good symphony like Boston but because of you I have tasted the fruit there is no way I will pay a thousand bucks for the szell box like I did for karajan but today I did pick up not only the Brahms szell Cleveland disk with flesher but also a 4 disk box of szell Cleveland Haydn on Sony for five bucks and I was blown away by 88 and checked this vid and was kind of surprised it didn’t make your list I will now pay attention to szell Cleveland thank you my man
My introduction to the symphony was a mid-1980s 60-second television commercial for the Highland Appliance Store chain, which disappeared years ago. The commercial, hyping the stores' audio equipment, featured a conductor/actor conducting a bit of the first movement. The work was unidentified and it was some time before I chanced on a recording. Memories are tricky; but I suspect the Dorati recording was used. So my imprint version of the symphony was a television commercial.
