Classical

There isn’t exactly a plethora of recordings of Haydn’s 1779 opera, L’isola disabitata, about a pair of sisters shipwrecked on a desert island who eventually are rescued respectively by their husband and lover. However that’s perhaps not surprising when you consider its bumpy entry into the world. Penned for the name day of Prince Nicolaus of Esterházy, this is a work that should have been assured of a lavish first staging, but a month before the premiere, the Esterháza opera house went up in flames, meaning the performance instead took place in the palace, quite possibly without scenery. What is more, Haydn himself wasn’t entirely convinced by what he’d written, remarking in later years that it needed to be shortened – in part because of the slow tempo of much of the music. Still, it’s worth remembering that operas which work brilliantly onstage don’t always translate so well into audio-only in one’s living room; whereas operas that feel a bit of a slog in the theatre can suddenly end up sounding a dream from one’s armchair, where plot and pacing is less important than the overall quality of the music and performances. Happily, this particular recording of L’isola disabitata fits snugly into that latter category. Not least because it’s Haydn’s only opera for which he wrote an orchestral accompaniment for the recitatives; and while Haydn ended up deliberately cutting many of the elaborate instrumental sections from his printed score, fearing they were too demanding for both the players and the audience, Bernhard Forck and the Akademie für Alte Music Berlin have reinstated them all, using a recent edition by Thomas Busse. They’ve then presented them via readings that are unfailingly crisp, warm, committed and eminently convincing. As for the vocal soloists, these are Anett Fritsch as Costanza, André Morsch as Enrico, Sunhae Im as Silvia and Krystian Adam as Gernando, and all four are so enjoyable that it feels wrong to single out anyone. That said, if you’re looking for highlights then perhaps skip to the “Fra un dolce deliro” from Sunhae Im, which absolutely delivers on what it says on the tin, Im’s bright, supple soprano voice sounding winsomely sweet and sprightly, complemented by some equally lovely woodwind colour. Or there’s the elegantly persuasive “Non turbar quand’io mi lagno” from tenor Krystian Adam. Essentially, this is a performance that probably would have brought Haydn himself around to this opera’s pleasures. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz

After their acclaimed recording of Weber’s Freischütz, the Dresdner Philharmonie and its Principal conductor Marek Janowski present yet another German opera classic with Beethoven’s Fidelio. They work together with a stellar cast including Lise Davidsen (Fidelio/Leonore), Christian Elsner (Florestan), Georg Zeppenfeld (Rocco), Christina Landshamer (Marzelline) and Günther Groissböck (Don Fernando). This Beethoven’s masterpiece was recorded in two studio sessions, with two different, established choirs: the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden, as well as the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir. Katharina Wagner and Daniel Weber have adapted the original dialogues for the recording. Fidelio is the quintessential rescue opera, in which a wife goes to any lengths to free her beloved from the chains of a barbaric, oppressive regime. Beethoven’s opera on the power of love and the enlightening power of humanity still resonates with us today, and its music continues to delight and inspire. © Pentatone

An indispensable part of concert life in East Westphalia-Lippe and an attractive cultural ambassador for the region beyond the borders of Europe - the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (Northwest German Philharmonic Orchestra) lives up to these two claims in an exemplary manner. The orchestra impressively demonstrates its artistic versatility in a good 120 concerts a year, a wealth of radio productions and album recordings, and an extensive school and concert education program for the concertgoers of tomorrow. This release features Mozart’s Piano Concerto in F major No. 19 with Alessandro Deljavan playing the solo part, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C majo, Op. 21. © ARS-Produktion

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Le Concert de la Loge and Julien Chauvin continue the Haydn adventure with the "Paris" Symphonies No. 84 and No. 86. The conductor and his period instruments orchestra complete the programme with the beautiful Stabat Mater, one of Haydn’s most performed ones during his lifetime. Composed in 1767 during the "Sturm and Drang" period, the Stabat Mater’s strikingly sober and plain expression (« Fac me vere tecum flere ») doesn’t exclude some outstanding passages, as in the « Sancta Mater, istud agas ». © Aparté Music

Composed simultaneously in February 1785, Concertos K. 466 and K. 467 are virtually twin works, but dissimilar twins. His recent masonic experience may well have rubed off on Mozart’s creativity, for we can detect, dare I say it, “live”, a sudden deepening of his comprehension of the human tragedy in the first movement of Concerto K. 466 in D Minor, along with K. 491 in C Minor the only concertos in minor key. The breathless syncopes at the very beginning seem to anticipate Schubertian “Angst” in the face of the inexorable approach of death. Introspection bore Mozart towards the heights of expressive maturity. He was able to attain a degree of calmness in the Romanze, albeit interrupted by an agitated interlude. The final movement brings this masterpiece to a conquering, joyful conclusion. In contrast, in its first movement, the optimism of Concerto K. 467 expresses the need for bravery to maintain the grandeur of humanity notwithstanding the various inroads made by failing courage to gain the ascendancy without ever achieving it. The highly celebrated, divine Andante is in and of itself a purifying panacea. Truly, an angel passes. The derisive tone of the Finale is surprising but it brings us back to earth, perhaps to remind us that there is much work to be done before we can ascend to the Olympus of Spirituality and that, in the meantime, we should partake of earthly pleasures! © Cyprien Katsaris/Piano 21

Several years ago, Giovanni Antonini and the Alpha Classics label set an exciting objective: to create a complete collection of Haydn’s 104 symphonies, mirroring the works of composers from different eras so as to highlight their relevance today. This monumental edition should be completed in 2032, marking the tercentenary of the Austro-Hungarian composer’s birth.The project is gradually being enriched by other productions celebrating Haydn’s genius. The oratorio Die Schöpfung (The Creation) is a major part of his catalogue. Haydn was inspired after hearing an oratorio by Handel in London during a large commemorative concert. The event was significant because there were few early works being performed at the time, and the large orchestra and choir (nearly 1000 strong) made a great impression on Haydn, being unaccustomed to such large numbers.
The result was The Creation, a spirited oratorio that required a colossal amount of preparatory work and left him shaky. But it was worth the effort. The work was a huge success and has been performed ever since. Giovanni Antonini reveals a very lively chamber version with an excellent instrumental ensemble, a perfectly balanced vocal trio with soprano Anna Lucia Richter, tenor Maximilian Schmitt and baritone Florian Boesch, not forgetting the participation of the wonderful Bavarian Radio Choir.This new recording ranks among the highest of a long series of Haydn’s masterpiece. It’s thanks to the radiant performances, where the love of music blends with the simple contemplation of nature. A perfect recording. © François Hudry/Qobuz

After a proliferation of recordings from Marc Minkowski and The Musicians of the Louvre for several years, they have now become scarcer. Fans will, therefore, be very pleased to find him here in this well-polished version of the Great Mass in C minor, a work that was left unfinished by Mozart. It is difficult to play in its current state and has been reconstructed a dozen times with varying degrees of success. Here, Minkowski set his sights on the version reconstructed by Austrian composer and conductor Helmut Eder, who published it in the New Mozart Edition in 1985. It is well known that this monumental work, which should have been as long as Bach’s Mass in B minor or Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis had it been completed, was never commissioned and was composed as a thanksgiving for the recovery of his fiancé, Konstanze Weber. It is still a mystery why the work was left incomplete but there are probably multiple reasons for this. The original manuscript was found at the end of the 1970s and contains three-quarters of the work. It represents a kind of culmination of Western sacred music with the complete assimilation of earlier styles and a distinct Mozartian sound. Recorded in concert in Grenoble in 2018 following a European tour, this new version is performed using a reduced choir in keeping with its premiere performance in the small St. Peter’s Abbey in Salzburg, 1783. © François Hudry/Qobuz