This is one of the finest recordings yet in Naxos’ ongoing Haydn symphony series, and if you haven’t heard these comparatively rare works, now’s your chance, for they are marvelously played and recorded by Béla Drahos and the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia. The performances combine the necessary liveliness with an ideal transparency of texture: woodwind and brass make their points with unobtrusive clarity, yet the strings never sound thin or emaciated, a critical factor in the success of the slow movements (of Symphony No. 68 especially, which has the longest one that Haydn ever wrote). These symphonies are little gems. Each offers a liberal sprinkling of those flashes of genius that make Haydn’s works stand out from the rest of the classical crowd. In Symphony No. 66, it’s the witty finale with its 10-bar main theme, broken down into two five-bar phrases: the tune always sounds too long and never goes where you feel it should. Symphony No. 67 has many more surprises in store, from the delicious “col legno” (with the wood of the bow) ending of the slow movement, to the two solo violins in the trio of the Menuetto, to the haunting slow movement for string trio that pops up in the middle of the finale. Finally, as mentioned, No. 68 has Haydn’s longest slow movement followed by one of his most appealing Rondos, a real “concerto for orchestra” in which each episode features different members of the orchestra’s wind section. Don’t miss this one. [4/12/2000]
