The continuing Haydn symphonies survey from Naxos reaches Volume 24, with Symphonies Nos. 43 (“Mercury”), 46, & 47. The performances by Helmut Müller-Brühl and the Cologne Chamber Orchestra are skillfully managed, bringing well-sprung rhythms in outer movements and affectionately refined and detailed instrumental exchanges during slow movements. The best-known work here is the E-flat major “Mercury” symphony, of which Antal Dorati’s Decca recording with the Philharmonia Hungarica has seldom been bettered for vitality, excitement, and agile orchestral playing. Although Dorati uses larger forces, there’s still a well-ordered chamber-like quality to his performance. Dorati’s wind group sounds characterful, too, but the Cologne account is generally more polished and cleanly articulated, with better string ensemble and nicely blended oboes and horns, even if Müller-Brühl’s reading lacks the bite and urgency of Dorati’s.
The new account of Haydn’s only symphony in the key of B major (No. 46) is finely executed, but again without the pulse and drive that informs Dorati’s. That’s a guiding issue if you like Haydn red-blooded and racy. If you’re happy enough with sensible speeds, disciplined and elegant playing, and a bright, clear recording, the Naxos newcomer should satisfy, and there are some agreeable surprises, like the return of the second group of the Minuet during the finale, already fascinating for its dramatic sudden silences. Finally, the same restraint and attentiveness brings a prim, shapely performance of Symphony No. 47, completing this well recorded disc. Not everyone’s cup of tea, perhaps, but a legitimate conception, well realized.
