Debut with a Drumbeat
It is with a mighty beat of the drum that the Haydn Philharmonic based in Esterházy and led by Adam Fischer makes its MDG debut. This Austro-Hungarian one-of-a-kind ensemble that has earned a worldwide reputation with its Haydn interpretations now outdoes the sound impression of an enthralling live interpretation of the two London G major symphonies with space-transcending 2+2+2 technology. The result is a super audio CD!

Don and Freemason
The Symphony No. 92 was presumably the first symphony presented by Haydn in London. He conducted it a second time in Oxford when he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree there. It is owing to this latter performance that this work came to to known as his “Oxford Symphony.” It would more properly be termed his “Paris Symphony,” since he recycled it from his rich musical stores. He had originally written it for the Loge Olympique, a Freemason concert society in Paris.

Snoozer’s Surprise
In London Haydn doubtless encountered highly attentive and conscientious listeners, while at the same time not shying away from furnishing his premieres with surprise effects. The most famous of them is certainly found in the slow movement of the Symphony No. 94 premiered by him on March 23, 1792, during his second London concert season. He later vigorously denied that he had intended the timpani blast as a wake-up call for those members of his English public who had fallen asleep during the concert. The audiophile variant of this timpani surprise would have been even more to the master’s liking

Vanishing Act
Haydn’s little jokes inspired pranks on the part of musicians. During a performance of the overture to the opera La fedeltà premiata the hornists left the stage, only then to make their reentry from another place in the concert hall — a surprise not only for the conductor and his audience but also for the listeners of this multichannel production.