John White:

>I've been out of touch with the list lately, due to software malfunction,
>so I don't know if anyone has mentioned the bargain set of 20 Michael
>Haydn symphonies issued by CPO.

Is this the same as the series by Faberman? If so I have some reservations
about it.  Because Haydn has been recorded so little we have nothing to
compare against.  But I feel there is more in these works than Faberman
gets out.

Consider the symphony in D for example as recorded on Hungaraton's white
label.  This appears to be in a different league from any of the symphonies
recorded by Faberman.

>Joseph's younger brother is clearly a greatly underrated composer.

Well yes and no.  I still have my reservations about a lot of the
symphonies.  But his religious music is up there with his brother and
Mozart I reckon.

I have seen the Haydn serenade criticised as boring.  (Churlish in my
view.) This is a highly entertaining work far more attractive than any
of the Mozart serenades IMO!

Some of his concertos demand a second look particularly the highly
enjoyable one for clarinet also.

Check out the chamber works too.  The quintets disc on Sony is superb and
makes me wonder just how much excellent chamber music by Haydn remains
unrecorded.

>His style is quite distinct.  One of his symphonies, at least, was good
>enough to have been mistaken for many years for one of Mozart's [No 37 in
>G],since the latter had added a slow introduction.

Yes and now the embarassed musicologists try to cover for their mistake
and endeavor to maintain the status quo of the holy trinity (Bach Beethoven
Mozart) by saying it was obvious all along that this was an inferior work
and therefore a mis-atribution.  Yeah sure!

Bob Draper