Haydn - Symphony 82 [Goodman-The Hanover Band] Here's another instalment in this 4 disc box set [yes i've added Goodman's 82-87 to the back of this set], this one's nicknamed 'The Bear', so called because the last movement depicted music that was performed for 'dancing bears', it's good to have this in early historical performance by The Hanover Band, and i played this same Symphony from this set last year [19th May 2010], but that was the Dutoit version.
Roy Goodman is an English Conductor, born in 1951, he made this recording in 1992.
Unlike Dutoit, Goodman plays the exposition repeat in the first movement [an ending repeat, rather than a beginning repeat], making it roughly 4 minutes longer, and it's this first movement that really got my spirit, i like the way that Goodman uses nice rasping brass, and the slap of the timpani are to the fore, a nice forward momentum in speeds, Goodman doesn't hang about, Certainly he puts the vivacious in the Vivace Assai!, also unlike a number of Haydn Symphonies, this one dispenses with a slow introduction, we go straight in at the deep and fast end!, i just love that brass and timpani, the way they join forces to beat / blast out the main rhythm [0:11-0:26], and the oboes cluck out the responding refrain [0:27-0:32], but it's certainly not a reflective movement, and the frantic and rushed strings play their heads off [0:42-1:04], very thrilling, and the whole thing erupts again in repeat [2:09+], and it's this repeating / reinforcing that really rubs into you the second time around, especially those headless frantic strings [2:50-3:12], Haydn certainly wasn't bothered with long term architectural structure like Beethoven was, rather he had a small bunch of musical ideas, that he presented again and again in a fun merry-go-round, after a slightly different middle section, the final straight appears, and Haydn brings us to a satisfying conclusion to the whole thing, but it's a false ending [7:40], and Goodman sends his forces on another victory lap!, this time the ending becomes more weighty and serious, and the brass and timpani have one last bash / blast to see us out! [10:46-11:06], a thrilling movement of ferocity.
Here's Leonidas Kavakos conducting the first movement on YouTube.
