MICHAEL HAYDN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 19, 23, 26....

MICHAEL HAYDN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 19, 23, 26. Bournemouth Sinfonietta conducted by Harold Farberman. Vox Cum Laude MCD 10026 (compact disc). This selection from an ongoing survey on conventional disc concentrates on works written between 1773 and 1783, a productive decade for Franz Joseph’s kid brother. As Mozart discovered, there was more to Michael Haydn than the conventions of the rococo age. Symphony No. 19 dazzles with its percussive Janissary influences (the two shepherd’s pipes are a special delight); No. 19 exposes Haydn’s contrapuntal elegance and intricate wind writing; No. 26 (recorded here for the first time in its original form) yokes together three occasional pieces in the name of a symphony. Given the modern instrument approach, Farberman wields an eminently stylish hand. The CD sonics are considerably more spacious than the corresponding LP version, and you get an extra symphony in the bargain.