About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

They didn't call him "Papa" Haydn for nothing. Although Franz Joseph didn't invent the symphony, he can certainly be considered its adoptive father; he single-handedly nurtured the form, transforming it from glorified dinner music into something serious and expressive. These three works, from the end of Haydn's long and amazingly productive career, are unassuming masterpieces -- just what you'd expect from a modest genius who already had close to 100 such works under his belt. Each of them abounds with the composer's wry wit and seemingly boundless invention, made clear in these classic, well-disciplined and witty performances by George Szell and the crackerjack Cleveland Orchestra. The Symphony No. 92 is nicknamed the "Oxford" because Haydn submitted the score as his thesis when he received an honorary doctorate from that distinguished English university. No. 96 was dubbed the "Miracle" after a chandelier fell into the audience during a performance and -- miraculously -- no one was injured. If you want to know why No. 94 is known as the "Surprise," just listen to the second movement. Andrew Farach-Colton, Barnes & Noble

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