Haydn 2032, Vol. 11: Au goût parisien

Today, no one would seriously question Joseph Haydn's status as one of the leading representatives of Viennese Classicism and the first-ranking composer in the history of music. Nevertheless, there is still a considerable need to catch up with regard to the practical appreciation of his work. For example, there has not yet been a complete recording of the symphonies on period instruments realized by a single ensemble. The meritorious music project Haydn 2032 was launched to realize an ambitious vision: Under the musical direction of Giovanni Antonini, all 107 symphonies are to be performed in historical performance practice in a concert cycle throughout Europe by the 300th anniversary of the composer's birth in 2032 and subsequently released on record. One component of the concept is to relate Haydn's symphonies to selected works by his contemporaries, but there are always pure Haydn programs as well. The eleventh installment of the Haydn 2032 project on ALPHA CLASSICS, this time again with the proven Basel Chamber Orchestra, turns its attention to the French metropolis of Paris, one of the most important musical centers of Europe in the 18th century, where the reception of Haydn's music began particularly early and which helped to establish his European fame. And so here are not only the two well-known "Paris Symphonies" Nos. 87 and 82, composed especially for the Paris Concert de la Loge Olympique, but also the much earlier Symphonies Nos. 2 (ca. 1761) and 24 (1764). The former was the composer's first symphony to be published in print in France, while the latter is the first to have been demonstrably performed in Paris.