Haydn: Three Theatrical Symphonies (2010)

The BIS label's audiophile series of innovative Haydn programs from the historical-performance-oriented Haydn Sinfonietta Wien under its director Manfred Huss have been generally worthwhile. They are restrained but by no means innocent of Haydn's humor; the matter-of-fact delivery of the broadest jokes in the finale of the Symphony No. 60 in C major, H. 1/60, "Il distratto," where the instruments, reflecting the action in a comic play on-stage, pause in the middle of the movement to tune, is a masterpiece of dry wit. This ... Read More

The BIS label's audiophile series of innovative Haydn programs from the historical-performance-oriented Haydn Sinfonietta Wien under its director Manfred Huss have been generally worthwhile. They are restrained but by no means innocent of Haydn's humor; the matter-of-fact delivery of the broadest jokes in the finale of the Symphony No. 60 in C major, H. 1/60, "Il distratto," where the instruments, reflecting the action in a comic play on-stage, pause in the middle of the movement to tune, is a masterpiece of dry wit. This six-movement work originated as incidental music for a play called Il Distratto (originally French, Le Distrait ), and it was popular enough that the Austrian empress demanded an encore performance of it in 1803, three decades after its composition. For the most part it apparently served to evoke the characters rather than represent the action blow by blow. Less obvious jokes are also expertly rendered: hear the delightful harmonic plan of the sonata-form first movement,... Read Less