Haydn Reloaded

Joseph Haydn has this reputation of having been a harmless and somewhat dull chap who "invented" the string quartet and wrote symphonies with funny names - "The Clock", "The Hen", "Surprise"...and whose music is nice but rather predictable. Two formidable concerts I attended within a few days blew the dust off Haydn's wig and music: the one in Berlin on Jan. 1st, the other in Frankfurt on the 11th. In Berlin René Jacobs conducted a swift and exhilarating "Creation"; I love him and only hold one thing against him - that he doesn't work together with JL anymore! She performed in the other concert I attended at Frankfurt's Alte Oper under the baton of another noted exponent of the HIP movement, Thomas Hengelbrock. His fluent - and never predictable!- conducting of Haydn's symphony No. 53 showed that these days traditional orchestras like the Frankfurter Museumsorchester have learned from HIP and can produce a lighter, more transparent and swinging sound on "conventional" instruments. This work has an overall serene character to which the following dramatic scene "Berenice che fai" posed a stark contrast. Originally written for the soprano Brigida Giorgi Banti who was known for her formidable vocal range the piece is about love, death and desperation in ancient Egypt and was first performed in London in 1795. The composer was rather disappointed with signora B's performance and wrote "she sang but poorly." Well, he would not have said this of JL, I am sure, who although being unwell and suffering from a bad cold, certainly did not sing poorly at all! The reviewer in the "Frankfurter Rundschau" admired her "dramatic intensitiy & fervour", "intelligent and nuanced expression", and "brilliant technique"(duh?!) She would certainly have added more embellishments had she been in better health, but otherwise I can only agree and express the hope that we'll have more riveting performances like these in Haydn's anniversary year!