Russell Platt on Bernstein's Haydn

"It was the special task of Leonard Bernstein to remind us that under the granite mask of Papa Haydn there was a living, breathing human being, as 'Bernstein/Haydn' (Sony), a reissue of his recordings of the 'Paris' and 'London' symphonies, proves. (The set also features performances of four Masses and of 'The Creation.') These albums, made with the New York Philharmonic between 1958 and 1975, feature the same hands-on attention — call it love — that marked Bernstein’s trailblazing accounts of Mahler and Ives. Blissfully ignorant of authentic performance practice, he gives Haydn’s melodies an almost Romantic weight and curvature: the minuet of No. 95 in C Minor offers all the drama of a Strauss opera, while the first movement of the valedictory No. 104 in D Major ('London') has … a Tchaikovskyan ardor and subjectivity. … The performances of the gallant 'Paris' set (Nos. 82-87) offer unexpectedly lunging rhythms and unabashedly rich string tone. Bernstein’s profound knowledge of the scores — as well as his insight into Haydn’s buoyant sense of humor — keeps these often daring interpretations from running off the rails" ("Classical Notes: The Classical Style," New Yorker, 9/7/09, p. 15).