The News Letter of Adam Fischer & Haydn Orchestra Fan Club
'Barátom' means 'My Friend' in Hungarian
Letter Size Printable, A4 Size Printable
November 1, 2001 - No. 33
Summer Tour of the Haydn Orchestra
This summer was very successful for the Haydn Orchestra. The tour to Athens, London and New York was planned with Adam Fischer originally, however, due to Bayreuth appointment, the Haydn Orchestra had the opportunity to perform with world famous maestros, such as Philip Entremondt, Bruno Weil, and Helmut Rilling. The highlight of the tour was "The Seasons" with Bach Specialist Helmut Rilling. Differing from Adam Fischer's interpretation, in traditional German style Rilling kept the equal tempo and emphasized the difference of the tone quality. At the beginning of the rehearsal, the orchestra was confused more than a little, but the performances in London and New York were well received by most critics..
Since "The Seasons" is very rare piece, the concert in New York was the
Mostly Mozart Festival's first-ever performance of the work. The local media praised
Haydn's hidden masterpiece, as well as the performance of the Haydn Orchestra that keeps
up the tradition of Eisenstadt, where Haydn lived for over 30 years.
Go back to Top of Newsletter
First "Cooking Conductor" in the history Bayreuth
The Bayreuth Staff's
cooperation was the key to success for Adam Fischer, who was appointed in May and did not
have enough time for full preparation. As a token of his gratitude, after "Die
Walkure" performance on August 22, he organized a party. Not only covering the cost,
Adam Fischer himself cooked his own Hungarian Gulyas soup. With the Cafeteria Staff 's
help, he started cooking at 11 a.m. for 300 people including soloists, orchestra members,
stage staff and even the Blaue Madchen who look after of the audience. (They are selected
from all over Germany and must be younger than 25. Many of them study singing and hope to
be future Brunhildes.)
After the performance and following the long curtain calls, they all directly went to the cafeteria still in costume, Adam served his soup to everybody thanking them for the support. In 125 year's of the Bayreuth Festival, he is the only conductor who has cooked soup for the staff. General Intendant Wolfgang Wagner put in an appearance at the party and enjoyed the soup. Adam is planning another party next year again and trying a new menu. As soon as the recipe becomes available, we will introduce it in the newsletter.
Go back to Top of Newsletter
The National Theater Mannheim won the third position of "Opera house of the year"
Every year, the important German opera magazine "Opernwelt" announces the "best of the year" in its Year Book. It is decided by the vote of 50 critics over the world. This year, the National Theater Mannheim was nominated for third place in the "Opera house of the year" category. In the general comment it says, "The new General Music Director Adam Fischer made his first season very successful. Not only Wagner, but from Monteverdi to Bartok, the theatre performed a wide variety of repertoire. Since the direction from the podium is clear, even this wide repertoire does not cause confusion. It was easy to predict the Bayreuth triumph." Adam Fischer himself got some votes for "The Conductor of the year" because of "Tristan and Isolde" in Budapest and other performances in Mannheim.
Go back to Top of Newsletter
Very sad news - Nimbus Record has gone into receivership
The British independent recording company, Nimbus Record went into receivership on October 23. Recently the classical music record industry has had difficulties and some major labels have withdrawn from new production and cancelled recording contracts. In addition, after the terrorist attack on September 11, US sales fell.
Over the past 14 years, Nimbus has recorded all the Haydn symphonies with Adam Fischer and the Haydn Orchestra, the only complete recording since the Dorati set. The final box set Volume 2 with Symphonies 21 to 39 and 'A' and 'B' was scheduled to be on sale on November 5.
Go back to Top of Newsletter
VOLUME 2 OF THE COMPLETE HAYDN SYMPHONIES
Nimbus Records' project to record all the Haydn symphonies was started in the 1980s with the then newly founded Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra with Adam Fischer and gave rise to the Eisenstadt Haydn Festival.. Earlier this year, the last symphony was taped and Dominic Fyfe, chief producer for the last ten years, spent the summer editing the final volume. Described by Edward Greenfield in The Guardian (12 October 2001) as "the finest and most enjoyable yet...outshines the Dorati set....a thrilling and revelatory conclusion to a superb series." Days later Nimbus Records closed its doors and called in the receivers. Several hundred copies of the final box had been produced but none seems to have reached UK distributors. We have been able to track down a few copies abroad and are pleased to offer Volume 2 of the Collected Haydn Symphonies - Nos 21 - 39 and "A" & "B" on 5 CDs with over 51/2 hours of music - in the original box for ?39.99 inc p+p (add ?2 for Europe). Cheques payable to Habsburg Heritage, 158 Rosendale Road, London SE21 8LG but please write or email info@habsburg.co.uk first as our stocks are very limited of what is sadly already "a collector's item" (BBC Radio3 3 November 2001).
Go back to Top of Newsletter
Editorial Note
Bayreuth, London and New York tour, and the Haydntage in Eisenstadt, this summer was a very busy season for both Adam Fischer and the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra. In order to report as much as possible, the regular article did not appear. They will be back in the future issues of Baratom.
Although performances were so successful, the breaking news of Nimbus Record was very sad. After 14 year's of hard work, it is a big misfortune that it happened just a few days before the release. As of this time it is not clear however, we confirmed that all recording and editing were completed and first lot is ready to ship. No matter who buys the publishing rights, it is possible to distribute at least first presses. Ideally, we hope that it is sold as the full set of Haydn Symphonies. Only fan's voice may make it possible. Let's work together and make it happen. We will keep you informed the situation.
Go back to Top of Newsletter
