With 30-odd Haydn symphonies already in their catalogue, mainly from the prolific Capella Istropolitana, Naxos have now come clean and announced their intention of recording the whole lot, using three different orchestras—by my reckoning the fifth complete cycle currently on the stocks. Neither of these latest Naxos discs offers any revelations, which tend to come more expensive than this. But there's quite a lot to enjoy, especially in the popular Times of Day trilogy, with their colourful and entertaining concertante writing. The Northern Chamber Orchestra is a lively, responsive group, and fields a personable bunch of soloists—deft work from flute and violin, for instance, in the finales of Nos. 6 and 7, an eloquent cello in the Andante of No. 8, and nicely turned cameos from the double-bass in the trios of Le midi and Le soir. The minuets could move with a nimbler spring, and the slow movements, especially that of Le matin, are sometimes short on delicacy and fantasy, with a dearth of truly soft playing. But Allegros are bright-eyed and propulsive, with ample verve and virtuosity in the finales. The horns are sometimes unduly discreet, but in general the full, immediate recording is very acceptable. No one staking a fiver on this disc is likely to be disappointed.
The three symphonies on the other disc pose more serious interpretative challenges, of course, and the readings by Bela Drahos and the Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia often fail to rise much above decent routine. The playing itself is willing and perfectly competent, though horns have that typically East European vibrato, and the violins can sound a bit thin and scrawny under pressure. Of the three works here No. 53 comes off best. The Andante variations are aptly perky and the buffo brilliance and bustle of the finale are well caught (Drahos opts for Haydn's original Presto, later reworked as the opening movement of No. 62, rather than the alternative Capriccio). But the first movement tends to amble uneventfully, and the beautiful pianissimo leadback over a pedal bass in the minuet (0'41'' ff) is too loud and prosaic. This criticism also applies to the slow movements of the two ''Paris'' symphonies, both of which lack largeness of rhythm and elegance of phrase. The minuets come off well (a nice Landler lilt in the trio of No. 86), but the outer movements are short on poise, drama and, in No. 86, symphonic grandeur—though the slightly opaque recording, with muffled timpani and underbalanced brass, does Drahos's readings no favours. For Haydn-lovers with acute cash flow problems this disc certainly provides a fair idea of the music. But if you can run to the extra outlay, the readings of the ''Paris'' Symphonies by, say, Dorati, Bernstein or, on period instruments, Kuijken are in an altogether different class.'