There are more than 30 authentic divertimentos by Haydn for middle-size ensemble, which are almost wholly unfamiliar even in these days when the record companies and the specialist ensembles are poking into the oddest corners of the repertory. So this disc, with four delightful little pieces, is one to welcome. They all date from the 1760s. Haydn was a late developer: it is revealing to compare the pieces he was writing at the age of 30 with those Mozart was producing at the same age (Figaro, no less!)—though it is only fair to say that times had changed a good deal in the more than two decades that separate the men. Two of these divertimentos call for pairs of oboes and horns with a five-part string ensemble (Nos. 20 and G1), two for flute and oboe, violin cello and bass; the former type, probably the earlier, have five movements, the latter four, ending with a set of variations of the kind where the instruments each step forward to take a turn. All have direct, rather four-square opening movements, cheerful minuets, graceful and often gently touching slow movements (except one, a gruff piece in the Birthday Divertimento entitled ''Man and Wife'', a duet between high instruments and a double-bass, with a yawning chasm in between).
The players have a happy grasp of the style. I especially enjoyed the sweet-toned, charmingly phrased violin playing in the slow movements and indeed in the quick ones too, and Hans-Martin Linde plays the flute pleasingly and with his usual accomplishment. The oboe solo work (of which there is not much) is less happy, with some quacky tone that made me pine for Prokofiev's wolf to come and take a gulp. The cellist, who has a few solos too, is very capable but not particularly ingratiating in tone or phrasing. Once or twice, especially in the minuets, the players seem to stress the first beats a shade more than they need, but in general these are good, spirited performances, with well-chosen tempos, and they are well recorded. Recommended to anyone interested in the genial personality of the young Haydn, when his voice was only just beginning to attain individuality.'