The prominent horn writing in Haydn's D major Symphony (No. 72) betrays its earlier chronology (between 1763 and 1765). The addition of the two further horn virtuosos to the Esterhazy Orchestra in 1763 offered the composer a technical resource that was unrivalled at the time. In this new recording, the abounding vitality and fluid virtuosity, from all sections of the orchestra, show the Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia and Bela Drahos to be idiomatic Haydn interpreters. The Hanover Band, playing period instruments, present a more exciting timbral brilliance, but the NES's modern-instrument version offers an appealingly elegant, softer-edged alternative.
Richard Wigmore found Dorati's approach to the C minor Symphony (No. 95, part of a four-disc set) ''simply too tame and pallid''. By comparison, Drahos and the NES give a remarkably convincing account that deftly reconciles the music's inherent conflicting expressive messages. There is a compelling sense of organic development in the first movement, the cello solo emerges naturally from the ensemble in both the Andante cantabile and the trio to the third movement, and the work resolves emphatically in the ironically cheerful finale, whose stormy interlude (2'45'' - 3'00'') brightens exultantly into radiant C major. RW went on to describe Symphony No. 93 as ''one of the best of Dorati's 'Salomon' Symphonies''. However, to my taste, the NES's generally livelier pace throughout offers much greater animation. Listen to the gentle sway of the first movement allegro, the engaging mixture of warm intimacy and wit in the slow movement, the smiling contrast of rusticity and ceremonial brilliance in the third movement and the cheerful, exhilarating finale. Excellent, spacious recordings.'