The first three movements of Michael Haydn’s A major Symphony (P6) began life as a ballet; while its finale comes from music previously used in the ballet-pantomime Hermann. Nevertheless, this tasteful reading by Bamert and the LMP presents a convincing structural unit. Dynamics and instrumental forces are strikingly opposed in the first movement, as are the major/minor contrasts in the minuet. The slow movement has an appropriately mannered stateliness, and the finale is engagingly vivacious. Like the A major Symphony, the B flat work (P9) has as its finale a later addition; but once again, the LMP’s stylish playing, in a naturally lit recording, sounds thoroughly satisfying. The spacious acoustic, moreover, effectively highlights the ceremonial character of the G major Symphony, recalling its initial conception as part of the cantata for Nikolaus Hoffmann’s installation as Abbot of Michaelbeuern.
Michael Haydn joined the Oradea Cathedral orchestra as a violinist in 1757, before becoming Kapellmeister there. Accounts of the E flat and F major Symphonies by the present-day Oradea Philharmonic (a body created in 1923 to revive the composer’s music) display a compelling enthusiasm and sense of style. However, the LMP here offer greater finesse and precision of ensemble in brighter, fresher recordings.'