Great Men of Music - Franz Joseph Haydn

Title  :  Great Men of Music - Franz Joseph Haydn

Artists  :  Various.  (it's the composer that counts)

Description  :  4-LP Box Set

Year Released  :  1976 (and a revised version in 1978)

    Okay, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky are in a class by themselves when it comes to Classical Music.  But composers like Franz Joseph Haydn and Antonio Vivaldi aren't far behind.  So it was a treat to convert this Time-Life boxed-set to MP3 files.

- Tracks - (favorites in pink)

Side 01
    Symphony No. 60 in C Major ("Il Distratto")
Side 02
    Piano Sonata No. 33 in C Minor
    Trumpet Concerto in E Flat Minor
Side 03
    String Quartet No. 34 in D Major; Opus 20, No. 4
Side 04
    Symphony No. 88 in G Major
Side 05
    Piano Sonata No. 50 in D Major
Side 06
    String Quartet No. 76 in D Minor; Opus 76, No. 2
Side 07
    "The Creation"
    Mass No. 12 in B Flat Major ("Harmoniemesse")
Side 08
    (The rest of) Mass No. 12 in B Flat Major

    I picked this up for $3-$5 at Half-Price Books a while back.  Someone had unloaded a whole bunch from this series there, and I scarfed up 5 of the boxed-sets.  I converted the Vivaldi edition last year; it is shown here.  Bartok, Strauss, and Dvorak still await digitalizing.

    Once again, the LP's themselves were in very good shape.  There were some scratches, but few enough to where I opted to remove (most of) them manually.  There were no skips.

    The format was the same as was used in the Vivaldi set:  three of the LP's were instrumental; the fourth was vocal/opera.  Also included was an excellent booklet about Haydn's life.  The copyright therein cited 1976, but with a proviso that an amended edition was issued in 1978.  I presume they discovered that they had some biographical facts incorrect.

    I'm a huge fan of Haydn's symphonies, so Side 01 and 04 were a real treat.  But all of the first 6 sides are good.  I really don't care for opera, so didn't enjoy the final LP as much.  But if you're going to mix in vocals with my classical music, this is probably as good as it gets.

    ISTR there were about 18-19 sets issued in this Time-Life series.  It was somewhat picked-over by the time I came upon them at Half-Price books, and I didn't buy the remainder all at once.  But I'll be keeping my eyes open for any of these sets that might find their way back to the bookstore.

Vivaldi - 4-LP Boxed Set (Time-Life)

    In the 1970's Time-Life Records put out a sh*tload of boxed sets of Classical music, generally grouped by composer.  Recently, a bunch of them showed up at my local used-book store, which also carries used records.  I picked up four of the sets - Franz Joseph Haydn, Antonin Dvorak, Richard Strauss, and this one, issued in 1978 - Antonio Vivaldi.

    There are 4 LP's in each set, and the bookstore was selling them for $3-$5, which is a fabulous price to pay for roughly 4 hours of music,  And owners of Classical records tend to take meticulous care of the discs.

- Tracks  (favorites in pink) -

Side 01 : L'Estro Armonico, Op. 3
(101) Concerto No. 10 in B Minor
(102) Concerto No. 11 in D Minor
(103) Concerto No. 1 (sic) in E

Side 02
(201) Sonata in C for Flute and Continuo, Op. 13, No. 5 (Il Pastor Fido)
(202) Sonata in C for Lute and Continuo

Side 03
(301) Credo
(302) Stabat Mater

Side 04
(401) Flute Concerto in A Minor
(402) Concerto in C for Two Trumpets
(403) Bassoon Concerto in F

Side 05
(501) Lute Concerto in D
(502) Concerto in G for Two Lutes

Side 06
(601) Beatus Vir

Side 07 & 08  :  The Four Seasons
(701) Concerto No. 1 in E  (Spring)
(702) Concerto No. 2 in G Minor  (Summer)
(801) Concerto No. 3 in F  (Autumn)
(802) Concerto No. 4 in F Minor  (Winter)

    The LP's were generally in good condition, so I de-scratched them manually.  Some were pristine; but a couple were in poorer shape and took some time.  Sides 03 and 06 are "church music", which means they are almost 100% choir-singing, and thus, although quite good, they are not to my taste.

    The Four Seasons are Vivaldi's most popular and well-known works, and deservedly so.  But  most of the concertos and sonatas were stellar too.

    You can find all of these on YouTube.  And FWIW, this is just a drop-in-the-ocean of Vivaldi's total library.  Per Wikipedia, he composed 500+ concertos, 46 operas, and 90 sonatas.

    Vivaldi's music here is full of life and quick in tempo.  I wouldn't play it while trying to go to sleep, but it does make for some great background music at work.