Franz Joseph Haydn’s last great symphonies electrified his London audiences, and with these recordings Adam Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra recreate the powerful, stormy and exciting effects that caused such a sensation in the 1790s. Symphony no.99 in E flat major was Haydn’s first ever symphony to use clarinets; no.100 in G major gained its ‘Military’ appellation due to its grand second movement featuring cymbals and triangle; and no.101 in D major has long been nicknamed ‘The Clock’ due to the ticking rhythm in the second movement for plucked strings and bassoons. Previous volumes in the series are available on 8574516 and 8574517.

This set of Haydn’s last and greatest symphonies arrives in the wake of the Danish Chamber Orchestra and Adam Fischer’s acclaimed series of the complete symphonies of Beethoven (8505251) and Brahms (857446567), and Adam Fischer and his orchestra use their recent experiences in this and other repertoire to play this Haydn series in as exciting and colourful way as possible. This edition is shaping up to become as collectable as all of Fischer’s previous symphonic recordings, and there is now a buzz of excitement around each release in this new Haydn project.

Vol. 1 (8574516) of this series received wide critical acclaim: ‘Fischer points out that Haydn’s “London” symphonies were greeted at their first performances by the sort of wild enthusiasm that’s reserved nowadays for rock concerts. He aims to recreate some of that excitement in the performing style he cultivates with the Danish Chamber Orchestra, with its crisply articulated string playing and strongly contrasted dynamics’ (BBC Music Magazine).

Vol. 2 (8574517) was equally well received: ‘Fischer never misses a trick with Haydn’s theatrical contrasts. Time and again we sense the composer gleefully taking himself by surprise’ (Gramophone).

Adam Fischer has been associated with the Danish Chamber Orchestra since 1997, serving as chief conductor from 1998, where he still is a major driving force and initiator both in Denmark and internationally. In 2019, he was awarded the international Wolf Prize for Music, was nominated Conductor of the Year by Presto Classical in the UK, and received the BBC Music Magazine Awards Orchestral Award for his recording of Mahler’s Symphony no.1 with the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, he received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA).