Max Goberman - The Symphonies of Haydn (2015) [Hi-Res]

Just over 50 years after his untimely death at the age of only 51, Sony Classical is proud to make available once again the pioneering recordings of Haydn symphonies which the American conductor Max Goberman made in Vienna in the early 1960s and which, had he lived, would have formed part of the first ever complete recording of the great Austrian composer’s symphonic works.

Initially released on LP by Goberman’s own subscription label, the Library of Recorded Masterpieces, and originally packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeves, these historic recordings not only boasted state-of-the-art 3-track stereo sonics and authentically idiomatic playing by the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, but also took advantage of the latest musicological research to present startlingly fresh reinterpretations of these classic masterpieces in a lively, slimmed-down style that foreshadowed the historically informed period-instrument performances of today.

Born in Philadelphia in 1911, and a student of both Leopold Auer (violin) and Fritz Reiner (conducting), Max Goberman was one of the most promising and enterprising American maestros of his time, equally at home in the concert hall, the opera house, the ballet theatre, on Broadway and in the recording studio. Having joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as a violinist while still in his teens, he soon formed his own orchestra, the New York Sinfonietta, which became noted for its adventurous programming. He later became chief conductor of both New York City Opera and Ballet Theatre (forerunner to American Ballet Theatre), while enjoying a parallel career on Broadway as musical director for such hit shows as Billion Dollar Baby, Where’s Charley?, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and, most notably, Bernstein’s West Side Story.

But Goberman was also an entrepreneur, founding his own Library of Recorded Masterpieces label with the aim of recording the complete orchestral works of Vivaldi and the complete symphonies of Haydn for sale to subscribers by mail order. Sadly, he had only managed to record 75 of Vivaldi’s concertos and 45 of Haydn’s symphonies before dying from a heart attack on New Year’s Eve 1962.

A few of Goberman’s Haydn recordings were later released on CBS’s Odyssey label, but with severely compromised sound, the bizarre decision having been taken to hold back the centre channel of the 3-track master tapes, thus obscuring much of the woodwind and brass detail that made the original LRM releases so special. Newly remastered from the original 3-track tapes wherever they were available, Sony Music’s new 14-CD set thus restores these historic recordings to pristine condition and general circulation for the very first time.