Posted on 02/21/2015 5:18:31 PM PST by Borges
In the two centuries since his death Joseph Haydn has been scandalously underrated, argues Richard Wigmore.
In December 1790, shortly before Haydn's departure for England and the greatest adventure of his life, he, Mozart and the impresario Johann Peter Salomon met for a dinner at a Viennese tavern. The mood was convivial, though Mozart, the seasoned, cosmopolitan traveller, expressed concern for his 58 year-old friend in London. ‘You have too little experience of the great world, and you speak too few languages.’ To which Haydn countered, with magnificent, ingenuous confidence: ‘My language is understood throughout the whole world.’
(Excerpt) Read more at gramophone.co.uk ...
Classical Ping
That whole period produced some amazing music, they lived in interesting times...as we do, for very different reasons.
I quite enjoy Haydn’s symphonies, masses, quartets and cello concertos. He need not take a back seat to any composer.
He was a giant. The rich man’s Haydn.
Most if not all “kids” these days have never heard of or listened to classical. Their musical history starts at 2001.
(And this article reminds me: I ought to listen to some more Vivaldi soon.)
To me, Haydn sounds like Mozart pre K. 300 and below. Mozart perfected his style and went far beyond.
I love classical music. I don’t think I really prefer one composer over another. Any one of them are superior to the modern “artists” that sneeze out lyrics and past them off as music.
Haydn - Trumpet Concerto In E-flat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUZYoVw7moc
Love them both...leave them alone! Shut up and enjoy the music...sheesh.
Ah, serenity reigneth in my world...thanks....
*pass them
Thanks for the post. She’s very good.
Beethoven. Then Mozart (by a grace note). Then Haydn.
More than 100 symphonies and each one a masterpiece of clockwork precision.
IMO, a very poor man’s Mozart. His instrumental music is too simple for my taste; I do really enjoy his choral works, though. For me, Bach and Beethoven in a dead heat, then Mozart, Shubert and Chopin and then Dvorak. Yes, Dvorak.
“Most if not all “kids” these days have never heard of or listened to classical. Their musical history starts at 2001.”
I remember talking/ slight complaining to a much older gal at church about the “rap” that the sunday school kids did.
She said “Oh - it was that way when I was a kid too.”
I said “Huh? What music did you like that your parents didn’t?”
“Us kids all loved the Big Band music. But the parents liked symphony music. My dad said that the horns were from the Devil!”
I wonder if her dad knew that Mozart wrote Horn concertos?
In short, Haydn was a well-adjusted man, and it shows in his music. It is hard to think of the music of any composer that is so free of the neurotic (probably the only comparable body of music in this respect would be Dyorak's). Haydn's music is always sane and healthy.
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