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First Sunday Music - Haydn

Posted on 11/02/2008 2:30:23 PM PST by HoosierHawk

Joseph Haydn


His Life

Born in Rohrau in 1732, the son of a wheelwright, he was trained as a chorister at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where he made his early living, before appointment to the small musical establishment of Count Morzin in 1759. In 1760 he entered the service of the Esterházy Princes, and succeeded to the position of Kapellmeister on the death of his predecessor and immediate superior Gregorius Werner in 1766. Much of Haydn's life now centred on the magnificent palace and estate at Esterháza, where his employer Prince Nikolaus Esterházy had moved his entourage for most of the year. The death of the Prince in 1790 released Haydn and allowed travel to London. There followed further service of the successors of Prince Nikolaus, now at the former residence at Eisenstadt, and concluding retirement in Vienna, where he died in 1809, as the soldiers of Napoleon again entered the city.

Read more of Haydn's life and times

Haydn's String Quartets Op. 76
Nos. 1-3
Nos. 4-6

Performed by The Kodaly Quartet


TOPICS: History; Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: classicalmusic; firstsundaymusic
Prayers for our troops, veterans, families, friends, and allies.

Classical Music presented on the first Sunday of every month.

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Keyword: firstsundaymusic

1 posted on 11/02/2008 2:30:24 PM PST by HoosierHawk
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To: Brad's Gramma; Cincinna; curmudgeonII; Duke Nukum; EveningStar; laurenmarlowe; LucyT; sitetest; ...

Ping to First Sunday Music of Haydn.


2 posted on 11/02/2008 2:32:11 PM PST by HoosierHawk
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To: HoosierHawk; .30Carbine; 1rudeboy; 2nd Bn, 11th Mar; 31R1O; ADemocratNoMore; ...
Dear HoosierHawk,

Thanks for the ping!

Classical Music Ping List Take Your Mind Off the Election for a Few Minutes Ping!

If you want on or off this list, let me know via FR e-mail.

Thanks!


sitetest

3 posted on 11/02/2008 2:35:05 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: sitetest

Haydn’s symphonies are remarkable. Even his early ones (where he was basically inventing the form) are interesting and the later ones are on a level with Beethoven.

It is in music that the superiority of Western Civilization is most clearly demonstrated. Now much of the talent playing it at the highest level is Asian.


4 posted on 11/02/2008 2:46:36 PM PST by arrogantsob (Hero vs Zero)
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To: sitetest
I always recall what Harold C. Schonberg of the New York Times wrote about Haydn, probably in his book Lives of the Great Composers.

He wrote, "...Haydn was among the least neurotic of all the great composers."

To my ear, it comes through in his music.

He also included Dvorak, as I recall, on that brief list.

5 posted on 11/02/2008 2:58:40 PM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
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To: arrogantsob

His piano concerti in D major and C major were in my repetoire. They were fun to conduct from the keyboard like the Mozart concerti.

Plus they’re not played that often. Plus they’re a respite from some of the more physically demanding vehicles like the Brahms B-flat major. But you had to be careful to play them absolutely clean. Ons lil’ split note ruins everything, hehehe.


6 posted on 11/02/2008 3:07:31 PM PST by Emperor Palpatine ("Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.)
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To: arrogantsob
"Now much of the talent playing it at the highest level is Asian."


I must disagree. While the technical perfection is there and often awesome, the playing is either cold with no soul or with cloyingly exaggerated effects just a little too calculated.

Witness Lang Lang's butchery of the Rachmaninoff Concerti. He totally misses the point of the music. Sergei Vassiliyevitch would spin in his grave if he ever heard it.

If you want to hear how they're supposed to be done, listen to Van Cliburn, Jorge Bolet, and Lazar Berman play them, or go straight to the horse's mouth and listen to Rachmaninoff's own recordings.
7 posted on 11/02/2008 3:13:45 PM PST by Emperor Palpatine ("Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.)
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To: HoosierHawk

Thank you.


8 posted on 11/02/2008 3:42:44 PM PST by curmudgeonII (Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit.)
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To: curmudgeonII
You're welcome, friend.

And, as always, I'm glad you're enjoying the music.

9 posted on 11/02/2008 3:53:34 PM PST by HoosierHawk
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To: HoosierHawk
And, as always, I'm glad you're enjoying the music.

I always look forward now to the first Sundays. Some months are, of course, more pleasing to me than others, but I enjoy all of them.

I have noticed that I am no longer able to retrieve some of the prior months selections.
Any suggestions?

10 posted on 11/02/2008 4:13:57 PM PST by curmudgeonII (Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit.)
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To: curmudgeonII
Any suggestions?

Not at this time. In June, I put together a web page that listed all First Sunday Music. I believe that was your suggestion, which I was glad to do. It made sense.

Unfortunately, I lost that domain name and much of the music that was stored there. Communication with the registrar was pretty much one-sided until I finally lost the domain name and sent them an email closing with, "You guys suck!"

The task ahead will be to restore all the music and upload it. It will take a lot of time, but I am piecing it together slowly.

I'll keep you posted.

11 posted on 11/02/2008 4:30:54 PM PST by HoosierHawk
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To: Emperor Palpatine

Perhaps you should reread my comment and rethink what I said.  The “highest level” is the concert stages and major record companies.  My comment is true.  I said nothing of interpretative power or insight.

Nor do I believe Van Cliburn’s Rachmaninoff 2d is the best.  Many critics believed he was rather ham-handed.  My favorite by him is the Brahms 2d, Tschaikovsky and the “Emperor”.

I must say that one of the most incredible live events I ever attended was YoYo Ma playing all the Bach Cello Sonatas. But he cannot be said to be “Asian” I suppose but American.


12 posted on 11/02/2008 6:02:53 PM PST by arrogantsob (Hero vs Zero)
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To: Emperor Palpatine

I never really developed much of a taste for the Concerti.

Barenbohm played Mozart and conducted them before my amazed ears a few years ago.


13 posted on 11/02/2008 6:05:58 PM PST by arrogantsob (Hero vs Zero)
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To: arrogantsob

A lot of the reason for that criticism of his Rach Two was Reiner’s rather bombastic approach to the music. But no one produces such a warm piano tone as Cliburn does in that recording. He plays this gorgeous sounding Steinway that was several decades old and had settled very nicely. One of the most gorgeous recorded piano sounds ever is just one chord hit in the buildup to the climax of the opening Moderato.

I also like the way he, (or they), scale the tempi back ever so slightly and luxuriate in all those lush harmonies and passing tones. His pedalling is flawless, (especially in the allargando bass arpeggios towards the coda of the first movement and throughout the Andante.)

Pianists just don’t play that way anymore. Recent performances of the Rachmaninoff Second are often overly fast with clangorous marcato chords a la Prokofieff. Much like Graffman’s awful performance of it with Bernstein. I’ve even been guilty of it myself a few times in that concerto, but sometimes you hit the negative trifecta of terrible acoustics, a bad piano, and a stubborn know-it-all conductor.

Although if you want your socks totally blown off in a great performance of Sergei’s Second that is something of a throwback, listen to Andrei Gavrilov’s,,,,,if you can find it. Its worth it.


14 posted on 11/02/2008 6:44:27 PM PST by Emperor Palpatine ("Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.)
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To: Emperor Palpatine

Reiner bombastic? He was a superb orchestral technician who’s intepretations were quite subtle.


15 posted on 11/03/2008 7:31:20 AM PST by Borges
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To: Borges

Oh, I met Fritz Reiner shortly before his death when I was young. He was a brilliant conductor and actually gave the Chicago that wonderful burnished tone that Solti inherited and expanded upon.

His accompaniment of Cliburn in the Rach Second recording is a bit boomy in places. Now I’m not sure that’s because of the limitations of the available technology in 1959 or what. But he completely covers the piano in a few climaxes, and that just shouldn’t happen. I do love their choice of tempo, though. And I was speaking of one particular recording.

But even the greats make mistakes. Witness the Toscanini recording of Haydn’s “Surprise” symphony with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. He rattles through the delicate minuet as if it were background music for a Keystone Kops car chase.

Without a doubt Reiner was one of the greatest maestros in history.


16 posted on 11/03/2008 9:57:22 AM PST by Emperor Palpatine ("Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.)
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