Franz Joseph Haydn is often referred to as the Father of the Symphony and the Father of the String Quartet. Not that he invented either of those musical forms, but he was the one who developed them into a widely recognized format that other composers then copied. Once he was put in charge of the … Continue reading Opus 33
Haydn
Haydn’s Little Joke
It seems to me that one of the most important figures in the development of Western music is Prince Paul Anton who was the head of the Esterházy family in 1761 when he offered Joseph Haydn the position of Vice-Kapellmeister in his immense household. When the old Kapellmeister died a few years later, Haydn was … Continue reading Haydn’s Little Joke
Kapell-detective Joseph
One of the fascinating things about Joseph Haydn’s life is that parts of it are very well documented, but there are long stretches where we have very little information about the day to day, let alone the month to month, aspects of it. All the more reason to try to fill in some of those … Continue reading Kapell-detective Joseph
How Low Can Humor Go?
The audience tittered. Jim Mason and I exchanged glances, while tittering along with the rest of the audience. Did we just hear what we thought we heard? It was near the end of the second movement of Haydn’s Symphony No. 93, the slow Largo Cantabile. It’s one of the symphonies Joseph Haydn composed specially for … Continue reading How Low Can Humor Go?
A Faithful Dog
When Joseph Haydn went to England, he toured the country and was hosted by musicians wherever he went. In Bath he stayed with Mr Rauzzini, a very famous musician who was one of the greatest singers of his time. Rauzzini’s beloved dog Turk and died and been buried in a tomb in the garden with … Continue reading A Faithful Dog
A Very Jolly Tune
In the late 18th century Joseph Haydn was one of the most famous and popular composers in the world. Johann Peter Salomon, a German violinist and impresario, convinced Haydn to travel to England twice in the 1790s, and Haydn composed a total of 12 symphonies, the so-called London Symphonies, for the occasions. The Londoners loved … Continue reading A Very Jolly Tune
Farewell
Beethoven is well known for the humor he incorporated into his music, but he wasn’t the first. Joseph Haydn, who developed the classical symphony into the form that Beethoven would later extend even further, was quite a jokester himself. And sometimes his jokes made an important point. Take his Symphony No. 45 in F sharp … Continue reading Farewell