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Post by jk on Apr 2, 2021 5:30:12 GMT -5
The topic title is a play on "a melody by Strauss" from the 1936 song by George and Ira Gershwin... Often described as the father of the symphony, Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) wrote more than a hundred, establishing the genre once and for all. I shall post one now and again with a link to its wiki page. First off is Symphony No. 49 in F Minor, nicknamed "La Passione" (many of Haydn's symphonies have nicknames). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._49_(Haydn)en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn |
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Post by jk on Apr 4, 2021 4:27:38 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Apr 7, 2021 6:08:22 GMT -5
Here's a symphony I can warm to straight away: No. 47 in G major, known as "The Palindrome". The movement that earns it its nickname is the third, tellingly described as "Minuet al roverso - Trio al roverso". To paraphase the YouTube blurb, this minuet is a tour de force. The main sections of the Minuet and the Trio are first played all the way through (fine so far) but are then played again backwards ("roverso" in old Italian). So Haydn had to compose this minuet in a way that it would be musically intelligible in both directions: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._47_(Haydn) |
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Post by jk on Jun 11, 2021 7:24:33 GMT -5
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barnsy
Kahuna
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Post by barnsy on Jun 12, 2021 12:51:52 GMT -5
Wonderful to highlight these works. Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn are my classical music Holy Trinity.
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Post by jk on Jun 13, 2021 3:25:09 GMT -5
Wonderful to highlight these works. Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn are my classical music Holy Trinity. Thanks, barnsy, and welcome to the sparsely populated stretch of the beach!  I love Haydn's symphonies. I once listened to all of them on the trot while working on a project. Please feel free to post anything from Haydn in this thread. There's also a "classical" topic for other works you'd like us to hear.  |
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barnsy
Kahuna
Posts: 198
Likes: 299
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Post by barnsy on Jun 13, 2021 7:11:47 GMT -5
Wonderful to highlight these works. Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn are my classical music Holy Trinity. Thanks, barnsy, and welcome to the sparsely populated stretch of the beach! I love Haydn's symphonies. I once listened to all of them on the trot while working on a project. Please feel free to post anything from Haydn in this thread. There's also a "classical" topic for other works you'd like us to hear. That just means we get the best spot to put down our towels  Oh, me too. And I also listened to them all on the trot (pre-pandemic I walked to and from my workplace for an hour each way and working from home I now do 2 hours walking after work, so a lot of listening time) - small world lol. I also listened to his other works but the Symphonies for me stand out as a particular accomplishment. I'll see what I can do! You know, I was a lurker here from the Board's inception but never really delved beyond the General On-Topic section and now I'm discovering all these other parts - it's quite something. |
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Post by jk on Jun 25, 2021 6:51:58 GMT -5
Thanks to barnsy 's Mozart post in the general classical topic, today YouTube fed me Haydn's Symphony No. 82, nicknamed "The Bear" (see page linked below), as performed by the excellent Karajan-Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Ariane Matiakh: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._82_(Haydn) |
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barnsy
Kahuna
Posts: 198
Likes: 299
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Post by barnsy on Jun 25, 2021 13:45:16 GMT -5
Thanks to barnsy 's Mozart post in the general classical topic, today YouTube fed me Haydn's Symphony No. 82, nicknamed "The Bear" (see page linked below), as performed by the excellent Karajan-Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Ariane Matiakh: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._82_(Haydn) Not a huge stretch for YouTube's algorithm to make in this case (presumably didn't even need the Paris link between the two works) but certainly worthwhile as that was very nice indeed - they navigate their way through the delicate passages really well. Their Wikipedia page says that a third of the current Berliner Philharmoniker came through the Academy which speaks for itself. |
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Post by jk on Jul 15, 2021 7:57:12 GMT -5
Number 22, "The Philosopher", is an unusual sounding symphony -- and no wonder. To quote the wiki page: "The work is scored for two cors anglais (English horns), two horns, and strings. The use of the cor anglais in place of the (related, but higher-pitched) oboe is more than unusual; indeed McVeigh (2009:386) suggests that it is 'the only symphony in the entire history of the genre to use this scoring'. The horns play a prominent role in all but the second movement, and Haydn's choice of E flat major may have been dictated by the fact that the valveless horns of the time sounded best when played as E flat instruments (that is, with E flat crooks inserted)." This 1980 performance is by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields conducted by Sir Neville Marriner: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._22_(Haydn) |
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Post by jk on Aug 2, 2021 14:44:08 GMT -5
I initially chose this symphony when in a more despondent state and yes, ready to quit. That mood has passed, but the symphony is a beauty and deserves a place in this thread. (Read the wiki page for the story behind its nickname and curious structure.) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._45_(Haydn) |
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Post by jk on Aug 8, 2021 7:57:02 GMT -5
This is Sarah Walker speaking earlier today in her Sunday Morning programme on BBC Radio 3: "Haydn's Symphony No. 28 is in the key of A Major -- it's very upbeat, very entertaining. But what I like most about it is the way a rustic quality keeps asserting itself, pushing aside the courtly elegance. For instance, the third movement starts with a very down-to-earth theme with a sort of peasanty roughness, and this gives way to a highly espressive folk-like tune, maybe with a touch of Hungarian influence: "And the rollicking finale seems suited to the upstairs room at the inn as much as the Esterházys' elegant ballroom: "Music by a successful court composer who never forgot his humble roots!" This is the recording Ms Walker played, with Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._28_(Haydn) |
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Post by jk on Jan 14, 2022 9:18:11 GMT -5
Well we haven't had one of these buggers in a while. I heard this particular Haydn symphony on Dutch classical radio this morning -- more precisely the finale, in this version by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. Symphony no. 60 has been dubbed Il distratto, the distracted. Read the wiki page to find out why. "The finale features one of Haydn's famous musical jokes: the energetic prestissimo opening grinds to a sudden halt following a spectacularly discordant orchestral flourish, as the violins discover that they seemingly 'need' to retune their strings -- which they noisily proceed to do for 10 to 15 seconds before they resume playing."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._60_(Haydn) |
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Post by lizzielooziani on Jan 15, 2022 16:25:35 GMT -5
On a rainy afternoon decided to check this thread out. Must confess to not being familiar with Haydn other than his incredible oratorio, The Creation. I’ve sung in numerous oratorios over the years - some great, a couple snooze fests (one particularly bad one where I had to remain lucid as we had to stand for over two hours  ). However I thoroughly enjoyed the two times singing in The Creation. The Overture is wonderful, and the punchline, “und…es…ward…LICHT!!” gives me joyous goosebumps. |
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Post by jk on Jan 15, 2022 16:37:30 GMT -5
On a rainy afternoon decided to check this thread out. Must confess to not being familiar with Haydn other than his incredible oratorio, The Creation. I’ve sung in numerous oratorios over the years - some great, a couple snooze fests (one particularly bad one where I had to remain lucid as we had to stand for over two hours ). However I thoroughly enjoyed the two times singing in The Creation. The Overture is wonderful, and the punchline, “und…es…ward…LICHT!!” gives me joyous goosebumps. Thanks for the anecdotes, Lizzie. And for brightening up this corner of the forum.  I shall give The Creation a listen, as I'm not familiar with it and it sounds like I'm missing out. Thanks for the tip! This version recorded in 2008 is the one most highly recommended by the BBC's Classical Music magazine, performed by Sandrine Piau (soprano), Mark Padmore (tenor), Neal Davies (bass), Miah Persson (soprano), Chetham's Chamber Choir and the Gabrieli Consort & Players conducted by Paul McCreesh: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq7MWRGJO0XxFNDQTA8n4wcoKA6x1Usjhen.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_(Haydn) |
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Post by jk on Jan 27, 2022 6:40:14 GMT -5
lizzielooziani , I’ve been listening over the past few days to the above-named English-language version of The Creation. It was an overwhelming experience, particularly during the tuttis! I can imagine singing it in the midst of these forces must have been unforgettable.  In some ways its alternation of intimacy and sheer power reminds me of Berlioz's equally profound grand opera * Les Troyens*. From The Creation, this is the opening "Representation of Chaos" (thanks for the tip!):
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Post by jk on Feb 20, 2022 4:50:22 GMT -5
Ostensibly, Haydn's Symphony No. 103 in E-flat Major begins with a roll on the timpani (hence its nickname, "The Drumroll"), in some scores marked thus (others mark it "pp < >"):  In this 1987 release by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, whose opening movement (Adagio -- Allegro con spirito) I heard on the radio this morning, the drumroll is replaced by a brief improvisation played forte. There is a similar cadenza-like passage when the introduction is partially restated towards the end (here at 8:30). There must have been a precedent for this in Haydn's day, as Harnoncourt was a stickler for the greatest historical accuracy (strangely, the lads and lasses at Wikipedia have nothing to say on the matter): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._103_(Haydn) |
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Post by jk on Sept 24, 2022 16:46:15 GMT -5
Okay, so it's not a symphony but these are desperate times. Haydn wrote his Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo in about 1774. Scored for soprano, four-part mixed choir, two violins, organ and bass, it is known as the Kleine Orgelmesse (Little Organ Mass) because of the extended solo for that instrument in the "Benedictus", its longest movement: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missa_brevis_Sancti_Joannis_de_Deo |
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Post by jk on Sept 27, 2022 3:04:41 GMT -5
It's but a small step from the single Mass of the previous post to the complete Masses, now my late night–early morning listen for the next few weeks. "Today Haydn is viewed mainly in the light of his string quartets and symphonies, yet his first and last compositions were Mass settings. They encompassed an extraordinary musical output, within which his Masses shine as uplifting and deeply satisfying sacred works. Whilst acknowledging the Viennese traditions of church music, these Masses are infused with the kind of inspiration and originality that make Haydn an undisputed master in so many genres." 
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lzrTe-iks2g9ZVoxboD2_N1hNBIsef7zMwww.chandos.net/products/catalogue/ND%208009 |
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