H is for Haydn

Franz Josef Haydn

I was surprised to find out how much I like Haydn. It wasn't until later college years that I picked up this little piece of information. Before that he was lumped in with Handel, Mozart, and all the rest of the "sure they're good but do I really need to sit and listen to this stuff?" classical composers, but the more I listened to what he does in his music and the more I learned what made him a bit different than his contemporaries, the more he became a favorite.

When you talk about the classical period of music, you're talking about 2nd half of the 18th century and a little bit of fallout into the 19th. You might extend it a little in either direction, but I don't really think it's necessary. During this period you have the real formalization of the musical structures that still basically dominate academia, if not the actual compositional process. You also have the beginning of the Symphony, String Quartets, and Opera as the premiere forms of composition. So the classical period is very important and full of all the stuff I find interesting, and yet I think classical music to be rather dull. Everyone always screams about Mozart being great. Yeah, I can recognize that it's really good, but do I want to listen to it? Sometimes I guess, but 99/100 times I'm going to reach for something else. Even the great Beethoven. Okay, so he's great. Can we listen to something else? So why do I find Haydn to be more interesting?

I really don't know. A terrible answer, but about the best one I can give. A few guesses though. I find most of Haydn's contemporaries' music to be a little too predictable. Phrases are regular, the build is usually a very standard sonata form, and you get to the last V-I and that's it. Haydn plays by all those rules, but he's sly. He doesn't always have balanced phrases. He leads you into a direction you didn't think you were going to go only to take you back to more familiar territory almost immediately. It sounds quite exciting when I write it, but it's quite subtle. Haydn rewards close listening.

Another thing I like about Haydn is that his music isn't wracked with personal emotion and suffering. Not that I don't like Beethoven, but his music can feel a bit over the top at times. Haydn wrote a little bit more commercially (if it can be called that) and he wrote a lot. Here's where you mention the 104 symphonies, the ~70 string quartets, and stack of concertos he wrote. But it's not just chop shop work. Nor is it all the gimmicky stuff people talk about ("surprise" symphony, "clock" symphony, etc.). Each piece is carefully made and unique to itself. Listening to just about any piece is a rich experience.

For symphonies, you might want to start at the back with 104, the "London". His last few symphonies were probably his best.

String Quartets are all enjoyable across the board. He really was the father of the genre. Opus 76 is a good set of quartets to start with.

I also like "The Creation" quite a bit.

Now for a couple of concerto videos.

Rostropovich playing a movement of one of the Cello Concertos (dang, that guy's good)


Sorry for the vid quality but it's Maurice Andre for crying out loud. He's got one of the purest trumpet sounds I've ever heard and here he is playing a gem in the trumpet repertoire.