Welcome to the course on Joseph Haydn

 

   Documentary:  Joseph Haydn:  The Life and Work of an Underestimated Composer  (52:00 minutes) 

      (An overview of Haydn's life and music - preferred)

   Documentary:  The Birth of the Symphony; from Handel to Haydn  (16:00 minutes)

   BBC Documentary:  Franz Joseph Haydn  (59:00 minutes)

      (About Haydn's two successful London trips in his 60s for which he wrote his final twelve symphonies)

                                             Haydn Course Listening Homework Weeks 1 - 3 

     Course Description:

                       Explore the music of Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), the composer who laid the high 
              classical framework for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, his 
              successors in the "First Viennese School."  Haydn, famously known as the "father" of  
              the symphony and of the string quartet, was also one of the earliest composers to write
              for the piano instead of the harpsichord.  He was also a composer of great vocal works.  

                       Understand Haydn's historical importance and appreciate the beauty, humor, 
              and grace of his music on its own merits.  


        Works:

                       Haydn is especially known for his 106 symphonies with his final 12 "London 
              Symphonies" being especially acclaimed.   Also popular are the five proto-romantic, 
              minor key Sturm und Drang symphonies from 1768 - 1762, the six "Paris symphonies" 
              of 1786, and Symphony No. 88 of 1787.

                      In concertos, Haydn's first and second cello concertos, his trumpet concerto, 

              Piano Concerto No. 11 and his Horn Concerto No. 1 are his most popular.  Haydn's 

              violin concertos from his early years are not considered special.

                      Haydn's string quartets rival his symphonies in importance and popularity.  The 
              most important sets of six quartet opuses are the "Sun quartets" Op. 20 (1772), the  

             "Russian quartets" Op. 33 (1781, which influenced Mozart's quartets), the "Prussian 

              quartets" Op. 50 (1787), and the "Erödy quartets" Op. 76 (1786 or 1787).

                       Among gads of other chamber works, Haydn's later piano trios (starting at No. 18 
             from 1784) are very important.  Haydn's piano sonatas, starting with No. 33 from 1781, 

             are some of the most important solo piano works before Beethoven.

                     Haydn's stage works, including his eleven operas, are rarely performed these days.  
            However, his last six masses, starting with No. 9 from 1796, and his oratorios The 

            Creation (1797-98) and The Seasons (1801) are still widely performed and admired.


                                                  Full List of Compositions by Joseph Haydn

Course Syllabus

     01/09:   Transition to the Classical Era /  What is a Symphony?   /  Haydn's Life


     01/16:   The Early Symphonies  / The Later Symphonies

     01/23:   Haydn's String Quartets  /  Haydn's Concertos for cello, trumpet, and violin.

     01/30:   Haydn's Keyboard Music:  Sonatas & Piano Trios  /  Haydn's Vocal Music