Haydn's Haus

[George]

Certainly. But they have a different approach than any of those others, to my ears it is a very joyful sort of playing, not like you are at a big life-or-death recital. IMO, Haydn would approve.

Very cool. Your comments earlier about how the Fetestics play on a smaller scale, for themselves than a "performance," much like Haydn did until the later works, was a big reason why I got the set.

[North Star]

Great, that can only be a good thing. I'm guessing it will be the Op 54/55 pair if they stick to form. 

Yes.
https://www.youtube.com/v/ZkSwBL23dso

[Gurn Blanston]

Yes.
https://www.youtube.com/v/ZkSwBL23dso

Nice. Interesting tempo choices; they put a little zip on that fastball (for you, Brian ). I'm looking forward to it, for sure.

The front page of the score, the Longman & Broderip version (from a different copy than the Artaria one) is the same one that James Boyd (the viola player) sent me a copy of that I used in my essay about these works. They had a tangled history!

Thanks for posting that, I would have never found it.

[mszczuj]

21 CD's of any genre is a pretty good chunk. I am curious if anyone, even those who have got the set, has listened to the entire thing

Alas only once. But in fact I had listened only once to all these completes trios, sonatas, symphonies, masses. Well I try sometimes to go again through all the quartets or symphonies. So I begin with op. 1, and the very first of these divertimenti is so unbelivably beutiful that I must listen to it for entire three days and then I must listen to something I never heard and must leave Haydn. So other time i decide "no early divertimenti" and begin with op. 9, and the very first quartet is so unbelivably rich that I must listen to it for three days... I had only one chance to listen to the all this entire boxes, when they were absolutely new and I had no choice - as listen to not listened yet was always the first principle of my life.

[Gurn Blanston]

Alas only once. But in fact I had listened only once to all these completes trios, sonatas, symphonies, masses. Well I try sometimes to go again through all the quartets or symphonies. So I begin with op. 1, and the very first of these divertimenti is so unbelivably beutiful that I must listen to it for entire three days and then I must listen to something I never heard and must leave Haydn. So other time i decide "no early divertimenti" and begin with op. 9, and the very first quartet is so unbelivably rich that I must listen to it for three days... I had only one chance to listen to the all this entire boxes, when they were absolutely new and I had no choice - as listen to not listened yet was always the first principle of my life.

Ha, you need will power to stay the course!    Well, I have been down this road you are on, the first time I listened to all those works I played each disks several times, because it was worth it. I don't always do that, but I got into the early Haydn music and there was no avoiding it. Even now, I often play a disk twice whenever I play it at all.  Just in case I missed something. 

[Wakefield]

21 CD's of any genre is a pretty good chunk. I am curious if anyone, even those who have got the set, has listened to the entire thing (except me, of course). It is uniformly good, but occasionally great. I can't think how he managed to keep his own interest level up across such a span of works.

I listened to a fair amount, but not the whole thing. I feel myself ashamed now.

I can't think how he managed to keep his own interest level up across such a span of works. Did he ever discuss with Weigl, his cellist for these works, or even with the Prince "what next, lads?". They are no oeuvre to match the string quartets, or the symphonies for that matter, but so few other things are...

My boss used to say: "a man in need thinks a lot more than 10 scholars" (in Spanish: "un necesitado piensa más que diez letrados"). 

[Gurn Blanston]

I listened to a fair amount, but not the whole thing. I feel myself ashamed now.

Now, now, nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you have a life...     It is funny though how you can be listening to a large piece of them (I divided mine up into 24, like the original books were) and suddenly a movement will come along that is not just good listening, but will really catch your ear as great music! I tried to point a few of those places out in my essays, but I didn't catch myself to write them all down at the time. Guess I will have to do them again, with a pen and paper this time. 0:)

My boss used to say: "a man in need thinks a lot more than 10 scholars" (in Spanish: "un necesitado piensa más que diez letrados"). 

  yes, funny things what semi-desperation will do. "Haydn, I must have more gamba trios..."

[Wakefield]

Now, now, nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you have a life...     It is funny though how you can be listening to a large piece of them (I divided mine up into 24, like the original books were) and suddenly a movement will come along that is not just good listening, but will really catch your ear as great music! I tried to point a few of those places out in my essays, but I didn't catch myself to write them all down at the time. Guess I will have to do them again, with a pen and paper this time. 0:)

Yes, time it's a factor even regarding things I love as much as Haydn music. Indeed, the completion of those highlights would be a fantastic contribution to our collaborative intelligence. 

  yes, funny things what semi-desperation will do. "Haydn, I must have more gamba trios..."

Yes, almost the complete opposite of the romantic image about artists as misunderstood human beings...

[Gurn Blanston]

Yes, time it's a factor even regarding things I love as much as Haydn music. Indeed, the completion of those highlights would be a fantastic contribution to our collaborative intelligence. 

Well, it won't be a lack of desire which makes it take some time, only a lack of time. But since I often listen to a 'Book' of them, it will need only to begin making some notes. I am learning how to do that, finally. I have too much information stored in my tiny brain, and so there seems to be little room for more. Notes are the answer!

Yes, almost the complete opposite of the romantic image about artists as misunderstood human beings...

Oh, the poor tortured artist!   So sad they are... they would have been shitting their pants if told to write a new symphony in time for the big dance tomorrow night. Only 4 symphonies was a bad year for Haydn.

[kishnevi]

21 CD's of any genre is a pretty good chunk. I am curious if anyone, even those who have got the set, has listened to the entire thing (except me, of course). It is uniformly good, but occasionally great. I can't think how he managed to keep his own interest level up across such a span of works. Did he ever discuss with Weigl, his cellist for these works, or even with the Prince "what next, lads?". They are no oeuvre to match the string quartets, or the symphonies for that matter, but so few other things are...

Don't forget that (sticking to Haydn) the symphonies take up 33 or more CDs, and the string quartets take up 22 or more CDs. So the baryton works are merely the third biggest category of Haydn's works.

[Gurn Blanston]

Don't forget that (sticking to Haydn) the symphonies take up 33 or more CDs, and the string quartets take up 22 or more CDs. So the baryton works are merely the third biggest category of Haydn's works.

Not just the quartets; 22 disks worth of them, another 33 of symphonies, 20 of operas, 9 of keyboard trios, 6 of string trios, a dozen or so of divertimentos, another dozen of keyboard sonatas, 21 baryton trios, songs, masses, oratorios...    8+ years and I am still just scratching the surface!    

Oh, you missed my first post in that conversation where I went down just that same road. It is truly a formidable chunk of music!! 

[Karl Henning]

"Papa" is WCRB's CD of the week.

[George]

Gurn - Do you refer to Haydn as Joseph Haydn or Franz Joseph Haydn?

[Gurn Blanston]

Gurn - Do you refer to Haydn as Joseph Haydn or Franz Joseph Haydn?

Joseph. There is no record that he (or 99% of other Austrians in the 18th century) ever used their front name. He called himself Joseph, Josephus, and Giuseppe. All of those work for me.

[George]

Joseph. There is no record that he (or 99% of other Austrians in the 18th century) ever used their front name. He called himself Joseph, Josephus, and Giuseppe. All of those work for me.

Thanks!

[Karl Henning]

Joseph. There is no record that he (or 99% of other Austrians in the 18th century) ever used their front name.

The younger chap was christened Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, for ready corroboration  0:)

[Jo498]

And he usually signed "Wolfgang Amadé Mozart" which is not even exactly identical to the two names used...

[Gurn Blanston]

And he usually signed "Wolfgang Amadé Mozart" which is not even exactly identical to the two names used...

Yes, usually Amadé. Sometimes Amadè. Occasionally Amade. But only once, on his wedding license, IIRC, Amadeus. So yet another misleading thing about Amadeus. Of course, it is the same word as Theophilus, just Latin instead of Greek. 

Haydn signed all of his music 'giuseppe Haydn'. He signed a lot of his letters 'Josephus', some of them just 'Joseph'. I think it varies depending on if it was business or a friend, but hard to see a general trend.

[Karl Henning]

Celebrating Presidents Day by (at last) converting the 33-CD DRD symphonies cube to soft copy.

[Karl Henning]

There is a hysterical typo (in the form of a trivial mistranslation, which was not caught by whatever editorial process employed, if any) in the first paragraph of liner notes to the DRD complete symphonies cube:

On p. 17:

Nearly four years separate the first symphony written by the 25-year-old Haydn as Kapellmeister to Count Morzin in the Czech provinces from his last contribution to the genre, which had its first performance in 1795 in a wildly-acclaimed concert given in the metropolis of London.

Original by Andreas Friesenhagen (Andreas had written vierzig, of course), translated by Clive Williams, Hamburg.