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March 2003 Program Notes
Haydn: Giant of the Small Court
by Mary Burke
The most brilliant and productive period of Franz Joseph Haydn's life was his employment at the Esterházy court between 1760 and 1790. During this time he produced the bulk of the works we know best today. Tonight's program features chamber music from the years leading up to this summit of Haydn's creative life, from his struggle to establish himself with freelance work and brief associations with noble families, through his first years with the Esterházy court at Eisenstadt. The works from these formative years already display the variety and versatility of an extraordinary young talent.
Haydn grew up in a musical household where his talent for singing soon became apparent. As a young boy, he caught the attention of his father's cousin, who directed both a school and a church choir in a nearby town; the boy went to live there in order to take advantage of the superior educational prospects. After a few years of schooling, Haydn again attracted the notice of a musician, in this case the composer Georg Reutter the younger. Reutter recruited him for the choir school of the Stephansdom in Vienna, where he was the Kapellmeister. Here Haydn learned all he could of music theory and composition, in addition to the typical training of a choirboy. Eventually the inevitable happened and his voice broke, putting an end to his career as a chorister in 1749. (Actually, the inevitable almost didn't happen—according to one source, Reutter suggested that Haydn would make a fine castrato, but his father vetoed that plan.)
The 18-year-old Haydn now found himself in urgent need of gainful employment, and thus he began several difficult years of freelance performing, teaching, and composition in Vienna. This hand-to-mouth lifestyle ultimately paid off, because it brought him into contact with other musicians as well as future patrons. He famously described his lodgings in the Michaelerhaus (attached to the Michaelerkirche) as "a miserable little garret without a stove," which he shared with his "worm-eaten" clavier; however, the rest of the building must have been considerably nicer, given that the other residents included the poet Metastasio, the Kapellmeister Porpora, and the dowager Princess Esterházy. Haydn gave lessons to Metastasio's ward and accompanied Porpora's voice students, an experience that taught him a great deal about vocal music.
Although precise dating is impossible, scholars believe that the F major concerto for keyboard and violin may well belong to a set of works written during this freelance period. Haydn provided and directed several pieces for the ceremony at which his future sister-in-law took her final vows as a nun (some biographers believe that Haydn originally wanted to marry her rather than her sister), and in his old age recalled that this concerto was one of them. The large scale of the work suggests that he intended it for a special occasion in any case, although its light and cheerful character may not seem especially suitable to such a solemn rite.
Having eventually achieved enough of a reputation to increase his fees, Haydn was able in the mid-1750s to move to a much better apartment; unfortunately, it was burgled soon after. Baron von Fürnberg helped him out at the time by inviting him to stay at his estate in Weinzierl and commissioning some pieces (the first string quartets). The Baron performed another great service in recommending him to Count Karl Joseph Franz Morzin, who awarded the composer his first real appointment. Haydn became his Kapellmeister in 1759, and would probably have enjoyed great success in this post, had the Count not gone broke shortly thereafter. At some point during this brief employment, Haydn composed some piano trios, very likely for the benefit of the harpsichord-playing Countess. The G minor trio has much in common with his other early trios, harking back in some respects to Baroque trio sonatas; however, the unusual minor key and driving finale distinguish it from the majority.
Haydn appears to have bounced back quite rapidly from being downsized, moving on to the Esterházy court almost immediately afterward. The Hungarian Esterházy family, loyal supporters of the Hapsburgs, had long been important patrons of religious institutions and the arts. Prince Paul Anton and his successor, Count Nikolaus, both loved music, and the court musical establishment grew steadily in size and scope under their auspices. As an up-and-coming composer, Haydn could scarcely have wished for a more promising situation.
He began as vice-Kapellmeister to the elderly Georg Joseph Werner. His duties included composition of instrumental and secular vocal music—the bulk of the work, really—as well as managing the instrumentarium and teaching. The ebullient harpsichord sonata in E major is thought to date to these early days at Eisenstadt. Though his very first sonatas were probably conceived as didactic pieces during his freelance days, works of this period show his growing engagement with the form for its own sake. Haydn also produced many works designed to exploit the skills of the various virtuosi employed at the court, including the C major violin concerto, which bears the notation "per il luigi" [sic], by which Haydn meant Luigi Tomasini. Its Italianate features—the cantabile slow movement and the sparkling fast ones with their considerable technical demands—were undoubtedly designed to showcase Tomasini's celebrated "Italian sound" and technical brilliance.
With the death of Werner in 1766, Haydn assumed the full responsibilities of the Esterházy Hofkapellmeister, which expanded his activity even further. Between these increased demands on his skill and the enthusiastic support of his patron, the stage was now set for Haydn to reach the zenith of his creativity.
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