Haydn and his Sonata in C Major
Joseph Haydn was one of the most prominent figures of the classical period.
As a classic representative, Haydn left us a handful of masterpieces, and he was called the “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet”.
Mariangela, an Italian pianist from the Royal Academy of Music, London explores the Master’s last period’s work – Sonata in C major.
Sonata in C major first movement
This piece of piano sonata was one of the works that Haydn dedicated to Teresa Jansen, wife of the art dealer Gaetano Bartolozzi.
And the extraordinary attraction of this piece is due to Haydn’s subtle sense of humour.
The witty use of two-note rhythm associated with the descending arpeggio is the main theme of the opening Allegro.
Audience could hear it repeatedly in a slightly different form including the following transitional passage.
In the second subject, attention is engaged by his further variations on the two notes rather than the thematic character of the piece.
The modulation to F minor and the very quiet legato appearance of the main theme in A flat major were considered as the more serious matter when the piece developed further.
In the recapitulation, when the second subject would conventionally overlay with syncopations in yet another variant of the two-note rhythm, the legato version of the main theme is reintroduced.
Joseph Haydn
For centuries, Haydn’s music has been supported by his image as “Papa Joe”, which leads a music misjudgement stating that Haydn did most of the spadeworks.
And then dazzling Mozart and gifted Beethoven came to refine and perfect what Haydn had doggedly constructed.
Needless to say, Joseph Haydn was Indeed one of the many remarkable revolutionaries of classical music, making huge advances in structure, harmony and melody, investing every form with full potential in expression.
Early life
Haydn was born in the small town of Rohrau, in Austria in 1732. Both of his parents were not musicians.
However, according to Haydn’s later reminiscences, his childhood was surrounded by an extremely musical atmosphere.
Haydn became an apprentice to Franck, and to be trained as a musician in Hainburg. Two years later, his singing potential quickly brought the attention of Reutter, a music director from St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.
Since then Haydn became a choirboy of the Cathedral, and soon moved to Vienna.
Luckily, St. Stephen’s was at the time one of the leading musical centres in Europe.
Though Haydn could not further his musical education properly, with many new musical performances by leading composers, he had learnt a great deal by observation and by serving as a professional musician.
As a court musician
With his increasing skills and reputations, Haydn ultimately secured his musical directorship position under Count Morzin led by Prince Paul Esterhazy, a Hungarian nobleman, and later on by his son Nikolaus.
In the following years he was employed consistently in this family, working as a professional musician for thirty years, and he had benefited enormously from having a permanent orchestra that he could work with.
He composed extensively and his fame as a composer was spread through his published works. As in his later life, he remarked: “There was no one there to confuse me, so I was forced to become original.”
Musical visits to London
Haydn’s two musical visits to London made his fame becoming greater. His first visit was from 1791 to 1792 which marked as a remarkable success.
He was feted by the musical world, and entertained by royalty.
During his eighteen months stay in England, he also took enormous satisfaction in receiving an honorary degree from Oxford University.
In 1974 he was commissioned by Salomon to write six new symphonies and so made his journey back to England (1794 – 1795), and this visit brought him even more fame and success.
In between these two visits, he also taught Beethoven and other students in his new home in Vienna.
Musician’s later life
Haydn dedicated his last period to composing. Between 1796 and 1802 he produced some of his finest works including the Oratorio Die Schopfung.
Haydn died in 1809 due to an illness from which he never recovered.