The Life of Haydn
David Wyn Jones
The Life of Haydn
Presenting a fresh picture of the life and work of Joseph Haydn, this is the first biography of the composer to appear in over twenty-five years. In his lifetime Haydn achieved a degree of fame that easily surpassed that of Mozart and Beethoven. Later his historical significance was more restricted, regarded exclusively as the composer who first recognized the potential of the symphony and the quartet. However, Haydn had also composed operas, oratorios and church music with similar enthusiasm and self-regard. Too easily buttonholed as a Viennese composer, he interacted consistently with the musical life of Vienna only during the earliest and latest periods of his life; London was at least as important in fashioning the composer’s fame and legacy. To counter the genial view of the composer, this biography probes the darker side of Haydn’s personality, his commercial opportunism and double dealing, his penny-pinching and his troubled marriage.
3.0 out of 5 based on 1 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Biography, Music, Stage & Screen |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
264 |
| RRP |
£50.00 |
| Date of Publication |
May 2009 |
| ISBN |
978-0521895743 |
| Publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
| |
Presenting a fresh picture of the life and work of Joseph Haydn, this is the first biography of the composer to appear in over twenty-five years. In his lifetime Haydn achieved a degree of fame that easily surpassed that of Mozart and Beethoven. Later his historical significance was more restricted, regarded exclusively as the composer who first recognized the potential of the symphony and the quartet. However, Haydn had also composed operas, oratorios and church music with similar enthusiasm and self-regard. Too easily buttonholed as a Viennese composer, he interacted consistently with the musical life of Vienna only during the earliest and latest periods of his life; London was at least as important in fashioning the composer’s fame and legacy. To counter the genial view of the composer, this biography probes the darker side of Haydn’s personality, his commercial opportunism and double dealing, his penny-pinching and his troubled marriage.
Reviews
The Financial Times
Andrew Clark
“...his mission is to probe “the darker side of Haydn’s personality, his commercial opportunism and double dealing, his penny pinching and his troubled marriage”. But the evidence doesn’t add up. On the question of plagiarism, yes, Haydn was not averse to passing off others’ music as his own. But as Jones himself points out, the most internationally celebrated composer of the 1780s and 1790s was far more sinned against...”
25/07/2009
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