Earlier, I mentioned the strategy which Haydn adopted involving allowing his virtuoso musicians to show off their talent. It served a primary purpose of enlisting them into Haydn’s fan club right from the beginning. The Prince was always scrupulously attentive to that sort of thing and significant monetary rewards would show up in short order. A few ducats here and there guaranteed the good will of the band in times when pressure was high. What other purpose might have been served by this Haydnish habit though?
When mulling this question, a few items came to mind. The Esterházy Band was, from the beginning, one of the best in Europe. After a few more years had passed, they were seemingly unrivalled. A character trait of Haydn’s, one which directly aided his reputation even 250 years down the road, is the fact that he originated the characteristic which was later perfected by his pupil, Beethoven. To use a modern metaphor, he put his foot to the floor and drove it hard, and damn the consequences if the wheels fell off.
Something that doesn’t stand out to a non-musician, but which most musicians would attest, is that however easy and straightforward it may sound, Haydn’s music is hard to play. The full range of possible notes, the unusual meters and tempos, the sheer difficulty of many of the concertante parts; despite the fact that they are written in a grateful manner that makes them playable, one must still be very good to play them well.
After the symphonic trilogy of 1761, which are chockful of solos and obbligato bits and pieces, in 1762 we run into another work that was clearly written for a similar purpose. This is the famous Concerto in D for Horn & 2 Oboes (Hob 7d:3). Other than the fact it is a fabulous piece which provides some very entertaining listening, there are also some interesting biographical aspects to it. In 1762, Haydn made his first official extended journey to Eisenstadt. The Princely retinue was still settled in Vienna. During his absence, a child was born to the wife of hornist Joseph Leutgeb. Yes, that Joseph Leutgeb, eventual recipient of four horn concertos and a quintet for horn and strings from Mozart. Smallish world. Leutgeb was only a member of the band for a short month or two, but became good friends with the Haydn's. In a scene which would be repeated many times during his tenure with the Esterházy family, the Vice-Kapellmeister and his wife were asked to stand as godparents to the new child. In the event, since Haydn was in Eisenstadt, Mrs. Haydn and a surrogate did the deed. Upon his return, Haydn composed the concerto as a gift to Leutgeb. Famously, he made a few mistakes which he crossed out in the autograph and wrote in the margin ‘written while asleep’. I must say, this was a much nicer thing to write as a marginal note than the hilarious sayings that Mozart penned. One can hardly imagine Haydn writing the equivalent of "Wolfgang Amadé Mozart takes pity on Leutgeb, ass, ox, and simpleton, at Vienna, March 27, 1783"! But the fact both of these composers were so obviously fond of Leutgeb points to man with a technique with the high horn which impressed and inspired great composers to put out some work which stands above the crowd of their peers.
In the coming years we will continue to see Haydn’s penchant for virtuosic writing pay us dividends. This is but one of many examples of why his musicians bonded so well, allowing the unleashing of a great musical imagination to write the most difficult parts with no concern about his group being able to play them. One doesn’t often hear of unalloyed loyalty given to The Boss. But this is what would grow from these scattered seeds.
Next time we will review the music of the year. There are some superb pieces in there. Meanwhile,
Thanks for reading!