1779 – The Music part 2 - Equal to the greatest masters

Hob. #	Genre	Key	Opus	No.	Instruments / Notes
16:35	Solo Sonata	C	Auenbrugger #1	Lan. 48	Solo keyboard
16:37	Solo Sonata	D	Auenbrugger #3	Lan. 50	Solo keyboard
16:38	Solo Sonata	Eb	Auenbrugger #4	Lan. 51	Solo keyboard
16:39	Solo Sonata	G	Auenbrugger #5	Lan. 52	Solo keyboard
16:33	Solo Sonata	c	Auenbrugger #6	Lan. 33	Solo keyboard
				Lan. = Christa Landon #'s
18:11	Concerto	D			Keyboard & Orchestra

From Complete Correspondence and London Notebooks of Joseph Haydn by H.C. Robbins-Landon:

[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. (in German)]

Estoras, 31st January 1780.

Nobly born Gentlemen!

I send you herewith the 6^th pianoforte Sonata, because it is the longest and most difficult: I will certainly deliver the 5^th in the next few days; meanwhile I remain, in the greatest haste, Messieurs,

Your most obedient servant,

Josephus Haydn [m.] pria. (in his own hand)

[No address. Artaria's clerk notes: "Esterhase 31 Jan. 1780".] ¹

¹ Artaria's first Haydn publication was six pianoforte Sonatas dedicated to the Demoiselles Francisca and Marianna von Auenbrugger, op. 30 (Nos. 35-39 and 20 of the chronological list). These two talented ladies, both excellent pianists, were the daughters of the well-known physician and scholar, Leopold von Auenbrugger, from Graz. The Sonatas were published in April, 1780

And so begins one of the most fruitful composer/publisher relationships of the era. One of the nice things about Artaria was their meticulous filing and archiving of correspondence. This is the earliest existing letter from Haydn to them. Not much is revealed about the man in one sentence, beyond his interest in how business was being carried on in his name. The fifth and sixth sonatas mentioned were not necessarily called so because they were written in that order; in fact, the sixth one was composed as long ago as 1771!

Now, as we see Haydn embarking on a new phase of his career, the public one, the question must arise; for what venue were the works of the next few years intended? In the modern age there is no one of us who places 'classical' musical performance anywhere other than the concert hall. Recorded media notwithstanding. But the average 18^th century Viennese couldn't log onto Ticketmaster and pick up a couple of tickets for Mozart over at the Trattnerhof next Wednesday with his PayPal!

Of course, there were a few touring virtuosi, who mainly traveled from city to city and rented whatever concert venues they could find, along with a local backup band. A close reading of Mozart's biographies will give some examples to chew on, mainly complaints about available facilities and miserable musicians. The jackpot would come when a local aristocrat would offer 50 ducats for an evening of novel music at his party. However, this couldn't be the staple, night to night diversion for the 8000 aristocrats who lived in Vienna!

The answer is the salon. From its beginnings as a permanent floating house party for French aristocrats in the 16^th century, it was now a staple in the major cities of Europe. They were the true centers for appreciation of art, literature and music, and for the dissemination of political and philosophical ideas. The intelligentsia of this period were incredibly social animals. Given the limited forms of travel and communication, these gatherings, held virtually daily at one house or another, satisfied their need to commune with their fellows. In the late 20^th century, and probably before then by the late 19^th, there came to be a certain derision attached to the phrase 'salon music'. Probably because over time the music lost its edge and became nothing more than insipid background music. But in the 18^th century, music was front and center. The latest solo and accompanied piano sonatas, string quartets and other small ensemble music was premiered at the salons of Countess Wilhelmina Thun, War Minister Franz Sales von Greiner's or the young, richly talented heiress Marianna Martines, whom we first met as an eight or nine year old at the Michaelerhaus, taking keyboard lessons from Haydn! Another frequent sponsor of salon gatherings was Councilor Bernhard von Keess, of whom we have heard nothing so far, but who will endow posterity with an amazingly complete collection of Haydn symphonies, some few of which are the only existing original copies. Finally, this is our first opportunity to introduce Baron Gottfried von Sweiten, who had been known to Haydn since 1775, but who, by the 1780's was finally living in Vienna, where he soon became a major musical figure.

We are actually having this look at salons for a couple of reasons; Haydn, and many other composers and musicians, spent a great deal of their available time in this milieu. In Haydn's case, this available time was limited to one or two months in the winter when the Prince either came to Vienna or else allowed a mite of leave to his employees. In addition, the young ladies currently under discussion, Francisca and Marianna von Auenbrugger, acquired their reputations as outstanding pianists in exactly this setting. So when they played Haydn's sonatas, it was to an appreciative audience of the 'hippest' people of the day.

    Haydn to Artaria:

Estoras, 25th February 1780.

Most highly respected Gentlemen !

I send you herewith the corrected proofs of all 6 Sonatas, and ask you to study them as carefully as possible: those numbers marked in red are the most urgent of all. The approval of the Demoiselles von Auenbrugger is most important to me, for their way of playing and genuine insight into music equal those of the greatest masters…..

A high opinion indeed, and one which strongly intimates he had seen/heard them play around town.

Hob 16:35 in C Lan. 48 Artaria Op 30 #1 Allegro con brio (C) Adagio (F) Finale: Allegro (C)		Hob 16:36 in c# Lan. 49 Op 30 #2 Moderato (c♯) Scherzando: Allegro con brio (A) Menuetto (c♯)		Hob 16:37 in D Lan. 50 Op 30 #3 Allegro con brio (D) Largo e sostenuto (d) Finale: Presto ma non troppo (D)
Hob 16:38 in Eb Lan. 51 Op 30 #4 Allegro moderato (Eb) Adagio (c) Finale: Allegro (Ab)		Hob 16:39 in G Lan. 52 Op 30 #5 Allegro con brio (G) Adagio (C) Prestissimo (G)		Hob 16:20 in c Lan. 33 Op 30 #6 Moderato (c) Andante con moto (Ab) Finale: Allegro (c)

In my opinion, no other set of Haydn sonatas gives us such a broad view of his many moods and capabilities. In mood, they range from cheery to dramatic, serene to stormy. They can be eminently soloistic or broadly orchestral, gallantly homophonic or Sturm und Drang-ishly contrapuntal. The old canard that Haydn didn't write well for piano because he admittedly wasn't a virtuoso is never more tested than it is here. When played properly they will be the highlight of your next soirée!

A work which has spent much of its life trying to discover its birthday has finally been attributed to this year. It is a shame the genesis of this wonderful concerto, Haydn's finest for keyboard, is shrouded in mystery. Haydn didn't write secular keyboard concertos for himself, and there is no record of a virtuoso visitor to Eszterháza in the range of years in question (1776-84 have all been posited), so why this splendid one-off?

The other mystery to this concerto is the choice of instrument. It is the only one whose authorized, contemporary print says on the cover page 'Concerto for Harpsichord or Piano'. This one has been a bone of contention for as long as I have known it. To the best of my knowledge, it is the last major keyboard concerto which regularly gets played on the harpsichord, and it certainly sounds fine. The fact that it sounds even more lively and idiomatic, if I may say, on the fortepiano than on the harpsichord may just speak to the reason why the one supplanted the other at about that time. Retroactive though that may sound.

The concerto was originally scored for keyboard with pairs of winds (oboes & horns) plus strings, making it the first Haydn concerto to use wind instruments. The opening movement is a high-energy Vivace, followed by a warmly expressive Adagio, and ending with a gypsy-style Rondo. In this last movement, Haydn, who often adopted and reworked dance melodies, employs the Croatian dance tune called Siri Kolo. In all, Haydn used as many as thirty different Croatian tunes in his oeuvre. For the last 100+ years, this has led to the frequently postulated theory of Haydn being Croatian (e.g. - A Croatian Composer; Notes toward the study of Joseph Haydn by Sir William H. Hadow). The currently accepted beliefs don't support that theory. His parents and grandparents were ethnically German, but they lived in a part of Hungary which was generally inhabited by ethnic Croats and Gypsies, and as a result were culturally influenced by their neighbors. If one grows up in a strongly ethnic environment, one doesn't need to be of that ethnicity in order to be influenced by its effects! Whatever the final truth of keyboard choice or ethnicity, the fruit of all this exists for us in this splendid little keyboard concerto, which really should be enjoyed frequently as an aid to good humor!

Next time we will look at a little gem of an opera which combines the best librettist of the 18^th century with the musical talents of Haydn into a tribute to Enlightenment and Reform.

Thanks for reading!