1790 – The Music part 1 - One from the heart

Hob.#	Genre	Key	Number	Instrument(s)	Notes
15:15	Accompanied Sonata	G	L 29	Keyboard, Flute & Cello
15:16	Accompanied Sonata	D	L 28	Keyboard, Flute & Cello
15:17	Accompanied Sonata	F	L 30	Keyboard, Flute (or Violin) & Cello
16:49	Solo Sonata	Eb	L 59	Solo Keyboard (Fortepiano)	Composed for Marianna Genzinger
17:05	Solo Keyboard Piece	C		Solo Keyboard (Fortepiano)	Andante & 6 Variations – published by Artaria in 1791

 

By 1790, Haydn had his Schanz fortepiano for over a year. He had written a new sonata and a very nice fantasia, along with four trios. So, was he bored by it yet? I think not! Schanz should have probably hired him: in modern terms, he could have been pitching the new "Schanz 'Air Haydn'…". As he tells Marianne: It's only a pity that Your Grace doesn't own a Schanz fortepiano, on which everything is better expressed.

As we saw last year, Haydn had a visitor in early November, the London music publisher and musical instrument seller John Bland:

[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA. German]

Estoras, I5th November 1789.

Well born, Most highly respected Sir!

Since you have often shown me various kindnesses, and since I really am your debtor, you may be assured that at all times you shall have the preference for my works. I have various new pieces which I shall tell you about then and this will be as soon as I arrive in Vienna.

Last week Mr. Bland, an Englishman, was here to see me and wanted to purchase various pieces from me; but on your account he did not receive a single note. Hoping to see you soon, I am, Sir, most respectfully,

Your wholly obedient servant,

Josephus Haydn.

One of Bland's superb square pianos - c. 1790
(Courtesy Music Room Workshop)

I let this pass without comment, because nearly the whole business to which it relates did not take place in 1789, and so now we are in 1790, we can see where this went. Bland had more than one purpose visiting Haydn. True, he wanted to acquire some of the ragingly popular Viennese music for his publishing company. But more to the point, he wished to establish a personal relationship with Haydn on behalf of a friend (and business associate??), the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon. The slowly germinating plan to bring Haydn to England was far from dead due to its previous failures. These were merely burs under the saddle which served to make the whole affair more compelling. Of course, as long as the Prince was alive and well, nothing would ever come of it. Who knows what the future holds, though?

The many modern accounts of this meeting have anecdotes which have become Haydn Legend, such as the famous 'razor quartet' story which Bland told years later, after his memory got a bit spotty. For those who haven't run across it, this involves Bland visiting Haydn early one morning, only to find Haydn still at his toilette, and complaining loudly over his dull razor ("I'd give my best quartet for a pair of good English razors" according to Bland), and when Bland supplied them, he ended up with the original manuscript of Opus 55 #2, called, ever since, 'The Razor Quartet'. Of course, no one but Bland or Haydn would know whether the story is true, but the quartet in question certainly isn't. Op 55 was long gone by then, and if it happened at all, it must have been one of the Opus 64 quartets. This thought would be reinforced by the fact of Bland never having published Opp. 54/55, while he did publish Opus 64. The reality of what Bland brought home with him from Vienna was this twofold success:

One of many outstanding versions of these works

1. He really did establish a very amenable business and personal relationship with Haydn, and

2. He brought away the commitment for future works, which would include some of the main fruits of our current year; the Opus 64 quartets, the cantata for pianoforte and voice, Arianna a Naxos, and these three gems of the flute literature, the trios for flute, fortepiano & cello.

We shall certainly see Bland again, he and Haydn were never out of touch until Bland's retirement from business in 1795. For now, though, he appears to have written Haydn in early January to remind him of the accompanied sonatas which were promised. Haydn, not one to miss a trick, wrote to Artaria to sell off the first two trios for flute, along with Hob 15:14 in Ab. As you can see, these were all offered as violin works, but in the event, two of them were flute works, so any promises of exclusivity had an open window to be tossed through!

[To ARTARIA & Co., VIENNA in German]

From my home, 11^th January 1790.

Nobly born, Most highly respected Sir !

I had hoped, in vain, to see you here before yesterday morning, so that I could show you various pieces of music; but you won't have been able to come because of your many affairs. This is to inform you that this very day I received a letter from Mon. Bland in London, wherein he asks me for pianoforte Sonatas with accompaniment of a violin and violoncello. But this time I give you the preference and so I herewith inform you that you can have the first Sonata from me any time, the 2^nd in a fortnight, and the third by the end of carnival time each, as usual, for 10 ducats. Will you be good enough to let me have your decision by tomorrow morning? A couple of lines will do. But in order to cancel my debt to you, you must also accept the 12 new and most splendid Minuets with 12 Trios, for 12 ducats.

Hoping to receive the favor of your reply,

I am, Sir, most respectfully,
Your wholly obedient servant,

Josephus Haydn.

Artaria did indeed take what we now call Hob 15:14-16, and they were published by autumn as a set with one violin trio in Ab and two flute trios in G and D. Bland, however, didn't publish Hob 15:14, Haydn requested Marianne Genzinger to post it to him in London in 1792. Bland, instead, published the three flute trios over the course of the first half of 1790, most likely as he received them from Haydn. He wrote this note on the first page:

This & the Two following Trios were wrote at the particular request of the Publisher when he was with Mr. Haydn in Nov. last [1789] . . . J. Bland thinks this sufficient notice to other Publishers not to pirate the same.

I wonder how that worked for him?

The Works
Hob. #	Landon #	Key	Tempo I	Tempo II	Tempo III
15:16	28	D	Allegro	Andantino più tosto Allegretto	Vivace assai
15:15	29	G	Allegro	Andante	Finale: Vivace
15:17	30	F	Allegro	Finale: Tempo di menuetto

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

I, the undersigned, promise and swear to deliver the 6 new Variazioni* for the pianoforte to Herr Artaria one week from today. Vienna, 22nd November 1790.

Joseph Haydn

Kapellmeister

*Artaria, hearing of Haydn's imminent journey to London, must have feared that he would not find the time to finish the Variazioni, for which Artaria had presumably contracted and paid The above receipt exists in two autograph copies, with minor differences (the second one has an abbreviated date and no "Capellmeister"). The Variations - Hoboken XVII: 5) appeared early in 1791. (footnote - Landon)

 

Along with the Lieder is an excellent Variations in C

Given that Haydn was, and still is, known for his facility with variations of all sorts, it is surprising in its way to discover a notable lack of variations for solo keyboard. Even works which give the overall impression of being variations, such as the Capriccio 'Acht Sauschneider müssen sein', is actually a giant rondo where the 'variation' is actually the appearance of the answering theme. I count four sets in all, five if you count both versions of Hob. 17:02 (1765 & 1788). Unlike most of the composers in his time, every one of his variations for keyboard is composed 'On an Original Theme', and this one has a lovely melody, ideal for varying. And in the style of older times, he never wanders very far from this theme. Each time when he begins a new variation, he states the theme boldly, and then works out a variation. Some are especially nice, like the third one, which is a March, or the fifth, a minore (in the minor key). The only one which skips the opening restatement is the second, and it doesn't take long to get back to it either! Artaria called these, on the front page "Agreeable and Easy". I don't know about the easy part, but they certainly live up to being agreeable!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[To MARIA ANNA VON GENZINGER, VIENNA. in German]

Estoras, 6th June 1790.

Nobly born, Most esteemed and kindest Frau von Gennzinger !

I am terribly sorry that Your Grace was so long in receiving my last letter, but the previous week none of the Hussars was dispatched from Estoras, so it's not my fault that the letter reached you so late.

Between ourselves! I must inform Your Grace that our Mademoiselle Nanette* has commissioned me to compose a new pianoforte Sonata for you, but which no one else can own. I esteem myself fortunate to have received such a command. I shall deliver the Sonata to Your Grace in a fortnight at the latest….

 *NANETTE was (Maria) ANNA De JERLISCHECK, who took over as (not as mundane as it sounds) Chief Housekeeper after the death of the Princess. After the death of the Prince, she married Johann Tost.

All of this is unduly mysterious, since Haydn certainly didn't need a commission to compose a sonata for anyone he wished to. At the time though, in May and June, letters were going astray, and gossips were likely mongering about the Kapellmeister and the Doctor's wife. My own idea is that Nanette was a friend of both of theirs, and willingly acted as a go-between so they could keep up their friendship without creating unwarranted issues in Marianne's marriage. As we see, she was pretty busy with this task; maybe it was her real avocation!

This is followed by one of Haydn's most interesting letters in the whole relationship. A lot goes on here:

[To MARIA ANNA VON GENZINGER, VIENNA. in German]

Estoras, 20th June 1790.

Nobly born, Most esteemed and kindest Frau von Gennzinger !

I have taken the liberty of sending Your Grace a brand new pianoforte Sonata with accompaniment of a flute or violin, not as anything remarkable, but simply a trifle to amuse you in moments of utmost boredom. I would only ask you to have it copied as soon as possible and then to send it back to me. The day before yesterday I delivered the new Sonata to Mademoiselle Nanette, my patroness; I had hoped that she would express a wish to hear me play this Sonata, but up to now I have not received any such order, and for this reason I also do not know whether Your Grace will receive this Sonata in today's mail or not. This Sonata is in E flat, brand new, and was written especially for Your Grace to be hers forever, but it is a curious coincidence that the last movement is the very same Minuet and Trio which Your Grace asked me for in your last letter. This Sonata was destined for Your Grace a year ago, and only the Adagio is quite new, and I especially recommend this movement to your attention, for it contains many things which I shall analyze for Your Grace when the time comes; it is rather difficult but full of feeling. It's a pity, however, that Your Grace has not one of Schanz's fortepianos, for Your Grace could then produce twice the effect.

N. B. Mademoiselle Nanette must know nothing of the fact that this Sonata was already half completed, for otherwise she might get the wrong impression of me, and this might be very disadvantageous for me, since I must be very careful not to lose her favor. Meanwhile I consider myself fortunate to be at least the means of providing her with some amusement; especially since the sacrifice is made for your sake, dearest Frau von Gennzinger. Oh! how I do wish that I could only play this Sonata to you a few times; I could then reconcile my staying for a while in this wilderness. I have so much to say to Your Grace, and so many things to tell you about which are destined for Your Grace alone and no one else: but what cannot be now will, I hope to God, come to pass this Winter; almost half the time has already elapsed. Meanwhile I console myself patiently, and am content that I have the inestimable privilege of subscribing myself Your Grace's most sincere and obedient friend and servant,

Josephus Haydn [m.p] ria.

My respectful compliments to your husband and all the family.
I kiss Your Grace 1000 times on the hands.

Well, if you are going to hang it all out there, this is the way to do it! No matter the heights (or depths) to which their relationship has ascended, this letter might be tough to explain to the Doctor, I think. The interesting parts are many though; from a rhetorical perspective, Haydn's wish to not hear her play it, but to play it for her, is very telling. It indicates yet again how Haydn, and most composers of the time, was using music as a means of communicating.

One of the other things we see, beginning in this letter and continuing on into subsequent ones, is the 'Air Haydn' commercial which I mentioned at the beginning on this essay. Such statements as:

"Your Grace has not one of Schanz's fortepianos, for Your Grace could then produce twice the effect"

in this letter, and in the one of the following week:

"It's only a pity that Your Grace doesn't own a Schanz fortepiano, on which everything is better expressed. I thought that Your Grace might turn over your still tolerable clavier to Fräulein Peperl, and buy a new one for yourself. Your beautiful hands and their facility of execution deserve this and much more. I know I ought to have composed this Sonata in accordance with the capabilities of your clavier, but I found this impossible because I was no longer accustomed to it."

Contextually, it is clear that Haydn is using 'clavier' here to mean harpsichord. His statement that he can no longer compose for harpsichord because he is no longer accustomed to it is also very telling. When one looks at a print of music from the time and sees 'For Cembalo o Pianoforte', this is doubtless inserted by the publisher to increase sales, not by the composer who can't even remember how to write for one any longer!

The Work
Hob. #	Landon #	Key	Tempo I	Tempo II	Tempo III
16:49	59	Eb	Allegro	Adagio e cantabile	Finale: Tempo di Menuet

 

Every great keyboardist who has essayed Haydn has
included this work. We are spoiled for choice!

Haydn's pent-up feelings for Marianne all come out in this wonderful sonata. This is fully the equal of the three London sonatas to come, distanced from his earlier works by its style and sense of deep feeling. As we saw, Haydn was very taken with his efforts on the Adagio, and well he should be, it is one of his best pieces for keyboard, in my opinion.

If you want to get the maximum enjoyment from a composer with the breadth and depth of Haydn, there is only one way to do it. This is to take it slow and not let gems like this one get buried in the mass of other excellent works which will accompany it these days in a box full of CD's. This is a sin which I have been guilty of while reveling in new works or new realizations by various composers over the years. But this particular work I can single out and say that it is twenty minutes well-spent, several times over!

Next time, we will look at one of Haydn's most underrated opera of string quartets. If you don't know which I mean, you have already proved my point!

Thanks for reading!