I have listened only to the first CD which contains his first 5 symphonies and it was my first time hearing these 5 symphonies as I my collection tendered to sway towards his later symphonies especially those composed in London. It is always very refreshing to hear the embryonic works and contrast it with the later works to see the progression overtime. In classical music speak, symphonies is largely considered the epitome amongst genres like concertos, sonatas, suites, songs etc as it is normally the most complex genre of classical music.
Although Haydn cannot be credited with the title of inventor of symphonies but he was the earliest to championed the genre to a level of popularity and sophistication that no one can hold a candle to. In my opinion, Haydn is most probably a systematic and tradition bound musician as he has sticked to the 4 movement rule for symphonies for most of his symphonic works. Even in cases where he uses the 3 movements template, there is a almost consistent fast/slow/fast transition between the movements typical of this genre.
The link between Haydn and Mozart has been widely debated but I would lean closer to the understanding that Mozartis not likely to be a disciple of Haydn as the two rarely meets physically as they were in different places and both have a healthy dose of respect for each others music. Haydn has remakred that "Mozart is the greatest composer of the world" shortly after the premiere of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Mozart likewise dedicated a set of 6 string quartets to Haydn. During his relatively shorter life on planet earth, Mozart composed a total to 41 symphonies and this by no means a feat considering his contribution to other genres like Operas, Concertos etc.
The next person on my list is Beethoven who was a pupil of Haydn. Although he only composed 9 symphonies during his life time besides other classical genres, but his name supersedes that of Haydn and Mozart if we were to do a random street straw poll of whom you think are the most popular composer of classical music. Perhaps someone might want to take this up as an experiment? Part of the reason could be the all time popularity of his 5th and 9th symphonies that has been the subjected to many treacherous interpretations by many crossover artists.
My last worthy mention which is most probably as important as the former 3 is Brahms. He was the youngest of the 4 composers and it is in my opinion the torch bearer for symphonic genre as symphonic music has had its renaissance and was beginning to waiver in popularity with the accent of modernistic music by the likes of Liszt. Although he composed a total of 4 symphonies, he has stayed faithful to the symphonic genre by sticking to the tradition bound symphonic structure under the onslaught of modernist and neo-classical appeal of the public. He could have been a good politician as he has done this not so much by throwing insinuations with modernism and neo-classicalism camp but by promoting how good symphonic work is. This is no easy task for a man that has a complex love life. Brahms was good friends to the Schumanns in good and bad times. Robert Schumann has not been a very emotionally stable person and has attempted suicide and was institutionalized in a sanatorium till his death. But Clara Schumann was a model wife in seeing and supporting Robert Schumann in good and bad times. Brahms is believed to have an interest in Clara Schumann but I guess his friendship and his personal moral high ground has prevented him from pursuing Clara romantically even after Robert Schumann's death. The friendship between Brahms and Clara never went further than being platonic although they were good friends and this created a very deep internal struggle in Brahms and this is evident in some of his music as you listen to it closely and with your heart instead of your mind. Brahms did very little by way of commenting on his works and hardly any pre-manuscripts can be found as it seems that Brahms has intended it to be such and destroyed all his work in progress leaving mostly only the final rendition behind.
If I have a life maxim, I would love a Haydn/Mozart like character to grow it. A Beethoven like character to take it to the next plateau and for a Brahms like character to keep the flame going. As for a spouse, it would surely be a Clara like character of in sickness and health, through rich or poor.
Good Friday. Cheers,,,, Peter Lye aka lkypeter.blogspot.com
Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye