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93-541: Oberto or Otbert may refer to: Oberto (opera) , an opera by Giuseppe Verdi Oberto Sausage Company , a manufacturer of sausage products based in Kent, Washington, USA Oberto I (died 975), Count palatine of Italy and founder of the Obertenghi dynasty Oberto II (died after 1014), Margrave of Milan, son of Oberto I Oberto II of Biandrate , Count of Biandrate and

186-564: A "happy and naturally cheerful temperament", but in his later life, there is evidence for periods of depression, notably in the correspondence with Mrs. Genzinger and in Dies's biography, based on visits made in Haydn's old age. Haydn was a devout Catholic who often turned to his rosary when he had trouble composing, a practice that he usually found to be effective. He normally began the manuscript of each composition with In nomine Domini [in

279-569: A "house officer" in the Esterházy establishment, Haydn wore livery and followed the family as they moved among their various palaces, most importantly the family's ancestral seat Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt and later on Esterháza , a grand new palace built in rural Hungary in the 1760s. Haydn had a huge range of responsibilities, including composition, running the orchestra, playing chamber music for and with his patrons, and eventually

372-467: A 1000-florin pension from Nikolaus. Since Anton had little need of Haydn's services, he was willing to let him travel, and the composer accepted a lucrative offer from Johann Peter Salomon , a German violinist and impresario , to visit England and conduct new symphonies with a large orchestra. The choice was a sensible one because Haydn was already a very popular composer there. Since the death of Johann Christian Bach in 1782, Haydn's music had dominated

465-564: A catalyst in the next stage in Haydn's career, the achievement of international popularity. By 1790 Haydn was in the paradoxical position ... of being Europe's leading composer, but someone who spent his time as a duty-bound Kapellmeister in a remote palace in the Hungarian countryside." The new publication campaign resulted in the composition of a great number of new string quartets (the six-quartet sets of Op. 33 , 50 , 54/55, and 64 ). Haydn also composed in response to commissions from abroad:

558-607: A conductor was a charity performance of The Seven Last Words on 26 December 1803. As debility set in, he made largely futile efforts at composition, attempting to revise a rediscovered Missa brevis from his teenage years and complete his final string quartet . The former project was abandoned for good in 1805, and the quartet was published with just two movements. Haydn was well cared for by his servants, and he received many visitors and public honors during his last years, but they could not have been very happy years for him. During his illness, Haydn often found solace by sitting at

651-459: A cook in the palace of Aloys Thomas Raimund, Count von Harrach , the presiding aristocrat of Rohrau. Neither parent could read music; however, Mathias was an enthusiastic folk musician , who during the journeyman period of his career had taught himself to play the harp. According to Haydn's later reminiscences, his family was extremely musical, and they frequently sang together and with their neighbours. Haydn's parents had noticed that their son

744-738: A different journey; it was stolen by phrenologists shortly after burial, and the skull was reunited with the other remains only in 1954, now interred in a tomb in the north tower of the Bergkirche . James Webster writes of Haydn's public character thus: "Haydn's public life exemplified the Enlightenment ideal of the honnête homme ( honest man ): the man whose good character and worldly success enable and justify each other. His modesty and probity were everywhere acknowledged. These traits were not only prerequisites to his success as Kapellmeister , entrepreneur and public figure, but also aided

837-613: A familiar figure on the London concert scene. The 1794 season was dominated by Salomon's ensemble, as the Professional Concerts had abandoned their efforts. The concerts included the premieres of the 99th, 100th, and 101st symphonies. For 1795, Salomon had abandoned his own series, citing difficulty in obtaining "vocal performers of the first rank from abroad", and Haydn joined forces with the Opera Concerts, headed by

930-564: A few months. Haydn immediately began his pursuit of a career as a freelance musician. Haydn struggled at first, working at many different jobs: as a music teacher, as a street serenader, and eventually, in 1752, as valet-accompanist for the Italian composer Nicola Porpora , from whom he later said he learned "the true fundamentals of composition". He was also briefly in Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz 's employ, playing

1023-420: A flood of compositions, and his musical style continued to develop. Much of Haydn's activity at the time followed the musical taste of his patron Prince Nikolaus. In about 1765, the prince obtained and began to learn to play the baryton , an uncommon musical instrument similar to the bass viol , but with a set of plucked sympathetic strings . Haydn was commanded to provide music for the prince to play, and over

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1116-424: A great deal simply by serving as a professional musician there. Like Frankh before him, Reutter did not always bother to make sure Haydn was properly fed. As he later told his biographer Albert Christoph Dies , Haydn was motivated to sing well, in hopes of gaining more invitations to perform before aristocratic audiences, where the singers were usually served refreshments. By 1749, Haydn had matured physically to

1209-438: A great deal to Emanuel Bach, that I understood him and have studied him with diligence." According to Griesinger and Dies, in the 1750s Haydn studied an encyclopedic treatise by Johann Mattheson , a German composer. As his skills increased, Haydn began to acquire a public reputation, first as the composer of an opera, Der krumme Teufel , "The Limping Devil", written for the comic actor Joseph Felix von Kurz, whose stage name

1302-441: A hermit. Contemporary critical reactions to Verdi's first effort were mixed, as noted by scholar Francis Toye , writing in 1931, when he quoted two Milanese critics: Julian Budden comments on the performance reviews of the time, especially one which indicates that Verdi's music was not inspired by Donizetti , Bellini , Mercadante nor Rossini , and he states "in detail it owes a little to all of them. But what finally emerges

1395-593: A license to permit opera performances in the theatre he directed, the King's Theatre . Haydn was well paid for the opera (£300) but much time was wasted. Thus only two new symphonies, no. 95 and no. 96 Miracle , could be premiered in the 12 concerts of Salomon's spring concert series in 1791. Another problem arose from the jealously competitive efforts of a senior, rival orchestra, the Professional Concerts , who recruited Haydn's old pupil Ignaz Pleyel as

1488-413: A nearby room and invites Riccardo and his guests to join her. Upon entering, Cuniza reveals Leonora's presence and accuses her lover of infidelity. Riccardo's accusations against Leonora prompt her father to enter and challenge Riccardo to a duel. Scene 1: The princess's private apartments Cuniza and Imelda are alone and the servant announces that Riccardo wishes to speak to her mistress. Cuniza laments

1581-637: A new world to him". Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795. Prince Anton had died, and his successor Nikolaus II proposed that the Esterházy musical establishment be revived with Haydn serving again as Kapellmeister. Haydn took up the position on a part-time basis. He spent his summers with the Esterházys in Eisenstadt, and over the course of several years wrote six masses for them including the Lord Nelson mass in 1798. By this time Haydn had become

1674-530: A participant in the Fourth Crusade Oberto, a character in Alcina by Georg Friedrich Händel People with the surname [ edit ] Fabricio Oberto (born 1975), Argentine basketball player Francesco di Oberto , 14th-century early Renaissance painter Luis Enrique Oberto (1928–2022), Venezuelan politician Orlando Oberto (born 1980), Italian baseball player People with

1767-502: A public figure in Vienna. He spent most of his time in his home, a large house in the suburb of Windmühle, and wrote works for public performance. In collaboration with his librettist and mentor Gottfried van Swieten , and with funding from van Swieten's Gesellschaft der Associierten , he composed his two great oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801). Both were enthusiastically received. Haydn frequently appeared before

1860-453: A result of having been underfed throughout most of his youth. He was not handsome, and like many in his day he was a survivor of smallpox ; his face was pitted with the scars of this disease. His biographer Dies wrote: "he couldn't understand how it happened that in his life he had been loved by many a pretty woman. 'They couldn't have been led to it by my beauty. ' " Haydn had a dark complexion and black eyes. His nose, large and aquiline,

1953-548: A richness and profusion of material, and a disciplined yet varied expression." In 1760, with the security of a Kapellmeister position, Haydn married. His wife was the former Maria Anna Theresia Keller (1729–1800), the sister of Therese (b. 1733), with whom Haydn had previously been in love. Haydn and his wife had a completely unhappy marriage, from which time permitted no escape. They produced no children, and both took lovers. Count Morzin soon suffered financial reverses that forced him to dismiss his musical establishment, but Haydn

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2046-462: A rival visiting composer; the two composers, refusing to play along with the concocted rivalry, dined together and put each other's symphonies on their concert programs. The end of Salomon's series in June gave Haydn a rare period of relative leisure. He spent some of the time in the country ( Hertingfordbury ), but also had time to travel, notably to Oxford, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate by

2139-519: A series of letters from 1835 to 1837 he informed him about the progress towards writing his first opera using a libretto supplied by Massini which had been written by Antonio Piazza, a Milanese "journalist and man of letters". By then it had been given the title of Rocester and the young composer expressed hopes of a production in Parma. However, Parma was not interested in new works and so approaches were made to Milan. Whether Rocester actually became

2232-601: A somewhat limited success at La Scala, did receive revivals over the following three years, during which Verdi took the opportunity to compose new numbers or supply new or revised music to fit particular voices. It appeared in Turin and Milan in 1840, the latter in the autumn after the failure of Verdi's second opera, Un giorno di regno ; again, it was seen in Naples and Genoa (both in 1841), and in Barcelona in 1842. The opera

2325-504: A welcome to the happy bride but, alone with Riccardo, Cuniza expresses some forebodings in spite of expressing her love for him. ( Questa gioia che il petto m'inonda – "This joy that overwhelms my breast is mingled with a mysterious fear"). After the couple leaves, Leonora enters and is questioned by Imelda. Leonora tells her that her father, Oberto, is also in the palace and, when he enters, she tells Cuniza about her betrayal by Riccardo. Cuniza agrees to help them. She then hides Oberto in

2418-462: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Oberto (opera) It was Verdi's first opera, written over a period of four years, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala , Milan , on 17 November 1839. The La Scala production enjoyed "a fair success" and the theatre's impresario, Bartolomeo Merelli , commissioned two further operas from

2511-449: Is often subtly different, with a flavour of its own. Above all, it has that ultra-Verdian quality of gathering momentum as it proceeds." Given the need at the time for composers to take into account singers' strengths and weaknesses, Verdi's writing for the four principals (rather than the more conventional three of that era) who became the cast for the premiere of Oberto well accommodated the limitations of Mary Shaw's voice and played to

2604-478: Is today the national anthem of Germany. He was a friend and mentor of Mozart , a tutor of Beethoven , and the elder brother of composer Michael Haydn . Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau , Austria, a village that at that time stood on the border with Hungary. His father was Mathias Haydn , a wheelwright who also served as "Marktrichter", or marketplace supervisor. Haydn's mother Maria, née Koller, had worked as

2697-617: Is today the national anthem of Germany. (Modern Austria uses a different anthem .) During the later years of this successful period, Haydn faced incipient old age and fluctuating health, and he had to struggle to complete his final works. His last major work, from 1802, was the sixth mass for the Esterházys, the Harmoniemesse . By the end of 1803, Haydn's condition had declined to the point that he became physically unable to compose. He suffered from weakness, dizziness, inability to concentrate and painfully swollen legs. Since diagnosis

2790-547: Is welcomed by a chorus as he is about to enter Ezzelino's palace. He sings of his joy at being close to Cuniza ( Son fra voi! Già sorto è il giorno...Già parmi udire il fremito – "Here I am amongst you! The day hasted by my desire has now arrived"). They enter the castle. Leonora arrives swearing to avenge Riccardo's desertion and she sings of the love which she had and a hope of recovering those innocent days ( Sotto il paterno tetto...Oh potessi nel mio core - "Beneath my father's roof an angel appeared to me"). She leaves to go towards

2883-524: The Surprise , Military , Drumroll and London symphonies; the Rider quartet; and the "Gypsy Rondo" piano trio. The great success of the overall enterprise does not mean that the journeys were free of trouble. Notably, his first project, the commissioned opera L'anima del filosofo was duly written during the early stages of the trip, but the opera's impresario John Gallini was unable to obtain

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2976-486: The Paris symphonies (1785–1786) and the original orchestral version of The Seven Last Words of Christ (1786), a commission from Cádiz , Spain. The remoteness of Eszterháza , which was farther from Vienna than Eisenstadt, led Haydn gradually to feel more isolated and lonely. He longed to visit Vienna because of his friendships there. Of these, a particularly important one was with Maria Anna von Genzinger (1754–1793),

3069-676: The San Diego Opera gave the US professional premiere in March 1985 with Ferruccio Furlanetto and Susanne Marsee in the major roles. It is also claimed that Vincent La Selva (of the New York Grand Opera) gave the first New York presentation of the opera as part of the company's comprehensive and chronological "Viva Verdi" series which began in 1994 and which launched performances of all Verdi's operas. Opera North presented

3162-924: The ABAO in Bilbao , Spain , gave performances in January 2007, as part of their "Tutto Verdi" series; and the Teatro Regio di Parma gave it in October 2007 as part of their on-going "Festival Verdi". In 2010 the Berliner Operngruppe under Felix Krieger presented the work in a concert performance in Berlin . In celebration of the Verdi bicentennial, it was staged by La Scala in April/May 2013. Before

3255-782: The English Channel on New Year's Day of 1791. It was the first time that the 58-year-old composer had seen the sea. Arriving in London, Haydn stayed with Salomon in Great Pulteney Street (London, near Piccadilly Circus ) working in a borrowed studio at the Broadwood piano firm nearby. It was the start of a very auspicious period for Haydn: both the 1791–1792 journey, along with a repeat visit in 1794–1795, were greatly successful. Audiences flocked to Haydn's concerts; he augmented his fame and made large profits, thus becoming financially secure. Charles Burney reviewed

3348-481: The Frankh household was not easy for Haydn, who later remembered being frequently hungry and humiliated by the filthy state of his clothing. He began his musical training there, and could soon play both harpsichord and violin. He also sang treble parts in the church choir . There is reason to think that Haydn's singing impressed those who heard him, because in 1739 he was brought to the attention of Georg Reutter

3441-588: The King in London, in 1797 Haydn wrote a patriotic "Emperor's Hymn" " Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser ", ("God Save Emperor Francis"). This achieved great success and became "the enduring emblem of Austrian identity right up to the First World War" (Jones). The melody was used for von Fallersleben's Deutschlandlied (1841), which was written as part of the German unification movement and whose third stanza

3534-570: The Younger , the director of music in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, who happened to be visiting Hainburg and was looking for new choirboys. Haydn passed his audition with Reutter, and after several months of further training moved to Vienna (1740), where he worked for the next nine years as a chorister. Haydn lived in the Kapellhaus next to the cathedral, along with Reutter, Reutter's family, and

3627-537: The action takes place, a battle has been fought between Oberto, Count of San Boniface, and the Salinguerra, led by Ezzelino da Romano. Oberto has lost and has retreated to Mantua. Meanwhile, his daughter Leonora has been seduced and abandoned by Riccardo, Count of Salinguerra, and Riccardo is about to marry Cuniza, Ezzelino's sister. Leonora makes her way to Bassano on Riccardo's wedding day, intent on confronting him. Scene 1: The countryside near Bassano Riccardo

3720-725: The basis for Oberto when Verdi was able to return to Milan in February 1839 after fulfilling two and a half years of his contract in Busseto is subject to some disagreement amongst scholars. How much of Rocester remained visible in Oberto is discussed by Roger Parker, who does suggest that "in this shape-shifting tendency, the opera was, of course, very much of its time." In his recollections in 1881 (quoted in Budden) following his return to Milan from Busseto in 1838, Verdi describes how he

3813-495: The composer wrote his first string quartets. Of them, Philip G. Downs said "they abound in novel effects and instrumental combinations that can only be the result of humorous intent". Their enthusiastic reception encouraged Haydn to write more. It was a turning point in his career. As a result of the performances, he became in great demand both as a performer and a teacher. Fürnberg later recommended Haydn to Count Morzin , who, in 1757, became his first full-time employer. His salary

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3906-698: The concert scene in London; "hardly a concert did not feature a work by him". Haydn's work was widely distributed by publishers in London, including Forster (who had their own contract with Haydn) and Longman & Broderip (who served as agent in England for Haydn's Vienna publisher Artaria ). Efforts to bring Haydn to London had been made since 1782, though Haydn's loyalty to Prince Nikolaus had prevented him from accepting. After fond farewells from Mozart and other friends, Haydn departed from Vienna with Salomon on 15 December 1790, arriving in Calais in time to cross

3999-422: The esteem in his "Haydn" quartets . In 1785 Haydn was admitted to the same Masonic lodge as Mozart, the " Zur wahren Eintracht " in Vienna. In 1790, Prince Nikolaus died and was succeeded as prince by his son Anton . Following a trend of the time, Anton sought to economize by dismissing most of the court musicians. Haydn retained a nominal appointment with Anton, at a reduced salary of 400 florins, as well as

4092-579: The experience and had to depart at intermission. Haydn lived on for 14 more months. His final days were hardly serene, as in May 1809 the French army under Napoleon launched an attack on Vienna and on 10 May bombarded his neighborhood. According to Griesinger, "Four case shots fell, rattling the windows and doors of his house. He called out in a loud voice to his alarmed and frightened people, 'Don't be afraid, children, where Haydn is, no harm can reach you!'. But

4185-459: The failure of Un giorno di regno , the role of Cuniza was sung by Luigia Abbadia and it was for her that Verdi wrote an entrance aria in act 1 and a duet for Cuniza and Riccardo also in act 1, the latter described as being "full of that intensely condensed melodic expressiveness that will characterise the best of his early music. It is on quite a different level of invention from the rest of Oberto . Toye notes that, in spite of its weaknesses,

4278-475: The favorable reception of his music." Haydn was especially respected by the Esterházy court musicians whom he supervised, as he maintained a cordial working atmosphere and effectively represented the musicians' interests with their employer; see Papa Haydn and the tale of the "Farewell" Symphony . Haydn had a robust sense of humor, evident in his love of practical jokes and often apparent in his music, and he had many friends. For much of his life he benefited from

4371-619: The financial precariousness of musical life made him astute and even sharp in his business dealings. Some contemporaries (usually, it has to be said, wealthy ones) were surprised and even shocked at this. Webster writes: "As regards money, Haydn…always attempted to maximize his income, whether by negotiating the right to sell his music outside the Esterházy court, driving hard bargains with publishers or selling his works three and four times over [to publishers in different countries]; he regularly engaged in 'sharp practice'" which nowadays might be regarded as plain fraud. But those were days when copyright

4464-649: The financing of the First Crusade Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Oberto . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oberto&oldid=1253625435 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with given-name-holder lists Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description

4557-454: The first concert thus: "Haydn himself presided at the piano-forte; and the sight of that renowned composer so electrified the audience, as to excite an attention and a pleasure superior to any that had ever been caused by instrumental music in England." Haydn made many new friends and, for a time, was involved in a romantic relationship with Rebecca Schroeter . Musically, Haydn's visits to England generated some of his best-known work, including

4650-541: The following year. 1836 saw his involvement in an April concert celebrating Emperor Ferdinand's birthday; for this he wrote a cantata in the Emperor's honour which received some praise. But it was after his return to his hometown of Busseto in 1835 to become director of the music school with a three-year contract that Verdi took advantage of the connection he had made to the Filarmonica's director, Pietro Massini. In

4743-557: The given name [ edit ] Oberto Airaudi (1950-2013), founder of the spiritual community of Damanhur near Turin, Italy Oberto Doria (died 1295), politician and admiral of the Republic of Genoa Oberto Pelavicino , or Pallavicino (1197–1269), Italian field captain under Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Oberto Spinola , a leader of the Republic of Genoa in the 13th century See also [ edit ] Otbert of Liège (died 1119), bishop of Liège and major figure in

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4836-604: The imperial children during carnival season, and as supplementary singers in the imperial chapel (the Hofkapelle ) in Lent and Holy Week. With the increase in his reputation, Haydn eventually obtained aristocratic patronage, crucial for the career of a composer in his day. Countess Thun, having seen one of Haydn's compositions, summoned him and engaged him as her singing and keyboard teacher. In 1756, Baron Carl Josef Fürnberg employed Haydn at his country estate, Weinzierl , where

4929-480: The later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". Yet his music circulated widely, and for much of his career he was the most celebrated composer in Europe. The melody of his patriotic "Emperor's Hymn" " Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser ", (1797) was used for von Fallersleben's Deutschlandlied (1841), whose third stanza

5022-1119: The love she had, but following her aria, Oh, chi torna l'ardente pensiero – "Oh, who can turn my fevered thoughts", she instructs Imelda to tell Riccardo that he should return to Leonora, concluding in Più che i vezzi e lo splendore – "More persuasive to my conscience" that she has made the right decision. Scene 2: A remote place near the castle gardens The courtiers gather and express their sympathy for Leonora's plight. As they leave, Oberto enters, waiting for his rival to appear. He proclaims that he will seek vengeance: (Aria: L'orror del tradimento – "The horror of his betrayal"). The courtiers return to tell him that Cuniza has interceded on his behalf and that he has nothing to fear from Riccardo, but Oberto's thoughts still focus on vengeance. Riccardo finally arrives and they begin to fight, but are soon stopped by Cuniza who arrives with Leonora. Cuniza insists that Riccardo admit his infidelity and agrees to marry Leonora. Still determined to fight his rival, Oberto extracts an agreement from Riccardo that they will soon meet in

5115-400: The mounting of operatic productions. Despite this backbreaking workload, the job was in artistic terms a superb opportunity for Haydn. The Esterházy princes (Paul Anton, then from 1762 to 1790 Nikolaus I ) were musical connoisseurs who appreciated his work and gave him daily access to his own small orchestra. During the nearly thirty years that Haydn worked at the Esterházy court, he produced

5208-469: The name of the Lord] and ended with Laus Deo [praise be to God]. He retained this practice even in his secular works; he frequently only uses the initials "L. D.", "S. D. G." [ soli Deo gloria ], or Laus Deo et B. V. M. [... and to Beatae Virgini Mariae ] and sometimes adds, "et om si " ( et omnibus sanctis – and all saints) Haydn's early years of poverty and awareness of

5301-504: The next ten years produced about 200 works for this instrument in various ensembles, the most notable of which are the 126 baryton trios . Around 1775, the prince abandoned the baryton and took up a new hobby: opera productions, previously a sporadic event for special occasions, became the focus of musical life at court, and the opera theater the prince had built at Esterháza came to host a major season, with multiple productions each year. Haydn served as company director, recruiting and training

5394-421: The opera during the following few years where she appeared as Leonora in four of the five of them. Agreeing with Parker that the support given to "la Marini" helped with stagings of further performances from 1840 to 1843 (and, therefore, allowed the composer the opportunity to make additions and changes as these performances were played in different cities and with different singers). For the 1840 revival after

5487-525: The opera during their 1994–5 season with John Tomlinson both directing and performing the title-role. The Royal Opera House , Covent Garden, gave a concert performance in June 1997 with Denyce Graves as Cuniza. Three opera companies, which plan to present all of Verdi's operas, have given this opera recently. Companies which intend to present all of the composer's works have included Oberto in their schedules in recent years. These are Sarasota Opera which staged it in 2001 as part of their "Verdi Cycle";

5580-440: The opera: Franceska Lombardi, Manuela Custer, Norman Reinhardt Theater Gießen Cat: OC959 The historical Cunizza da Romano , whose life was as at least as interesting as this fictionalised account. Notes Cited sources Other sources Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( / ˈ h aɪ d ən / HY -dən ; German: [ˈfʁants ˈjoːzɛf ˈhaɪdn̩] ; 31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809)

5673-496: The order of themes compared to the exposition and uses extensive thematic development . Haydn's formal inventiveness also led him to integrate the fugue into the classical style and to enrich the rondo form with more cohesive tonal logic (see sonata rondo form ). Haydn was also the principal exponent of the double variation form—variations on two alternating themes, which are often major- and minor-mode versions of each other. Perhaps more than any other composer's, Haydn's music

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5766-705: The organ in the Bohemian Chancellery chapel at the Judenplatz . While a chorister, Haydn had not received any systematic training in music theory and composition. As a remedy, he worked his way through the counterpoint exercises in the text Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Joseph Fux and carefully studied the work of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , whom he later acknowledged as an important influence. He said of CPE Bach's first six keyboard sonatas, "I did not leave my clavier till I played them through, and whoever knows me thoroughly must discover that I owe

5859-480: The other four choirboys, which after 1745 included his younger brother Michael . The choirboys were instructed in Latin and other school subjects as well as voice, violin, and keyboard. Reutter was of little help to Haydn in the areas of music theory and composition, giving him only two lessons in his entire time as chorister. However, since St. Stephen's was one of the leading musical centres in Europe, Haydn learned

5952-412: The piano and playing his " Emperor's Hymn ". A final triumph occurred on 27 March 1808 when a performance of The Creation was organized in his honour. The very frail composer was brought into the hall on an armchair to the sound of trumpets and drums and was greeted by Beethoven, Salieri (who led the performance) and by other musicians and members of the aristocracy. Haydn was both moved and exhausted by

6045-407: The point of torture, I cannot escape them, they stand like walls before me. If it's an allegro that pursues me, my pulse keeps beating faster, I can get no sleep. If it's an adagio , then I notice my pulse beating slowly. My imagination plays on me as if I were a clavier." Haydn smiled, the blood rushed to his face, and he said "I am really just a living clavier." The winding down of Haydn's career

6138-488: The point that he was no longer able to sing high choral parts. Empress Maria Theresa herself complained to Reutter about his singing, calling it "crowing". One day, Haydn carried out a prank, snipping off the pigtail of a fellow chorister. This was enough for Reutter: Haydn was first caned , then summarily dismissed and sent into the streets. He had the good fortune to be taken in by a friend, Johann Michael Spangler, who shared his family's crowded garret room with Haydn for

6231-455: The public, often leading performances of The Creation and The Seasons for charity benefits, including Tonkünstler-Societät programs with massed musical forces. He also composed instrumental music: the popular Trumpet Concerto , and the last nine in his long series of string quartets, including the Fifths , Emperor , and Sunrise . Directly inspired by hearing audiences sing God Save

6324-477: The same evening he collapsed and was taken to what proved to be to his deathbed. He died peacefully in his own home at 12:40 a.m. on 31 May 1809, aged 77. On 15 June, a memorial service was held in the Schottenkirche at which Mozart's Requiem was performed. Haydn's remains were interred in the local Hundsturm cemetery until 1820, when they were moved to Eisenstadt by Prince Nikolaus. His head took

6417-626: The singers and preparing and leading the performances. He wrote several of the operas performed and wrote substitution arias to insert into the operas of other composers. 1779 was a watershed year for Haydn, as his contract was renegotiated: whereas previously all his compositions were the property of the Esterházy family, he now was permitted to write for others and sell his work to publishers. Haydn soon shifted his emphasis in composition to reflect this (fewer operas, and more quartets and symphonies) and he negotiated with multiple publishers, both Austrian and foreign. His new employment contract "acted as

6510-453: The spirit was stronger than the flesh, for he had hardly uttered the brave words when his whole body began to tremble." More bombardments followed until the city fell to the French on 13 May. Haydn, was, however, deeply moved and appreciative when on 17 May a French cavalry officer named Sulémy came to pay his respects and sang, skillfully, an aria from The Creation . On 26 May Haydn played his "Emperor's Hymn" with unusual gusto three times;

6603-408: The strengths of Antonietta Rainieri-Marini's in the lower register. Ignazio Marini, the bass who sang the title role, was "a performer of impressive vocal and dramatic range, for whom Verdi would later write the title role of Attila , notes Parker. He continues by adding that "la Marini" was undoubtedly grateful to Verdi in that it was she who quite probably helped to secure most of the revivals of

6696-447: The string quartet; no other composer approaches his combination of productivity, quality and historical importance in these genres. A central characteristic of Haydn's music is the development of larger structures out of very short, simple musical motifs , often derived from standard accompanying figures. The music is often quite formally concentrated, and the important musical events of a movement can unfold rather quickly. Haydn's work

6789-492: The university. The symphony performed for the occasion, no. 92 has since come to be known as the Oxford Symphony , although it had been written two years before, in 1789. Four further new symphonies (Nos. 93 , 94 , 97 and 98 ) were performed in early 1792. While traveling to London in 1790, Haydn had met the young Ludwig van Beethoven in his native city of Bonn . On Haydn's return, Beethoven came to Vienna and

6882-520: The village. Her father, Oberto, arrives, pleased to be back in his home country but unsure of Leonora's whereabouts. When Leonora returns, each is aware of the other's presence and father and daughter are reunited. They express amazement at having found each other again. But Oberto's initial anger at Leonora's actions quickly turns to fatherly affection as the pair makes plans to disrupt the wedding. Scene 2: A room in Ezzelino's palace The chorus sings

6975-427: The violinist Giovanni Battista Viotti . These were the venue of the last three symphonies, 102, 103, and 104. The final benefit concert for Haydn ("Dr. Haydn's night") at the end of the 1795 season was a great success and was perhaps the peak of his English career. Haydn's biographer Griesinger wrote that Haydn "considered the days spent in England the happiest of his life. He was everywhere appreciated there; it opened

7068-519: The wife of Prince Nikolaus's personal physician in Vienna, who began a close, platonic relationship with the composer in 1789. Haydn wrote to Mrs. Genzinger often, expressing his loneliness at Esterháza and his happiness for the few occasions on which he was able to visit her in Vienna. Later on, Haydn wrote to her frequently from London. Her premature death in 1793 was a blow to Haydn, and his F minor variations for piano, Hob. XVII:6, may have been written in response to her death. Another friend in Vienna

7161-561: The woods. Oberto leaves the group to go into the woods; all leave. Offstage, the sound of a duel in progress can be heard and it is followed by Riccardo's arrival. He realizes that he has killed Oberto (Aria: Ciel che feci? – "Heavens, what have I done!") and he is filled with remorse. Then Imelda and Cuniza appear explaining that Leonora is prostrate over the dead body of her father. Soon a letter arrives from Riccardo explaining that he has gone into exile leaving everything he possesses to Leonora. In her grief, she announces that she will become

7254-416: The world of business, in his dealings, for example, with relatives, musicians and servants, and in volunteering his services for charitable concerts, Haydn was a generous man – e.g., offering to teach the two infant sons of Mozart for free after their father's death. When Haydn died he was certainly comfortably off, but by middle class rather than aristocratic standards. Haydn was short in stature, perhaps as

7347-569: The young composer. During his student days in Milan, Verdi began the process of making connections to the world of music in that city which were to stand him in good stead. These included an introduction by his teacher Lavigna to an amateur choral group, the Società Filarmonica, where he functioned as rehearsal director and continuo player for Haydn 's The Creation in 1834, as well as conducting Rossini 's La cenerentola himself

7440-451: Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , whom Haydn had met sometime around 1784. According to later testimony by Michael Kelly and others, the two composers occasionally played in string quartets with Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (second violin) and Johann Baptist Wanhal (cello) for small gatherings attended by Giovanni Paisiello and Giovanni Battista Casti . Impressed by Mozart's work, Haydn praised it unstintingly to others. Mozart returned

7533-448: Was "Bernardon". The work was premiered successfully in 1753, but was soon closed down by the censors due to "offensive remarks". Haydn also noticed, apparently without annoyance, that works he had simply given away were being published and sold in local music shops. Between 1754 and 1756 Haydn also worked freelance for the court in Vienna. He was among several musicians who were paid for services as supplementary musicians at balls given for

7626-474: Was Haydn's pupil up until the second London journey. Haydn took Beethoven with him to Eisenstadt for the summer, where Haydn had little to do, and taught Beethoven some counterpoint . While in Vienna, Haydn purchased a house for himself and his wife in the suburbs and started remodeling it. He also arranged for the performance of some of his London symphonies in local concerts. By the time he arrived on his second journey to England (1794–1795), Haydn had become

7719-473: Was a respectable 200 florins a year, plus free board and lodging. Haydn's job title under Count Morzin was Kapellmeister , that is, music director. He led the count's small orchestra in Unterlukawitz and wrote his first symphonies for this ensemble – perhaps numbering in the double figures. Philip Downs comments of these first symphonies: "the seeds of the future are there, his works already exhibit

7812-572: Was an Austrian composer of the Classical period . He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio . His contributions to musical form have led him to be called "Father of the Symphony " and "Father of the String quartet". Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family at their Eszterháza Castle. Until

7905-509: Was central to the development of what came to be called sonata form . His practice, however, differed in some ways from that of Mozart and Beethoven , his younger contemporaries who likewise excelled in this form of composition. Haydn was particularly fond of the so-called monothematic exposition , in which the music that establishes the dominant key is similar or identical to the opening theme. Haydn also differs from Mozart and Beethoven in his recapitulation sections, where he often rearranges

7998-436: Was disfigured by the polyps he suffered during much of his adult life, an agonizing and debilitating disease that at times prevented him from writing music. James Webster summarizes Haydn's role in the history of classical music as follows: He excelled in every musical genre. [...] He is familiarly known as the "father of the symphony" because he composed 107 symphonies, and could with greater justice be thus regarded for

8091-406: Was gradual. The Esterházy family kept him on as Kapellmeister to the very end (much as they had with his predecessor Werner long before), but they appointed new staff to lead their musical establishment: Johann Michael Fuchs in 1802 as Vice-Kapellmeister and Johann Nepomuk Hummel as Konzertmeister in 1804. Haydn's last summer in Eisenstadt was in 1803, and his last appearance before the public as

8184-410: Was in its infancy, and the pirating of musical works was common. Publishers had few qualms about attaching Haydn's name to popular works by lesser composers, an arrangement that effectively robbed the lesser musician of livelihood. Webster notes that Haydn's ruthlessness in business might be viewed more sympathetically in light of his struggles with poverty during his years as a freelancer—and that outside

8277-471: Was invited to meet the La Scala impresario, Bartolomeo Merelli , who had heard a conversation about the music of the opera between soprano Giuseppina Strepponi and Giorgio Ronconi in which she praised it. Merelli then offered to put on Oberto during the 1839 season and, after its premiere, Oberto was given a respectable 13 additional performances. As noted by Roger Parker , the opera, while having

8370-566: Was musically gifted and knew that in Rohrau he would have no chance to obtain serious musical training. It was for this reason that, around the time Haydn turned six, they accepted a proposal from their relative Johann Matthias Frankh, the schoolmaster and choirmaster in Hainburg , that Haydn be apprenticed to Frankh in his home to train as a musician. Haydn therefore went off with Frankh to Hainburg and he never again lived with his parents. Life in

8463-408: Was quickly offered a similar job (1761) by Prince Paul Anton , head of the immensely wealthy Esterházy family . Haydn's job title was only Vice-Kapellmeister, but he was immediately placed in charge of most of the Esterházy musical establishment, with the old Kapellmeister Gregor Werner retaining authority only for church music. When Werner died in 1766, Haydn was elevated to full Kapellmeister. As

8556-618: Was staged in Parma on 6 September 1913, but it is only occasionally performed today. The British premiere did not take place until 8 April 1965, and then only in a concert version at St Pancras Town Hall . It was not given a staged production until 17 February 1982 at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. Its American premiere did not take place until 18 February 1978 at the Amato Theatre in New York City , although

8649-424: Was uncertain in Haydn's time, it is unlikely that the precise illness can ever be identified, though Jones suggests arteriosclerosis . The illness was especially hard for Haydn because the flow of fresh musical ideas continued unabated, although he could no longer work them out as compositions. His biographer Dies reported Haydn saying in 1806: I must have something to do—usually musical ideas are pursuing me, to

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