HAYDN IN LONDON AND AFTER

In his series, Orchestral Splendours, Matthew has already given a

lecture on selected works by Haydn and Mozart. Having previously
written about Haydn almost four years ago in a series on the string
quartet I thought I would give him a miss. But you cant play Hide n
Seek with Haydn and so I decided to return to this wonderful character.
The lecture by Matthew was devoted to the two great oratorios, The
Creation and The Seasons which were written in the years following
Haydns second visit to London. This biographical sketch will contain a
shortened account of Haydns long early years and his even longer
middle period and then take a look at his two visits to London in the
early 1790s and the period in Vienna which followed.
Haydn very deservedly has been dubbed the father of the symphony.
Having written 104 of them the title is merited if not quite strictly correct.
On the other hand he was also undoubtedly the inventor of the string
quartet.
Most people, except contestants on University Challenge (Ummmm,
Vaughan Williams??) seem to know something about Haydn. He is
perceived as an accomplished composer with a good sense of humour
although most people are only familiar with some of the London
symphonies, by reputation a bit second fiddle to Mozart and otherwise
paving the way for Beethoven, like a Volkswagen gets overtaken by a
Porsche. This fairly standard take gives no credit to the fact that here
was the greatest and most revered composer of his age.
He was born in mid-Austria-Hungary and claimed by both. His birthplace
was on the Austrian side of the river. Not a wunderkind like Mozart, his
talent was recognized sufficiently for him to become a choir boy at the
cathedral in Vienna and top soloist. He was eventually dropped at the
age of 14 said to be for a prank in cutting another choirboys pigtail more likely because his voice was breaking. He might have continued
as there was a proposal afoot to make him a permanent soprano.
Fortunately, this did not happen. Thank goodness because the world
was left with a better legacy, as was Haydn. Instead of becoming a
castrato he lost his voice but kept his endowment.
On leaving, he lived rough in Vienna for some twelve years. For those
who perceive Haydn as a musical lackey to the nobility Haydn was for
over ten years teaching, playing in street bands and getting odd
commissions. To improve, he took lessons from a crusty old opera

composer, Nicola Porpora. Sometime about 1756 Haydn was engaged

to teach the children of Baron Furnberg, a gifted amateur musician who
wanted some music written for him and his colleagues to play. The
instrumentation available happened to be two violins, viola and cello.
For this combination Haydn wrote what he called divertimenti and they
were an absolute hit. They became called quartets and just as well they
didnt consist of piccolo, bassoon, double bass and trombone as the
string quartet would have turned out somewhat differently.
His
compositions for Furnberg led to him being recommended as
kappelmeister in 1758 to Count Morzin with charge of an orchestra of 12.
At this time Haydn married but, employees not being allowed wives, he
had to conceal the fact, something that probably was a relief to Haydn
even if a bone of contention with Mrs H. There are various references to
the marriage not being a particularly happy match, certainly in the later
accounts of Haydns two London visits, each of eighteen months in 1791
and 1794 and his lack of enthusiasm at the prospect of his return. Mrs
Haydn is said to have been a shrew and a religious bigot. Truth to say
they were de facto separated and carrying on their private affairs with
Haydn being a bit free in his teaching sessions with young trainee
sopranos. Perhaps posterity has been unkind to Mrs Haydn. No one
has written an account from her point of view. She probably had
probably found him too irritating with his jokes. And what about that
polyp on his nose! Maybe we should ask Mrs Taylor to talk to us about
what life is like living with a genial genius!
In 1761 Morzin was fast heading for bankruptcy and had to dismiss his
orchestra. Fortunately, Haydn was then taken on as vice Kappelmeister
of the even richer Prince Paul Esterhazy at twice his previous salary. In
fact, except for religious music, he was effectively the Number One.
There is evidence of a bit of under the counter money laundering to hide
the fact that Haydn was paid more than Werner, the man who remained
nominal kapelmeister. Haydn was able to augment the orchestra to 18
having probably recruited some of players from the Morzin band. In
1762, less than two years later, Prince Paul Anton died and was
succeeded by his brother, Prince Nikolaus. His musical requirements
were as mammoth as the Esteharzy schlosses which he expanded as
well as building the Esterhaza palace which included its own opera
house. In 1766 Werner died and Haydn stepped into his shoes. He was
given a threeyear contract, renewable at will by the prince, an
arrangement which continued until the Princes death in 1790. After that
Haydn was still retained and received a pension for life.

His years with the Esterhazys were contented and busy. His duties
which he took in his stride included all matters musical. He attended on
the Prince twice a day to discuss the musical requirements. He was in
charge of the purchase of musical instruments, looked after the library,
edited the music of others, took the Sunday services at the organ,
rehearsed the orchestra, became their virtual shop steward in handling
their grievances, took choir practices, gave music lessons, rehearsed
operas both those which he wrote and those of others. In the evening
there were performances of the music including at one time 150 opera
performances a year. And on top of this he composed a bit of music
including a weekly baryton trio especially for the Prince to play, about 70
quartets, numerous sonatas, about 90 symphonies, various concertos
and masses. He also found time to carry on an affair over 12 years with
Luigia Polzelli, a rather untalented Italian opera singer married to a much
older asthmatic husband. She claimed Haydn to be the father of her
second son.
Having summed up nearly thirty years in one paragraph, it all came to an
end with the death of Prince Nikolaus in 1790. Haydn had been getting a
bit restless anyway. He had received numerous invitations from various
quarters and had seen the young Mozart making his way as a freelancer.
In a world where the old order was changing Haydn began to question
his place but was too long in the tooth to take the plunge and go it alone.
The death of Prince Nikolaus who was succeeded by his son, Prince
Anton, saved Haydn from having to make a decision. The new prince
was not so keen about music and decided to let Haydn go, yet
surprisingly retained him on full salary for life. In turn, this opened the
way for Haydn to take up offers previously turned down. The impresario
to succeed who was on the spot at the right time was Johann Peter
Salomon, a German musician who had settled in London. He happened
to be in Germany at the time seeking out new talent for the next London
season. When he learned of the death of Prince Nikolaus, he travelled
post haste from Cologne to Vienna. There he introduced himself to
Haydn. I am Salomon from London and I have come to fetch you.
Salomon got his man.
Haydn and Salomon set out from Vienna on 15 th December having the
evening before had a merry meal with Mozart. Here was Haydn who
had never travelled more than 70 miles from Vienna now on his way to
London. They stopped over in Bonn, which was Salomons birthplace,
as guests of the Elector whose orchestra included the 20 year old
Beethoven as violist and organist. It is possible they were formally
introduced. On the crossing from Calais Haydn stayed on deck and

became frightened by the monster waves and slightly ill too. They
arrived in London on 2nd January and Haydn was overwhelmed by this
endlessly huge city the population of which was a million, five times the
size of Vienna. From the start Haydn was feted by a fawning, gawping,
idolising public from all classes. He had contracted to give six new
symphonies and an opera over the next eighteen months. The series of
symphonies would start with number 93. At his first concert at the
Hanover Square Rooms he probably performed his symphony no. 92
which had already been played in Paris, thus pre-dating the London
symphonies. One ceremony Haydn attended on coming to England was
to be awarded a doctorate at Oxford University when the same
symphony was again played and became known thereafter as the
Oxford symphony. Haydn was so proud of becoming Doctor Haydn
which boosted his self esteem amongst the higher social orders.
Salomons concerts took place on Fridays during the season and the
crowds gathered in the Hanover Square Rooms - seating about 500,
about the size of our hall in Blackheath. They were introduced to
orchestral sounds such as they had not heard before. There were the
symphonies, particularly by J C Bach and William Boyce, but nothing on
this scale or of such inventiveness. Haydn was equally amazed.
Salomon had provided an orchestra much larger than any available at
Esterharzy or elsewhere. On top there was an audience every day from
all classes who turned up and paid their money if they had not already
signed up for subscription concerts. Nothing like it existed back home.
It did not take long for Haydn to be introduced to St James Palace, in
particular the Prince of Wales who would become twenty years later the
Prince Regent. He bowed reverentially to Haydn on meeting him. The
King, George III, was also there. He listened intently to the Haydn music
despite a reputation of being faithful onl to one woman, Queen Charlotte
so he said - and one composer, Handel. At the other end of the social
spectrum, Haydn also recorded in his notebook the teeming nature of
the London subclasses, the amount of alcoholism and his take on the
odd punishments meted out under the English legal system. Whats
changed? It was at Westminster Abbey that Haydn first heard Handel
oratorios, The Messiah and Israel in Egypt which left him awestruck.
Here was planted the seed for his own later oratorio, The Creation. Then
came another block buster, a series of gladiatorial concerts which took
place between Haydn and Pleyel, another visiting composer at the time.
Pleyel (the 24th member of a family of 38) had actually been a star pupil
of Haydn. Their first encounter took place at a concert in Oxford where
both had works programmed. From here the press blew up this
supposed rivalry like contests between Federer and Nadal at the O2.

One outcome from these head to heads was a work Haydn had not
planned on. Pleyel had written a sinfonia-concertante which had gone
down well with the audience and which certainly impressed Haydn.
Similar to a concerto and part symphony, this was a genre not for a
single soloist but where the orchestra is fronted by a concertino
consisting of two or more players. In Haydns case it was for violin, cello,
oboe and, bassoon, and turned out to be one of his most delectable
works (but you can say that for all of Haydn).
All of this activity, concerts, compositions and travelling, socialising and
being lionised wherever he went, left Haydn exhausted. He needed rest
and recuperation which he got when staying with friends in Hertfordshire.
This wasnt helped by a letter from Esterhazy wanting his return for a
new opera seria. Haydn made his excuses but feared his pension might
get stopped. Between the concert seasons of 1791 Haydn was able to
complete four new symphonies, a fantastic rate of output in less than
one year. Meantime, with the 1791/2 season getting under way,
audiences were once again becoming feverish with excitement.
No-one knows how far Haydns relationships with women went excepting
that with his wife which amounted to zilch. Back at Esterhazy there had
been Luigia Polzelli, the soprano and mother of his supposed son. They
remained in communication and she claimed he was prepared to marry
her if he were free. When that situation did come about, he didnt. There
was also Maria Anna von Gensinger, the wife of Prince Nikolauss
doctor, and an able pianist to whom he gave piano lessons and
dedicated some of his works. He wrote to her from London in what might
be termed an intimate manner but the relationship is thought to have
remained platonic, at least from her side.
In London he developed new friendships. When Haydn became
interested in anatomy he met John Hunter, a leading surgeon of his day.
Hunter offered to remove the polyp in Haydns nose although Haydn was
a bit sniffy about this. His wife, Anne Hunter, was an early womens
libber with whom Haydn formed a close friendship. It probably was no
more than that at first but when Haydn returned in 1794, John Hunter
having died in the meantime, they resumed the relationship, with Haydn
visiting her frequently at her lodgings in Maze Hill. Whatever else might
have gone on in and around that salubrious area of Blackheath, he was
obviously not going there for French language lessons. What we do
know is they sang duets together amongst whatever else they might
have indulged in. Likewise, we can only muse on what if anything took
place between Haydn and Rebecca Schroeter (maiden name, Scott), a

brilliant concert pianist clearly admired by Haydn. She was a widow in

her forties and though Haydns letters to her have been lost hers to him
are impassioned enough to realize something was going on. He wrote
for her three piano trios including the famous gypsy rondo. When he
returned to London in 1794 he took lodgings just round the corner from
where she lived. Just good neighbours!
This joyous period was suddenly cataclysmically torn asunder by the
news of the death of Mozart on 5 th December 1791. Haydn had seen this
young genius develop, had shared the quartet platform with him, had
influenced him - Mozarts Haydn Quartets and the Haydnesque last
movements of his 38th (the Prague) and 39th symphonies - and in turn
had himself been a influenced by this up and coming, if not overtaking,
genius. There are many examples such as the influence of the overture
to Mozarts Magic Flute upon the opening Chaos from Haydns Creation.
Matthew has already demonstrated this to us.
This first visit to London fulfilled half the Salomon contract. Six
symphonies down, six more to go. Haydn left London to return home in
June 1792 having written to Prince Anton to inform him. The last concert
contained his symphony no 98. Its slow movement has an allusion to
God Save The King, a touching thank you and farewell to London. It was
a worrying journey to make. The French Wars had started in April 1792
with France attacking the Austrian Netherlands, an area that Haydn had
to avoid on his way home. His route again took him via Bonn. Here the
authorities differ somewhat. Some say he did meet Beethoven who
presented Haydn with a cantata and that Haydn invited him to come to
Vienna to study with him. Others indicate that this was arranged by
Count Waldstein who sent Beethoven a letter of introduction and a note
stating Through your diligence receive Mozarts spirit from the hands of
Haydn.
There followed a relatively quiet intermission in Vienna lasting 18
months, a year more than Haydn had planned. Now he was freelancing,
out on his own. Concerts of his London symphonies were played which
gave the Vienna public an opportunity to hear his music live, previously
only performed privately. He was still receiving his pension and had
made up any differences with the Prince. In any event during his stay in
London he had earned twenty times more than he would have been paid
by Esterhazy, which itself was by no means insubstantial, pre-echoes
here of Dvorak when signed up by the New York Conservatory 100 years
later. There were various reasons for the delays as pointed out by
Richard Wigmore in his sketch on Haydn. Supposedly Haydn was a free

agent but the attitude of the Prince was that Haydn had been away long
enough. Haydns reputation was already one of renown but his recent
triumph in London had made him a world star and it seems that the
Prince might have reckoned on the presence of Haydn being an added
attraction for his guests. Then, another reason for the delay was that
Haydn decided to have a nose job done and the polyp surgically
removed and he needed time to recover. Then on 21 January 1793, six
months after his return to Vienna, the French went and guillotined their
king, Louis XVI followed by war breaking out between Britain and France
in February. Haydn wouldnt have been blamed for thinking, Dont go
there, Syria might be safer.
Haydns residence during the thirty Esterhazy years was in one or other
of their great palaces of Eisenstadt or Esterhaza. It wasnt a case of
having left his moaning wife, Maria Anna, at home. Originally, he had
planned to marry her younger sister but she entered a convent. He then
felt honour bound to marry the older sister and got his just desserts. It
was no love match and soon afterwards they separated and each led
independent lives. It was a locked in syndrome marriage. He did
however continue to support Maria Anna until her death. On leaving the
Esterhazys in 1790 he had on the advice of his wife bought a large
bungalow in a leafy Vienna suburb and planned to build another storey
on top. It seems strange that after thirty years of separation Haydn would
contemplate living again under the same roof with a woman he intensely
disliked but he must have thought it his duty. What we do know is that
he lodged with his friend, fellow composer, Hamburger, whilst the
building works were being done and resumed doing so when he returned
to Vienna from London in 1792. Of course the builders may have just
been slow! Whats new?
Beethoven had arrived in Vienna in November 1792 to take lessons from
Haydn specifically seeking to improve his counterpoint and harmony.
The received history is that the two men did not get on. True Beethoven
had told his own pupil, Ries, that he had never learned anything from
Haydn. There is no doubt that Haydn turned out to be a disappointment
as a teacher. Beethoven largely knew where his limitations lay and
wanted those addressed. Haydn was by nature too easy going, very
likely dispensing pearls of wisdom like on those Master Class
programmes on the telly. Beethoven was exacting in seeking what he
wanted and impatient to get it. It was clearly the wrong mix. Having said
that, there seems little doubt that each held respect and, in Beethovens
case, reverence for the other. Haydn had taken Beethoven with him to
Eisentstadt and also suggested Beethoven accompany him to London,

hardly the act of somebody with whom one is at odds. Beethoven

dedicated one of his opus 1 cello sonatas to Haydn and publicly
acclaimed him after the first performance of The Creation in 1798. The
influence of Haydn can be heard not only in the early symphonies of
Beethoven but in the last movement of the fourth symphony and
particularly throughout the eighth symphony. Its second movement
which aimed to poke fun at the metronome invented by Maelzel is surely
a homage to the composer of the second movement of symphony no.
101, The Clock.
Eventually in January 1794, now 70 years old, Haydn, accompanied by
his copyist Elssler, set out on the journey to London in a coach provided
by Baron van Swietman who would later be the librettist for both The
Creation and The Seasons. Whatever the anticipated perils, Haydn
arrived safely in London sixteen days later, good going. There he
resumed life where he had left off eighteen months earlier, taking new
lodgings round the corner from Rebecca Schroeter. He had already
written his symphony number 99, whose opening displays that powerful
sound world as that of Beethoven would be just a few years on. By this
time the Salomon orchestra had increased in size with added clarinets
which Haydn included for the first time. His next symphony, the Military,
ran up his century which he ought to have celebrated it with champagne
but I dont suppose Haydn was counting. It had an added Turkish
battery with triangle, bass drum and side drum with trumpet fanfares,
good for public morale in time of war. It was a war where Haydn got
caught up in the excitement particularly after the Battle of the Glorious
First of June which took place off the Ushant. Actually it was not quite
that glorious as both sides claimed to have won. Haydn developed an
interest in ships and visited Portsmouth to examine with horror a
damaged French ship. He also visited Bath staying with the retired
castrato, Rauzzini. Funny to think, looking back, that Haydn could have
lost his tackle as well.
His next symphony in the London cycle was the Clock which was a
great favourite with the crowds, just as his Surprise symphony had
been three years before. The symphonies with titles tend to be better
known. Symphony No 102 has had no title but should by rights have
been given the sobriquet of The Miracle which was a label mistakenly
tagged on to No 96. Like Pleyel previously, this time it was the turn of
the Italian composer, Viotti to be a visiting composer although there
would be no gladiatorial concert contests this time. However, it was war
time and economies needed to be made. Salomon, unable to recruit
singers from across the Channel, decided to combine his concerts with
those of Viotti at the Kings Theatre, Haymarket. It was there, when

Haydn appeared, the crowd surged forward to get a view of him. This
was at the premier of his symphony 102 during which the chandelier
came crashing down from the ceiling into the vacant space left behind.
No-one fortunately was killed, just a few minor injuries, a miracle if ever
there were one. These last symphonies were Haydn on a bigger scale
than ever before, no doubt encouraged by the experience of writing with
a larger orchestra in mind. No 103, the Drum Roll and No 104, the
London, are amongst his best known. No-one knows why the last of the
series was called the London as they are all collectively known by that
name but only the last is so called individually. Actually Haydn did call
the series the English. Most Haydn symphonies have a uniquely
recognizable OReilly minuet but this one has the best OReilly minuet of
all. OReilly? Yes, really. It was Matthew Taylor in his series on Haydn in
London who said you can always make out a Haydn minuet from a
Mozart one. You just apply the OReilly test which the majority of
Haydn symphonies pass. Try humming the minuet from the London, if
you know it (I emphasize where the beat comes) - to the following
words. Oh are you the OReilly who owns this hotel? The fourth
movement is again his farewell to London. Set against a drone, it is
cheerful, its main tune thought possibly to be based on the cry of a
shrimp seller, but one feels. just a touch of a tear. Yes it was the last of
the twelve London symphonies but it could be thought of as Haydn
drawing the curtain on the symphony. One hundred and four of them.
The fact is we can all be wise after the event but I doubt Haydn realized
it would be the last. He would live on for fourteen more years of which
seven would be active. There was no reason to suppose that this would
be his last, except that we now know it was. If he notched up his century
with the Military, he finished after the London, 104 not out. England
could do with him now.
Haydn stayed on in London for two more months putting his affairs in
order. He wrote three piano trios for Rebecca Schroeter. He had many
friends urging him to stay. Even Queen Charlotte offered him rooms in
Windsor Castle if he would stay on and where she said they could enjoy
a tte tte: That did not induce him. George III then asked him why he
would not stay to which he replied he had a duty to his Prince, his
country and (you wont believe this) his wife! The King so understood
that he immediately offered to have Haydns wife brought to England.
Haydn was horrified. A case of the biter bitten. His skills in improvisation
came to hand riposting she would not cross the Danube let alone the
ocean. So it was that Haydn and his copyist set out on the return
journey to Vienna in August 1995
Back in Vienna the builders had still not yet finished the new house. A
few months on and Haydn and his frau moved in together i.e at the

same time. He had an entourage of seven including Ellsler, copyist and

general factotum like Figaro, living on one floor whilst she kept her
distance with her separate quarters in the other. It was a modus vivendi
with life at a distance. Domestic arrangements in place, Haydn also had
to sort himself out with the new prince. The fact was that Haydn had
made a packet in London but nevertheless remained titular
kappelmeister to the Esterharzys. Prince Nikolaus was not interested in
music but spent his vast fortune on expanding his art collection. He
seems to have been a nasty bit of work who had had over 200
mistresses and at least 100 princely bastards. There was no way the
Prince of Wales (later Prinny, the Prince Regent) was going to compete
with that. Prince Nikolaus also kept his own private brothel, a man who
thought of everything for the better satisfaction of his guests but
available to himself also should he have felt hungry in the middle of the
night. His wife, Princess Maria Hermenegild whom he married for
dynastic reasons, was barely 16 and packed off out of the way. The only
requirement of Haydn was that he write a mass each year for the
princess, to be played on the first Sunday after her names day in
September. That was the easy part. It allowed him plenty of time to
undertake other commissions, whilst he still could, and at the same time
the Esterhazys would continue to look after him in his old age, if and
when he couldnt.
Haydn had written masses earlier during his full time service but what he
now embarked upon was a mass for each year which would be written
on the scale of his London symphonies. Not everybody takes to
devotional music but if you dont know the Haydn masses you should.
They are more than devotional, more like powerful virtual choral
symphonies usually with full orchestra but not quite always. They can be
in sonata form, heroic sounding or operatic sounding. The church at
Eisenstadt where most were first played on Names Day Sunday is in
Austrian Rococo style and there is something about the music which
seems to reflect that. They all have much the same order of play from
the Kyrie opening the batting to the Agnus Dei, last man in, and are
about 45 minutes long. Best known are the Mass in Time of War and the
Nelson Mass. The former was written in 1796 about a year after his
return from London, written when invasion by Napoleons forces was
expected. It is also known as the Pauken Mass pauken is the German
for kettledrum, which prominently figures. This mass is seen as
containing anti-war sentiments and has been played in concerts
promoted by Amnesty International for its pacifist leanings The Nelson
was so called because Nelson himself visited Eisenstadt about two
years after it was written. Otherwise Horatio had no other connection.
By coincidence its first performance in 1798 took place following

Nelsons victory at the Battle of the Nile but Haydn would not have
known about that. He gave it the name Mass in Straitened Times
reflecting, as some believe, the conditions in the country generally
following the invasion, but the more likely reason was because the
Prince had made cut backs and laid off his woodwind band. Haydn
therefore had to score the Mass without them. The Creation Mass, so
called from his quoting a theme from the oratorio of that name, caused a
carping complaint from Maria Theresa. There is also a Mass named after
a Maria Theresa but not the same one. This one was Maria Theresa of
Naples and Sicily, not Maria Theresa, Queen of Austria Hungary. How
did I not know that? All in all, Haydn wrote six masses in the years
between1796 and 1802.
Haydn had not got back to writing symphonies although we do not know
why. It may just be he felt he had said all there was to be said but I
somehow doubt that. There is probably another reason. His whole
lifestyle and work ethic had changed in the years 1796-1802. In the
Esterharzy years he would have been asked, or more likely told, the
Prince requires a symphony. No questions asked except by what date.
Now five years post Esterhazy, three of which were spent in London, he
had to make his way like the younger set of composers about him,
seeking commissions or sponsorship. No difficulty for Haydn about that
with his standing but they would usually be for string quartets and other
chamber works. There were no concert impresarios for orchestral works,
as in London. Both Mozart before and Beethoven after had to promote
their own. Haydn now had to earn his living like everyone else although
he had stashed away a bit and he had his pension. Amongst his
sponsors were Prince Lobkowitz, better known for the works dedicated
to him by Beethoven, and Count Erdody who commissioned what would
be the most popular set of Haydn quartets, the opus 76s, which include
the Emperor quartet. The world of the kappelmeister, a high ranking
lackey, was disappearing with the periwigs and a new generation of
freelancers were competing for sponsors or looking for publishers such
as Atari or Breitkopf and Hartel. Apart from string quartets, Haydns
commissions had moved into the choral/orchestral field. Since London,
inspired by Handel, he had had in mind writing an oratorio and began to
work on The Creation, based on Genesis and Miltons Paradise Lost.
When Haydn returned to Vienna, he asked Baron van Swieten to
prepare the libretto. The Baron was the librarian in charge of the
imperial library, amateur musician, and music patron. He also prepared
the German translation (Die Schpfung). Matthew played to us an
orchestral illustration from the opening section depicting Chaos. Haydn
is here an absolute revolutionary in creating an introduction to represent
a formless void. I wonder whether Vaughan Williams might have had it in

mind in writing the fourth movement of his sixth symphony. Compare that
formlessness with the opening of Nielsens 4 th symphony (the
Inextinguishable) of 1916. Its opening seems to depict creation, not that
Nielsen specifically described it as such, but it is more like the big bang
theory of creation with nebulae exploding out of nowhere in all directions.
For many, Haydns Creation is his greatest work.
The mighty
thunderbolts at the end of the Chaos sequence introduced an orchestral
tumult as never before heard in 1798. This is not the playful joking
Haydn we all think of but the greatest composer on earth at the time.
No sooner had Haydn completed the Creation than van Swieten was
coming up with another idea, The Seasons. Again this is based on an
English poem, this time by James Thomson, but the action is transposed
from England to Austria. This has no biblical setting but a tale of an
Austrian farming family. Haydn had great difficulty this time with the text,
not helped by his declining physical health. It took him two years to
complete and instead of promoting it himself, as with The Creation, he
got Breitkopf & Hartel to publish. Some consider it the greater work of
the two. It seems to me a happier work, deliberately naive in style and
more happy go lucky.
In 1800, Haydns wife, Maria Anna Haydn, died but if Luigia Polzelli
thought it left the door open for her Haydn was not having any of it. In
1803 Haydn could not go on and the time to put the pen down had
arrived. He had written two movements of his opus 103 quartet for
Prince Lobkowitz but could go no further. He had had his time.
This period from 1796 to 1802 is the most interesting crossover period
starting with Haydn still at the height of his powers producing his mighty
Creation at the same time as Beethoven was writing his first two piano
concertos. In this period of overlap Haydn produced his opus 76 quartets
at the same time as Beethoven was producing his Opus 18 quartets.
They become intertwined. Little wonder that Beethoven took it badly
when Haydn proposed that Beethoven publish his opus 1 cello sonatas
as pupil of Haydn. Beethoven did not wish to be perceived as ersatz
Haydn but as echt-Beethoven. Haydn probably thought it would give
Beethoven a leg up. The world post Eroica would not have been for
Haydn. He remained the revered master and in 1808 a tribute
performance of The Creation took place in Haydns presence although
he had to leave by the interval. I cannot think of another composer who
was so inventive and never it seemed repeated himself. As John Keats
said,Haydn is like a child, for there is no knowing what he will do next.

From 1803 Haydn could only watch from the pavilion. In 1809 stumps
were drawn.