麻豆约拍

Donald Macleod compares and contrasts two of Haydn's closest and longest personal relationships, with music including his early Salve Regina and his celebrated Horn Concerto in D.

The streets must have seemed like they were paved with gold when Haydn visited London in 1791. He was feted and applauded everywhere he went as one of Europe鈥檚 leading composers. He hobnobbed with royalty, the Prince of Wales commissioned a portrait of him from leading society portraitist John Hoppner. It鈥檚 still regarded as one of the best images we have today.

Haydn could hardly have imagined all this as a boy. His really is a rags-to-riches story. Born in 1732 in humble circumstances, Haydn's musical talent won him a position as a choir boy in Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral. However, he was forced to leave after his voice broke and, by the age of 17, he was on the streets, with only 鈥渢hree miserable shirts and a worn-out coat鈥� to his name. Happily, his life did then take an upward turn. Haydn was employed by the Esterh脿zys, one of the most powerful and influential families in the Hapsburg monarchy, for an astonishing 48 years.

But this week, Donald Macleod puts the public face of this celebrated figure to one side. He鈥檚 going to be looking at Haydn through a narrower lens, drawing a picture of the composer through the relationships he enjoyed with some of his closest family and friends.

If Haydn had applied hindsight to his decision to marry, it's highly probable he would have reconsidered his options. By contrast, his feelings for one of the court singers were considerably warmer, enduring long after their affair had petered out.

Piano Trio No. 4 in F major, Hob.XV:39
Scherzo
Beaux Arts Trio

Signor voi sapete, Hob.XXIVb:7
Written for insertion in Anfossi鈥檚 鈥淚l matrimonio per inganno鈥�
Chen Reiss, soprano, Rosina
l鈥橝rte del mondo
Werner Ehrhardt, conductor

Symphony no 1 in D major, Hob 1/1
I: Presto
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra
脕d谩m Fischer, conductor

Salve Regina in E major, Hob. XXIIIb:1
I. Salve Regina
Nancy Argenta, soprano
Collegium Musicum 90 Choir
Collegium Musicum 90
Richard Hickox, director

Horn Concerto no 1 in D, Hob.VIId:3
I: Allegro
II: Adagio
III: Allegro
Alec Frank-Gemmill, horn
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Nicholas McGeegan, conductor

Vada adagio, signorina, Hob.XXIVb:12
for P. Guglielmi: La Quakera spiritosa
Chen Reiss, soprano, Cardellina
l鈥橝rte del mondo
Werner Ehrhardt, conductor

L'isola disabilitata, Act 2, sc 12
Quartet: Sono contenta appieno
Anett Fritsch, soprano, Costanza
Sunhae Im, soprano, Silvia
Krystian Adam, tenor Enrico
Andr茅 Morsch, baritone, Gernando鈥檚 companion
Akademie f眉r Alte Musik Berlin
Bernhard Forck, musical direction

Producer: Johannah Smith for 麻豆约拍 Audio