Haydneum Concerts in Eszterháza – Haydn and Beethoven chamber music

This concert programme paints an exciting picture of the dynamically transforming music tastes of the eventful turn of the century. The meeting of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the shock of the French Revolution, the steamroller of the Napoleonic Wars, which is the era of Haydn and Beethoven, was not any less dynamic a period than the dawn of the 20^th century, born among turbulent economic, political and cultural struggles.

Very generally speaking, the second half of the 18^th century was the age of entertaining music being interpreted as a high-class and extremely important cultural phenomenon. It was a time of lively dialogue between professional and amateur performers, amateur and paid composers through compositions that showcased expertise and refined conversation. The labels of divertimentos, concertos, sonatas, and trios may well have seemed interchangeable quite frequently as these more closely described the setup and the dialogue between the voices, rather than the structure of the piece, as evidenced by Haydn’s Divertimento in C major, composed for two violins, a cello, and a harpsichord around 1767, his Piano Trio in C major, published in 1797 and dedicated to the famous pianist, Therese Jansen, or his Quartet in D major for Strings, written in 1772 and published later as part of the Op. 20 series. On the other hand, Beethoven’s grand and virtuosic 1807 work, Piano Concerto No. 4 presented to Prince Lobkowitz, aimed for a completely different effect: instead of dialogue, it intended to impress the audience and offer extasy instead of simple enjoyment, very much in line with Romantic values.