Haydneum Concerts in Eszterháza – Hungarian connections in keyboard music of a century

If the programme of this concert only promised a few snapshots of the keyboard pieces from this half-century-long period, it would already be an exciting and complex goal to achieve. This is because the hundred years in question are the ones between 1770 and 1870, when keyboard instruments underwent exceptionally dynamic transformations. However, the programme will also elucidate how the musical self-determination of specific cultural environments developed around that time.

The organological changes of this era were expressed especially prominently in keyboard music. Haydn’s harpsichord, for which he wrote his Op. 1 sonatas, was a completely different instrument from the fortepianos of Schubert’s time, not to mention the pianos belonging to Goldmark or even Brahms, a good friend of Ludwig Bösendorfer’s – these differences are clearly audible in the texture of the pieces as well. The artistic representation of Hungarian culture also underwent significant changes at that time. The first officially published bouquet of sonatas by Haydn does not show any Hungarian characteristics; the works dedicated to Prince Esterházy were simply a way to say thank you for being permitted to perform publicly. On the other hand, the Viennese Schubert and Brahms, who also became enamoured with Viennese life, both had an affinity for the imitation of the Hungarian style with its Verbunkos and Romani inspirations, as evidenced by this concert programme as well. At the same time, the Op. 12 piano pieces by the German-speaking Karl Goldmark, who also lived and worked in Vienna, show no hint of this characteristic despite its exceptional popularity at the time. He only become a focal point of Hungarian cultural identity through his familial ties.