How annoying is Haydn?

[j_menz]

OK, I'm not a great fan of Haydn.  I like a whole heap of bits of his works; they're interesting, innovative and quite lovely. BUT it's like he's got ADHD. Look, a butterfly, no look over there at the sunset, oh look a bird, no over there, a flower! He gets a bit better as he gets older, but all up he doesn't seem able to sustain an idea for more than 10 seconds and it annoys the heck out of me.

Anyone agree?

Here endeth the rant!

[nagatomo]

Interestingly, I agree with what you say about his "chop & change" approach (it isn't really, but I can't think of any better way of putting it at the mo) to the majority of Haydn Sonatas, especially in his first movements, but I find that is one of the charm he offers...  You open the door which you think will lead to a corridor, but actually, it was a grand drawing room... kind of a magic or surprise element in his structure...

I am fond of Haydn Sonatas (ok, I only play around 6 or 7), particularly his first and second movements.  Third movements in general, is a little "light" for me...  In some ways, I prefer Haydn Sonatas rather than Mozart's, even though Mozart IS my favourite composer...  Mozart's Piano Concertos, these I love...

[christovr]

Love Haydn no end,
I get your point, but maybe it's part of where his strenght lies.  He wouldn't have had to be so innovative as you yourself stated if he did'nt have to come uip with so many novel ideas to create a composion of any substantal lenght?  At any rate - I prefer his approach to the alternative: a composer sustaining an idea long after it has been worn out - and there are plenty of those...

[forte88]

I only realized what a great composer Haydn was when I first start listening to his string quartets(like the adagios of opus 1 no 3; op.2 no 2; 9 no2/6; 76 no 2)I certainly wouldn't describe him as annoying

[christovr]

'The Creation' to my mind should put to rest any qualms anyone might have about the merrits of this collosus.

[haydnseeker]

It's true that the piano didn't often bring the best out of Haydn.  Though a capable player, he wasn't a high-level one and he didn't have much opportunity to write for people who were: a few of the later sonatas and (especially) piano trios are the exceptions.

To understand Haydn fully, get to know his string quartets - lots of them - preferably in conjunction with Hans Keller's book The Great Haydn Quartets.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Hayden may be annoying...

But NOBODY is as annoying as Bach! 

Blegh...

[asuhayda]

Hayden may be annoying...

But NOBODY is as annoying as Bach! 

Blegh...

oh man... you actually went there.  You said it.. it's real now.

[49410enrique]

Hayden may be annoying...

But NOBODY is as annoying as Bach!  

Blegh...

come on now. dear P.D.Q Bach may be quirky but I wouldn't call him annoying. It's part of his charm. I mean c'mon a blues scale in the prelude and chopsticks in the fugue? i rather like it.

btw if you get a chance, spend a few minutes carefully reading the cover and first six pages (editor's 'remarks' ) of the score. it's freakn hilarious. not annoying. maybe a little but funny enough to put up with lol

ps more genius, who can forget (or remember) the great 1712 overture.

[scherzo123]

Hayden may be annoying...

But NOBODY is as annoying as Bach! 

Blegh...

I agree.

[j_menz]

come on now. dear P.D.Q Bach may be quirky but I wouldn't call him annoying. It's part of his charm. I mean c'mon a blues scale in the prelude and chopsticks in the fugue? i rather like it.

LOL, PDQ is probably my second favourite Bach.

If the thing with chopsticks had actually been a fugue (preferably in 3 voices as the context dictates) he might even move up a notch. 

[j_menz]

Hayden may be annoying...

But NOBODY is as annoying as Bach! 

Blegh...

 

Anybody you can't play is annoying. You've missed the point.

[landru]

I definitely agree about Haydn. When my teacher brought playing a sonata by him, I told her that I like them, but they are so episodic. I'm glad someone else feels that way.

Now, when you play Mozart or Beethoven, each bar/theme just flow into each other seamlessly, like there is no other way it could be. With Haydn, it's like "Hey, new measure! what now?"

The funny thing is that I've listened to all of his symphonies, piano trios and some quartets and I don't get that feeling at all in those pieces.

[christovr]

I'm sure pro and anti Haydn topics abound in the archives of this forum and I don't want to take a one composer versus another approach, but seriously, there is so much of worth in the piano sonatas.  The beauty of the some of the slow movements is equal to that of Mozart and Beethoven and the wit of some of the final movements (dare I say it) surpasses these two in that regard.  I find the best of these sonatas to be extremely cleverly thought out structurally, with much thought given to dramatic pace and emotional effect.  Not to mention that they are generally speaking so naturally written with the pianist in mind.  And I consider these sonatas an indispensable warehouse for teaching cantabile, phrasing, articulation and habitual accuracy.  Remember that the only models Haydn had for these works were CPE Bach and maybe Scarlatti (not sure on that point).  His works represent a broad step forward, for sure.

[shubertimproviz]

Haydn is annoying:)

[49410enrique]

slightlyOT but still related, at least  Ukranian contemporary classical composer and pianist Valentyn Silvestrov didn't find him too anoying or we woudn't have this lovely modern little jewel of a work inspired by our dear Franz Joseph

just wanted to share a pretty piece that might have otherwised flown under the radar to for many folks were it not for this interesting conversation
pianist Dmytro Sukhovienko , music (c. 2010), "An Instant of Haydn"
 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I agree.

We see eye to eye every time! 

[rachel11221]

Yes, I would agree with the original sentiment. I've played a fair few Haydn sonatas and always infinitely preferred Mozart. Bach, of course I always prefer to almost anything, but there was something about Haydn that grated on my nerves, sort of the seeming simplicity, happiness? I don't know, I admire his mastery of course, but Mozart always had this sort of darker edge that I appreciated so much more.

[krajcher]

Hayden may be annoying...

But NOBODY is as annoying as Bach! 

Blegh...

How beautiful can be annoying? I am sure you made a mistake unconsciously and you didn't mean Bach!

[j_menz]

OK, I'm going to look into the quartets (he did invent the form, after all). Keep you posted once they arrive.