in Esterháza and London
The uninhabited island
The court of the Esterházys was known throughout Europe for its splendour and magnificence. During a trip to France in 1764, Nikolaus Esterházy had been so impressed by the grandeur of Versailles that he decided to build a summer residence in Esterháza to rival the French example. And if we are to believe the descriptions of contemporaries, he was as good as his word. Magnificent parties were held at Esterháza, and each occasion was accompanied by music and theatrical performances. The ‘Beschreibung des Hochfürstlichem Schlosses Esterháss’ (= description of the royal palace Esterháss), dating from 1784, contains the following passage: “Every day both serious and comic operas, as well as German comedies, are staged, which are always attended by Prince Esterházy. The performance usually begins at six o’clock at night. What the eyes and ears experience here, is impossible to describe. The music stemming from the full orchestra penetrates the soul, ranging from the most moving tenderness to the greatest possible brute force produced by the instruments. Mr. Haydn, the great composer who serves the prince as musical leader, is himself also in charge of the excellent illumination, which provides the most deceptive tableaux. Clouds bearing gods slowly descend, rising again after some time to disappear from view. At times, one thinks that one is in a beautiful garden; at others, in an enchanted forest or manorial hall.”
These words illustrate the important status accorded to opera at the court. Another proof of this is the speed with which performances were resumed following an outbreak of fire in the theatre on November 18, 1779. That fire must have caused a great deal of damage. The Pressburger Zeitung reported the following: “[The damage] will amount to more than 1,000,000 Gulden according to various sources. Two beautiful clocks; the gorgeous theatre costumes; the entire music collection, which was collated at great expense over a long period of time; the musical instruments, among which the magnificent Flieg [harpsichord] of the reputed Kapellmeister Haiden [sic] and the concert violin of the virtuoso Lotschi [Luigi Tomasini]; everything was lost to fire and flame.”
Nevertheless, just one month later on December 6 – the birthday of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy – Haydn succeeded in staging a new opera: L’isola disabitata (= the uninhabited island), to a libretto by the reputed lyricist Pietro Metastasio. Haydn himself called the work an ‘azione teatrale’, but it is very similar to an opera seria (which is remarkable, as generally there was a marked preference at Esterháza for operas of a more light-hearted nature and content). L’isola disabitata is also remarkable for not containing any secco recitatives: it is through-composed in the style of Hasse, and the recitatives are accompanied by the entire orchestra.
The overture to L’isola disabitata has a symphonic character. The work is written in a minor key (G minor), as were many symphonies written by Haydn at the time: the atmosphere of the work is also consistent with the ‘Sturm und Drang’ movement. Large parts of the overture follow the basic lay-out of a traditional Italian sinfonia (fast – slow – shortened repetition of the fast part), yet in a number of places Haydn deviates from this pattern, for instance, by placing a dramatic slow introduction before the first Vivace assai.

“A bloody harmonious war”
One of the most important associations in the history of music began with the now-famous sentence: “I am Salomon from London and have come to fetch you. Tomorrow we shall conclude an agreement.” The German-born violinist and impresario Johann Peter Salomon was one of the first major private entrepreneurs to organize concerts. His concerts in London were held in high esteem, as he managed time after time to entice interesting singers and instrumentalists to the capital. Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were high on his wish list. Salomon’s timing could not have been better, when he invited Haydn to come to London to give a number of concerts featuring his own compositions in the Hanover Square Rooms during the season 1791/1792: for, although following the death of Nikolaus Esterházy Haydn remained in his position of court Kapellmeister at the court of his successor Anton, the latter was not very interested in music. Apparently, during Haydn’s farewell supper, which was held on December 14, 1790, Salomon also offered Mozart a contract to come to London the following season. However, this was a journey that Mozart would never undertake, as he died on December 5, 1791.
Salomon expected a great deal from Haydn: the composer was requested to compose and conduct one opera (L’anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice), six symphonies and 20 other works. But the concerts were a major success in London, and “by particular desire,” Haydn had to repeat various symphonies during his first season.
Thanks to the success of the association between Haydn and Salomon, a rival concert organizer – the Professional Concerts – decided to invite to London Haydn’s former pupil, the French composer Ignace Pleyel. Pleyel’s concertante symphonies were received with general admiration. They consisted on the whole of three movements, and were an interim form between the solo concerto and the symphony, in which a number of soloists entered into dialogue with the orchestra.
Haydn was “not amused,” as is apparent from a letter to his friend Marianne von Genzinger, dated January 17, 1792: “…a bloody harmonious war will commence between master and pupil…” Salomon and Haydn decided to fight Pleyel with his own weapons. Thus Haydn wrote a sinfonia concertante for violin, oboe, cello, bassoon and orchestra. The work was given its première on March 9, 1792, in the fourth subscription concert presented by Salomon, during which the latter himself played the highly demanding violin part. Haydn’s scheme was a success, as both the press and the audience reacted with extraordinary enthusiasm to this work, which was written in the French style. The “Oracle” reported the following: “Haydn directed for the first time the performance of a new concertante – the third movement of which seemed expressly calculated to shew the brilliancy of Salomon’s, and the sweetness of his tone. The prevailing manner of this master pervaded every movement – it had all his usual grandeur, contrasted by the levity of airy transition, and the sudden surprises of abrupt rests... The Company were brilliant.” And “The Monday Herald” agreed with the former: “The last performance at Salomon’s Concert deserves to be mentioned as one of the richest treats which the present season has afforded. A new concertante from Haydn combined with all the excellencies of music; it was profound, airy, and original, and the performance was in unison with the merit of the composition. Salomon particularly exerted himself on this occasion, in doing justice to the music of his friend Haydn.”
Just a week later, the Sinfonia Concertante was repeated at the request of the public. In the meantime, Haydn and Pleyel had also made their peace, London was big enough for the both of them. Haydn writes the following: “Pleyel behaved so modestly towards me upon his arrival that he won my affection again... We shall share our laurels equally and each go home satisfied.”

The kitten that turned out
to be a tiger
Haydn left London in June 1792, but was back again by February 4, 1794. This time, he had no fear of rivals, as the Professional Concerts had gone bankrupt in the meantime. Nevertheless, Haydn had a full agenda yet again. There were 12 concerts programmed, with new compositions for each, including 6 symphonies. On March 31, 1794, Haydn presented his Symphony No.100, the Military, to his audience. The title was written on the bills, and as such must have been conceived of by Haydn or Salomon. In later editions, the symphony is also named the Turkish Symphony. Both titles refer to the use of the bass drum (played with two different drum-sticks simultaneously), cymbals, and triangle in the second and fourth movements.
The various skirmishes with the Turks that led to the siege of Vienna also resulted in the introduction to Western music of percussion instruments, as employed in the music for the Janissaries. This combination of bass drum, cymbals and triangle (whether or not including resonating rings) was subsequently employed by many composers either to achieve an exotic effect (as in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail = Abduction from the Seraglio, written two years previously), or as a reference to the terrors of the war.
The second movement of Haydn’s Military Symphony is based on a divertimento for hurdy-gurdy, which he had written in 1786 for the King of Naples. However, he transforms this rustic melody into a slow march, reinforced by the percussion of the music for the Janissaries. The March is interrupted by a military trumpet-call, after which the battle begins with an unprecedentedly fortissimo A-flat chord. For six bars, there is no sign of melody or rhythm, just this one cry of despair. At the time, the audience reacted enthusiastically to this movement, with “absolute shouts of applause”.
By means of contrast, this is followed by a chivalrous minuet. At first, the Finale appears to be carefree and frolicsome, but at the end the military music disperses the cheerful atmosphere. The prominent musicologist Donald Tovey described this movement imaginatively as: “…a kitten, until Haydn shows it to be a promising young tiger.” It is interesting to see that, until the middle of last century, this symphony was considered by commentators to be a proud and heroic composition. More recently, though, the symphony has often been interpreted as an anti-military and anti-war work, in part due to the influence of an article written by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Each era redefines the meanings behind Haydn’s music, which remains as fascinating as it was over two centuries ago. The words of the Morning Chronicle from April 15, 1795 provide a beautiful summary of this: “This wonderful man never fails; and the various powers of his inventive and impassioned mind have seldom been conceived with more accuracy by the Band, or listened to with greater rapture by the hearers, than they were on this evening.”

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