Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Mozart vs. Haydn

Haydn's gift to music was a way of composing which was at the same time in accord with the new style of Classicism. However, a younger man, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, brought his genius to Haydn's ideas and applied them to two of the major genres of the day: opera, and the virtuoso concerto. On the other hand, Haydn spent much of his working life as a court composer. Mozart wanted public success in the concert life of cities. This meant opera, and it meant performing as a virtuoso. Haydn was not a virtuoso at the international touring level. Moreover, Mozart also had a taste for more chromatic chords (and greater contrasts in harmonic language ), a greater love for creating many melodies in a single work, and a more sensibility in music as a whole. He found, in Haydn's music and later in his study of the polyphony of Bach, the means to discipline and enrich his gifts. Mozart was all about getting his name out there. He loved playing for large audiences and especially for royalty. Haydn did not care for large crowds. He was mostly focused on the people in the audience. These two men contributed so much to the Classical style of music. They were similar in style but were different in many ways as well.

3 comments:

  1. While this post focused on the differences between Haydn and Mozart, I would like to focus on some of their similarities. Both brought the principles of equality and reason into their music, which were characteristic of the Enlightenment. Haydn showed his belief in equality in music through his creation of the string quartet, which was composed of 2 violins, a viola, and a cello. This quartet provided for equal participance by all the players. Mozart also showed his belief in equality in music by emphasizing that women were people too, not just objects. For example in his opera, "The Marriage of Figaro," the women were the ones in the lead, driving the action of the show. Equality was also expressed in the opera because it was tailored toward everyday people, and the servants were the main focus. Another thing that Haydn and Mozart had in common was Freemasonry. Haydn was involved with the Free Masons first and brought Mozart into the group. Therefore Haydn and Mozart had several commonalities and were influential in the classical music of the Enlightenment.

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  2. I think Mozart and Haydn are really more similar then most would believe. Haydn has been described as deliberate, kindly, bright, and capable of Calm judgment. On the other hand, Mozart has been called sensitive, vivacious, arrogant, and impressionable. The most obvious differences between Mozart and Haydn occur as a direct result of lineage, and other circumstances revolving around their youth years. By the age of six, both had displayed a tremendous amount of natural talent. However, their prospects for wealth and fame were vastly different. Haydn grew up in a peasant family, and while they were believed to be a musical family, no one in his family had previously had a career in music. On the other hand, Mozart was born into a upper class family, with his father being a highly regarded violinist. I think these two musicians are very similar with their most obvious differences coming from their youth.

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  3. I believe Mozart was the kid Haydn always wanted to be. I think that he resented him. In class we talked about how Haydn always wanted to be gifted in some way. He always wanted to play music when he was younger and be immortal so that after he died, his work would still live on. It is true that his work lived on, Surprise Symphony and the Farewell, etc., but when he hear Mozart, he knew it was looking grim. Haydn was mad that as a kid, he could have never been remotely close to Mozart in anyway. I believe this ideas was coupled with the fact that whenever you are doing something that most people revere as good and then a child prodigy comes and takes your fame away and then go chase girls around you get a little bitter. So Haydn, you should have chased a couple of young ladies around and maybe that would have helped your music. Not saying it was bad, but it wasn't Mozart...

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