program - SVIZ

koračniški utrip), solistična linija pa postaja izrazito virtuozna. Čajkovski
je Mozarta prav gotovo oboževal, a vendarle ne toliko, da bi žrtvoval
svoj lastni glasbeni izraz.
We justifiably regard Joseph Haydn as the ‘father’ of the symphony. Although
he was not the first composer of symphonies he did write more than
one hundred such works and made the most decisive contribution to the
development of the form, for which he undoubtedly deserves first place
amongst the early symphonic composers. Haydn gained the first Major success
in his career in 1761, when he became the assistant chapel master in the
court of Prince Paul Anton Esterházy. The latter was an extraordinarily well
educated man, and wanted to transform his new court in Eisenstadt into a
contemporary cultural centre. Due to the fact that the incumbent chapel
master, G.J. Werner, was a rather conservative figure, Prince Esterházy placed
at his side Joseph Haydn, whose contract was somewhat unusual: he was
clearly established in second place to Werner, but at the same time he was
given all of the essential tasks that should fall to the ‘principal’ chapel master.
Thus Haydn was responsible for the maintenance of the music archive and
instruments, he had to teach singing, he was active as a performer (both
as a soloist and as a member of the orchestra), and he was also obliged “to
compose according to the wishes of the Prince”. Of course, being placed in
such an unusual position led Haydn to a number of disputes with Werner,
and after the death of the Prince the situation became even more tense, as
the new master, Paul Anton’s brother Nicholas, had an even more progressive
orientation in terms of his aesthetic outlook. Nonetheless, Haydn was only
able to take up the position of chapel master in 1765, after Werner’s death.
Although his various conflicts with Werner must have been rather stressful
during the four years in which they worked together, the period was undoubtedly
most significant and decisive for the development of the symphony: in
these years Haydn composed symphonies at the greatest rate of his career,
completing twenty-five such works. Most of the symphonies written during
this period experiment with various models, seeking a balance between light
and serious expression, between the traditional and the modern, and between
the Italian and the Austrian. The most significant innovation, however, was
linked with the introduction of the fourth movement and the definition of
the genre as a serious artistic genre, demanding attentive listening.
In Symphony No. 39 we could even find certain traits of ‘sturm und drang’, a
style that Haydn engaged with only in subsequent years – the work is written
in a Minor key, which is a noticeable exception for classical music and implies
certain expressive connotations. Many observers are even convinced that
it is precisely this symphony that had an important influence on Mozart’s
superb ‘Little’ Symphony in G Minor, K 183, which is also characterised by an
unusual ensemble with four horns. The first movement brings an unsettled
atmosphere, which is intensified by the breaks that interrupt the appearance
of the first theme. A desire for experimentation is also demonstrated
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