The Cambridge Companion to Haydn

by Caryl Clark (Editor)

This accessible introduction to the musical work and cultural world of Joseph Haydn covers his contemporaries, working environments and aesthetics. Chapters on the reception of his music explore keyboard performance practices, Haydn's posthumous reputation, recorded performances and revivals of his operas. The book surveys his major performance genre--including symphonies, string quartets, keyboard sonatas and trios, liturgical music, oratorios, etc...

Genres: Music

Hardcover

First published March 1, 2005

Reviews

[Justpassingby]

A collection of 17 essays by 16 distinguished musicologists offers as many perspectives on the composer Joseph Haydn and his work, one of them (about opera) by the editor Caryl Clark herself. The essays are without exception eloquently written, although not popular in the usual sense: most of the authors expect either a basic understanding of harmony and musical scores, or some preparedness to interrupt one's reading for a bit of Wikipedia now and then.

Careful editing appears to have ensured a remarkable uniformity in style and complementarity in subject matter. The overall credibility is further enhanced by ample notes and 19 pages of bibliography.

[Lazarus P Badpenny Esq · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather like the Grove, this suffered in comparison to more recent efforts that have benefited from further scholarship.