Oxford Composer Companions: Haydn (Oxford Companions) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199554528 ISBN 13: 9780199554522

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Hailed in Symphony magazine as "an invaluable aid to scholars," this new paperback edition offers a gold mine of information on the immensely prolific Austrian composer and the father of both the symphony and the string quartet-Joseph Haydn. In more than 900 alphabetical entries, Haydn's world is brought to vivid life. All of his music is highlighted, including his symphonies, concertos, masses, oratorios, operas, string quartets and other chamber works, sonatas, and miscellaneous choral pieces. The volume includes informative entries on Haydn's family, friends, patrons and contemporaries (Mozart and the young Beethoven among them) and it illuminates the many ideas, influences, and aesthetics that played a major role in his life. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Haydn's death, this superb companion is an invaluable resource for students, teachers, and music lovers, offering a wealth of information, complemented by maps, family trees, a chronology, a list of works, and expert assessments of Haydn's compositions and increasing popularity.

About this title

About the Author:

David Wyn Jones is Lecturer in Music at the University of Wales, Cardiff and co-editor of the Haydn Yearbook.

From Booklist:

Similar in format to the Oxford Composer Companions book on J. S. Bach (1999), this well-planned, scholarly encyclopedia is a comprehensive and informative reference source on the life, music, and times of the prolific and influential eighteenth-century composer of classical music.

A "Thematic Overview" listing the book's entries under broad topics and then subdivided by specific subjects related to Haydn helps readers focus on the areas of knowledge they are researching (e.g., biography; composers; family, friends, and acquaintances; cities, towns, and villages; individual musical works). This is followed by a Haydn family genealogical chart and a sketchy map of Europe and England. The main body of the encyclopedia consists of almost 1,000 alphabetically arranged entries related to Haydn's life, music, and historical era. Each entry is followed by the initials of the author, whose full name can be determined by referring to a list of contributors located at the beginning of the book. Many entries also cite one or two sources used in the preparation of the entry. In addition, there are several megaentries that give in-depth treatment to subjects like Haydn's life, his compositional method, the keyboard sonata, and the symphony.

Appendixes include a list of Haydn's works in chart format, noting details like instruments scored for, musical key, date, and Hoboken number as well as a chart of "text incipits" noting movements in Haydn's vocal music cross-referenced to the Hoboken catalogue. There is unfortunately no index, which would help readers identify specific subjects within the text of entries.

This reference source provides comprehensive and accurate information similar to that found in the 100-page article on Haydn in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2d ed, Groves, 2001). It is most useful as a complement to The New Grove Dictionary in academic libraries supporting graduate-level programs in music and in large public libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0199554528
• ISBN 13: 9780199554522
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 515
• Editor: Wyn Jones David