Haydn2032 No. 18: IL MAESTRO DI SCUOLA

Haydn Night “Il Maestro di scuola“ with Giovanni Antonini and Kammerorchester Basel pm: CONCERT KAMMERORCHESTER BASEL GIOVANNI ANTONINI, CONDUCTOR Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Symphony in E flat major Hob. I:55, “The Schoolmaster“ (1774) Symphony in E major Hob. I:29 (1765) Interval (20 minutes) Franz (Franciszek) Lessel (c. 1780–1838): from Symphony no.5 in G minor (1805): Finale. Molto Presto Symphony in C major Hob. I:56 (1774) From his late youth in Vienna to the last years of a long life rich in artistic highlights, Joseph Haydn gave lessons – in piano playing and singing, in theory and composition. Most important to him were his private pupils, three of whom he mentioned to his later biographers as his particular favourites: Ignaz Pleyel, Sigismund Neukomm and the Polish-born Franz (Franciszek) Lessel, who went to Vienna in 1797 under the patronage of Prince Czartoryski – initially to study medicine there, but ultimately to train in composition and thereby emulate his Bohemian-born father. From 1800 onwards he took lessons with Haydn, who later gave him, out of personal affection, the autograph of his Symphony (1774). This is a sister work to , composed in the same year, whose nickname, ‘The Schoolmaster’, is usually explained by the measured pace of the theme of its second movement (Adagio, ma semplicemente). In our ‘Maestro e scolare’ programme, these two works are coupled with the Symphony (1765), whose Presto finale sounds rather as if a strict teacher had just escaped from a bunch of his most unruly pupils. Haydn2032 In the lead-up to the 300th anniversary of Joseph Haydn’s birth in 2032, the Joseph Haydn Foundation in Basel is organising, producing and financing the performance and recording of all 107 of the composer’s symphonies by Il Giardino Armonico and Basel Chamber Orchestra under the artistic direction of Giovanni Antonini, one of the most highly-respected specialists in baroque, early classical and classical music, with its project Haydn2032. The first thirteen volumes have been released on the Alpha Classics label with two further volumes planned for release every year. Joseph Haydn Foundation, Haydn2032 (c) David Seymour, CHIM, Magnum Photos