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Tuesday 20 September 2016

Laura van der Heijden and ‘Mercurial’ Haydn:
Themes and variations

27 September 2016: Stratford ArtsHouse
28 September 2016: Town Hall, Birmingham

  • Joseph Haydn – Symphony No.43 in E-flat major, Hob.I:43
  • Joseph Haydn – Concerto No.2 in D Major for cello and orchestra, Hob.VIIB:2
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No.29 in A major, K201

My dictionary tells me that the word ‘mercurial’ can mean “active, sprightly, often changing” – and I think this adjective can be applied to all three of this concert’s works: but in slightly different ways. They are also linked by their orchestration – the addition of oboes and horns to the Orchestra of the Swan’s core strings reinforcing our happy band’s quintessential translucent, intimate chamber feel – yet producing extended and contrasting variations in both texture and effect.

All written within a period of a dozen years, it would be easy to lump these pieces in with the contemporary Sturm und Drang movement. However, although Haydn’s 43rd Symphony (the earliest of them) can feel at times both ‘stormy’ and ‘driven’ (especially in the final Allegro), its frequent changes of mood are anything but extreme. If anything, it is a thoughtful piece – admittedly full of contrasts and feelings of unrest – but overwhelmingly lyrical.

The concerto (the latest of the three) builds on this lyricism. Although technically challenging – the ‘mercurial’ finger-work is as visual a delight as it is an aural one – this work exploits the timbre of the cello to the full (as well as its range and volume): making it sing. I thus believe it to be one of the greatest works ever composed for the instrument. That it demonstrated (and extended) its expansive capabilities so early on in its history, is, to me, a manifestation of Haydn’s continual willingness to learn, to experiment, to stretch… – indeed, a manifestation of his genius.

The Mozart symphony that ends the concert is, though, the sprightliest of the three: a youthful high note on which to end a quite stunning programme! It is simply joy unconfined; and more proof that the late 18th Century not only gave us Romanticism (‘stormy’ or otherwise); but set the high standards that later composers would have to work hard to surpass.


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