Haydn

composer

Biography

Haydn is mentioned in Dolge's introductory passage on the piano's development as one of three composers—together with Handel and Mozart—whose 'sweet, heavenly music' could be fully expressed on the older clavichord and harpsichord. This grouping is used to contrast the gentler musical taste of that generation with Johann Sebastian Bach's demand for a more powerful instrument, which Dolge credits with helping push piano makers toward improvement. Beyond this shared reference, the text gives no individual biographical detail about Haydn in this excerpt; he is not discussed again, and no roles, companies, or personal anecdotes are attached to him specifically. He functions purely as part of a collective illustration of the pre-piano musical era.

Highlights

Named alongside Handel and Mozart as content with the clavichord and harpsichord rather than a more powerful piano

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911).

Public domain.

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