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Why do some people say Haydn equals Mozart


classicalmania

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Mozart is 24 years younger than Haydn, Haydn had tremendous influence on Mozart, 

and Mozart also had some influence on Haydn after Mozart's death,  (like how Haydn modelled his Oratorio the Creation after Mozart's dissonance quartet)

but it seems like every piece Mozart modelled after Haydn is a better version of Haydn's.

if you take these similar styled orchestral works by the two, (3/4 time, c minor) as an example.

Haydn Symphony No.78 in C minor (1782)

Mozart Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor (1786)

there's way more chromaticism in Mozart's.

In the Haydn symphony, in the opening for example, the second violins and violas in each measure play groups of six 8th notes in G and than Ab and then back to G and so on,

G G G G G G - Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab - G G G G G G - Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab - G ... - Ab ... - for 6 measures, then the basses take over the base harmony, does the same half-step alternations on C ... - B ... - C ... - B ... - C ... - B ... for another 6 measures,

after that, it's not chromatic anymore- Eb to Db, (repeat) and then Ab to Bb. Stay in Bb for 4 measures, then to Ab, to Db.

 

Whereas in the Mozart concerto,

not only did the opening theme, with its use of all 12 tones in the chromatic scale, inspire Giselher Klebe (1925~2009) in writing of his tone row in Symphony for Strings (1953),  Mozart's bassline does something more interesting than Haydn's repetitions of G - Ab and C - B.

In the opening of the concerto, for example, look how the basses (also groups of 6 8th notes) go from C C C C C C - B B B B B B - Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb - A A A A A A - Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab - G G G G G G  - F F F F F F  under just 10 measures (first violins also do between over measures 64 ~ 70 in high registers)

and continues its restless chromatic bassline, which is much more interesting than Haydn's switching of 6 8th notes over a half-step (G - Ab).

Also Mozart creates melody using chromatic fourths in the woodwinds before the soloist enters. (measure 81)

 

 

Mozart's "Haydn" quartets are another good example, 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haydn_Quartets_(Mozart)#Critical_reception

and I don't think there's any work by Haydn that equals the depth of Maurerische Trauermusik

and I think that's why Schoenberg chose Mozart over Haydn

 

Edited by classicalmania
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