Haydn Quotes

“I want to buy some records,' he [Thomas Mann] said.

'Add something to surprise me,' she [Katia Mann] said.

'Give me a clue.'

'Haydn, maybe,' she said. 'Some quartets or his piano music. That would be nice, and they do no harm.'

'Is that why you want them?'

She smiled.

'They remind me of summer.”
― Colm Tóibín

“In poche righe le confessava le sue emozioni dicendo di essersi sentito "come nell'Allegro con Brio della Sonata 50 in Re Maggiore di Haydn".”
― Daniel Mason, The Piano Tuner

“Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov considered Haydn to be the most accomplished symphonic orchestrator who ever lived, and as the creator of such colorful works as -Sheherazade- and the -Capriccio espagnol-, he should know.”
― David Hurwitz, Exploring Haydn: A Listener's Guide to Music's Boldest Innovator

“Haydn was quite simply the greatest variation writer who ever lived.”
― David Hurwitz, Exploring Haydn: A Listener's Guide to Music's Boldest Innovator

“Think of me as a man to whom God has given talent and a good heart. I make no greater claims.”
― Joseph Haydn

“It's just one of those remarkable historical ironies that Haydn, superbly trained as a singer in the St. Stephens cathedral choir of Vienna, followed by several more years as apprentice/assistant to the renowned Italian singing teacher Porpora, ultimately became famous as a composer of instrumental music, whereas Mozart, the great piano virtuoso of his age, wrote the first important operas in the modern repertoire and is arguably most highly acclaimed as a writer for the voice.”
― David Hurwitz, Exploring Haydn: A Listener's Guide to Music's Boldest Innovator