Playing Before the Lord: The Life and Work of Joseph Haydn

The music scholar will find an array of Haydn's works, both canonical and farther from the beaten path, revisited with thoughtfulness and keen musical insight. If one wants to explore the vast variety of opinions on Haydn written over the last two centuries, go no further. The more casual reader is guided with the gentlest hand toward a rich understanding of what made Haydn's compositional voice so uniquely significant to his era. Highly recommended!"Peter Mercer-Taylor -- University of Minnesota "Calvin Stapert here provides an encounter with Joseph Haydn's life and work that is at once broad in its cultural outlook, confident in its musical explorations, and intimate in its portrayal of the composer's human experience. A most interesting, informative and rewarding read to the learned musician an

A friend of Mozart and a teacher of Beethoven, "Papa" Haydn composed an amazing variety of music -- symphonies, string quartets, concerti, masses, operas, oratorios, keyboard works -- and his prolific output celebrates both the heights and depths of life.In this fascinating book Calvin Stapert combines his skills as a biographer and a musicologist to recount Haydn's steady rise from humble origins to true musical greatness. Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) has been called the father of the symphony and the string quartet. In addition to telling Haydn's life story, Stapert includes accessible listening guides to The Creation and portions of other well-known works to help Haydn listeners more fully appreciate the brilliance behind his music.. Unlike other biographers, Stapert argues

"Informative and accessible, even for the non-musicologist!" according to Gurn Blanston. Being a great fan of the music of Joseph Haydn, over the years I have accumulated all of his music on CD, and nearly all of the books written in English. One thing the liner notes of the CD's have in common; they frequently present outdated or just plain incorrect information and give no idea where it was obtained. One thing the books have in common is that most of them are written BY musicologists FOR musicologists. The net result is that for a music fan, getting accurate, readable information is a tough row to . MSStudent said There is a great and detailed explanation of the oratorios. I read this book before I was performing a Haydn concerto in a competition. It helped illuminate Haydn's style, such as his interest in surprise. His life is fascinating from his early start composing to getting expelled from school to his internships.There is a great and detailed explanation of the oratorios. I recommend this book for anyone interested in music, composition and what shaped Haydn.. Joy Loves Company To read this marvelous book is to find a companion--a companion for many golden hours of listening to music. Many people who love Classical music, it's safe to say, occasionally feel alone in their musical interests. But here is an opportunity to come alongside a musically-wise writer who'll take you by the hand, so to speak, and share meaningful things he hears: like the way the violins and horns trade places in the slow beginning of Symphony No. 15. Having arrived in a new key, the horns sustain a long note whi