Download Joseph Haydn and the Russian grand duchess

A very special
Christmas concert:
Joseph Haydn and the
Russian grand duchess
At Christmas 1781 the Vienna Hofburg was the setting
for a very special concert that was to go down in the
annals of musical history. At the invitation of the
Russian grand duchess Maria Feodorovna, who was
residing in the city at the time, Joseph Haydn
presented his newly completed ‘Russian Quartets’.
The Russian grand duke and grand duchess were on an
extended journey round Europe during which they visited
Vienna at the end of 1781. A son of Catherine the Great, Grand
Duke Paul was heir to the Russian throne, later ruling as Tsar
Paul I. He and his wife Maria Feodorovna had an apartment in
the Vienna Hofburg placed at their disposal for the duration of
their visit by their host, Emperor Joseph II.
Joseph also organized a varied programme for his guests,
including a visit to the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory,
Schönbrunn Palace and St Stephen’s Cathedral. The princess
was known for her enthusiasm for music, and Joseph made
sure that her interests were catered for. On 24 December in
his apartments in the Leopoldine Wing of the Hofburg he
arranged a contest between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and
Muzio Clementi, which incidentally ended without a clear victor.
Just one day later another concert was held in the Hofburg.
However, the initiative for this event was taken by the Russian
grand duchess rather than the emperor. With Joseph Haydn
himself attending, at least parts of his recently completed
Russian Quartets (op. 33) were performed. It is highly likely
that this was in fact the first time the cycle of quartets had
been performed. The Wiener Zeitung featured an account of
the concert, reporting that ‘the most distinguished musicians
of both sexes currently residing here were heard’. From this
we may infer that in addition to Haydn and the quartet
performing his work (Luigi Tomasini, Franz Aspelmayr,
Thaddäus Huber and Joseph Franz Weigl) other musicians were
also present at the grand duchess’s concert.
It is also possible that Mozart attended the concert, as he had
performed for Joseph and the grand duchess at the Hofburg
only the previous day. However, this is pure speculation. What
is certain is that Haydn’s Russian Quartets had a powerful
influence on the younger composer. Deeply impressed by
these works, Mozart himself composed a cycle of quartets
dedicated to his fatherly friend which are today known as the
Haydn Quartets.
The concert seems to have been a great success for Haydn.
The composer and the four musicians were rewarded with
lavish gifts. Years later the grand duchess, by then tsarina of
Russia, still spoke enthusiastically about the event, and Haydn’s
Russian Quartets were to occupy an important place in the
history of music.
The apartments in which the quartets were performed on 25
December 1781 still exist: later occupied by Empress Elisabeth,
they can be seen today as part of a tour of the imperial
apartments in the Hofburg.
Author
Bernhard A. Macek
Literature
Bernhard A. Macek, Haydn, Mozart und die Großfürstin. Eine Studie
zur Uraufführung der Russischen Quartette op. 33 in den
Kaiserappartements der Wiener Hofburg, Wien 2012.
Wiener Zeitung, Num. 103, Mittwochs, den 26. Christmonat 1781,
Anhang, s. p.