Kevin Mallon - Haydn’s Music of Gratitude and Goodness

 Haydn’s Music of Gratitude and Goodness

Franz Joseph Haydn is the most companionable composer. His music is accessible in an almost daily way, without overwhelming us. The whole panoply of life is there but in scale, humanely so, without grotesque exaggeration.

I love Haydn. If I had to be left with only one composer in my life, it would be he — not because he is the greatest, although he is great, but because of the measured quality of humanity in his music. He is the most companionable composer. Haydn’s is not the preternatural world of Mozart, nor is it the one of ever-present yearning for the prelapsarian that is Schubert’s. There is a steadiness in Haydn’s music, a sense of normalcy. At the same time, it is filled with wonder at what is—at its goodness. In other words, there is something regular about Haydn that makes his music accessible in an almost daily way, without overwhelming us. It is easier to live with than, say, Beethoven, who so often storms the heavens. The whole panoply of life is there but in scale, humanely so, without grotesque exaggeration— which is exactly what was lost with Romanticism.

While listening to Haydn, I feel gratitude, which is hardly strange, as it is gratitude that his work expresses. In the April 2009 Gramophone, Geraint Lewis wrote, “When he was berated late in life for the cheerful tone of his religious music, Haydn simply said that every time he thought of God his heart leapt for joy.” My heart leaps for joy when I hear him. Joy begets joy. As a result, I never tire of his music. I am always refreshed by it.

This effect exactly fits Haydn’s intention. Here is how he saw the purpose of his life’s labor, as expressed in 1802:

Often, when struggling against obstacles of every sort which oppose my labors: often, when the powers of mind and body weakened, and it was difficult to continue the course I had entered on; — a secret voice whispered to me: “there are so few happy and contented peoples here below; grief and sorrow are always their lot; perhaps your labors will once be a source from which the care-worn, or the man burdened with affairs, can derive a few moments rest and refreshment.” This was indeed a powerful motive to press onwards, and this is why I now look back with cheerful satisfaction on the labors expended on this art, to which I have devoted so many long years of uninterrupted effort and exertion.

One of the greatest composers who ever lived wanted to give us but “a few moments of rest and refreshment.” (Can you imagine a Romantic composer, lost in self-exaltation, expressing himself in this way?) Well, he succeeded, incomparably. One reviewer said something with which I entirely agree: “It is impossible to have too much Haydn in your life.” Luckily, there is a lot of Haydn with which to fill your life. He gave us as inexhaustible a source of delight as we are liable to come by this side of paradise.

Haydn also had a marvelous sense of humor, as can be heard in his music. This was exhibited in his behavior as well. He loved pranks; from The Book of Musical Anecdotes:

The Austrian composer Dittersdorf and Haydn were friends as young men. One night while roaming the streets they stopped outside a common beer hall in which the musicians, half drunk and half asleep, were fiddling away miserably at a Haydn minuet…. Entering the taproom, Haydn sat down beside the leader and asked casually, “Whose minuet?” The man snapped, “Haydn’s.” Haydn moved in front of him and, feigning anger, declared: “That’s a stinking minuet.” “Says who?” demanded the fiddler, jumping out of his seat with rage. The other musicians rallied round him and were poised to smash their instruments over Haydn’s head but Dittersdorf, a big fellow, shielded Haydn with his arm and pushed him out of the door.

As is well known, this prolific genius pioneered the modern symphony, virtually created the form of the string quartet, and developed the piano sonata and sonata-allegro form to new heights. As the French painter Jean Ingres exclaimed: “Whoever studies music, let his daily bread be Haydn… the first who created everything, discovered everything, taught everything to the rest!”

He wrote masterpieces in almost every genre — chamber, symphonic, choral, operatic, and liturgical. Depending on how you count them, there are up to 108 symphonies, some 70 string quartets, 52 piano sonatas, 31 piano trios, 126 baryton trios, 24 violin sonatas, 435 songs, 14 Masses, 14 operas, 4 oratorios, and many concertos and divertimentos. Where, then, to start?

The Brilliant Classics 150-CD box (BRL-CD-93782) is a staggering gift. “Bargain” is hardly an adequate description of what is available here for $1 per CD or less (from various internet sites; start at Amazon). One of the most impressive things about it is that it is not complete, nor is it advertised as such. Included here are all the symphonies, conducted by Adam Fischer, with the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, using modern instruments. The symphonies were recorded over 14 years (1987-2001) by Nimbus in the Haydnsaal of the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, a place to which I have made pilgrimage.

I remember trashing one of the first Nimbus releases because the recorded sound was so boomy and recessive that the efforts of the orchestra were obscured. I therefore paid no attention to subsequent releases. Now I know what I have been missing. Both the orchestra and the recording engineers got much better as the project proceeded. Aside from the late London Symphonies (for which one can go to the Colin Davis recordings on budget Phillips Duos), these rambunctious performances are a romp, with a kind of exuberant rusticity, grit, and vivacity that are irresistible. By themselves, they are worth the price of purchase. (In case you are only interested in the symphonies, I have to tell you that, in Great Britain, Nimbus has issued an eight-disc collection of them in MP3 format for the unbelievable price of only £25.)

But then there are the quartets—not complete, alas, as the Buchberger Quartet, for some mysterious reason, omitted Opp. 50 (4-6), 54, and 76 (4-6). The others are marvelously well-performed by this original instrument ensemble (though I will not give up my modern instrument performances). This adds to the allure of the Brilliant set.

Next, in my estimation, come the complete piano trios, performed by another capable period instrument group, the Van Swieten Trio. I am not a fan of the clangy, twangy sound of piano fortes — one is used here — and deeply love the modern instrument performances by the great Beaux Arts Trio on Phillips, but it does not take long to be captured by the musicality and vivacity of this group.

The same goes for the 52 piano sonatas, here performed by five different pianists on various forte pianos. I was surprised by how quickly my ears and tastes adjusted to the piano forte sound. After all, these are the instruments on which most of these works were most likely premiered.

I confess that I am still working my way through the huge number of songs, which are quite an attractive surprise. Even more surprising are the operas. The set also contains four of Haydn’s operas, including two of his finest, composed for his patron Prince Esterházy: La Fedeltà Premiata, composed in 1780, and L’infedeltà Delusa, written in 1773. Like most people, I have not paid much attention to Haydn in this area — neither have record companies. Mozart eclipsed him in this genre. These excellent recordings show how very good he actually was. The vocal writing is a treat. These recordings are a major asset of this set but, alas, no libretti are provided on the CD-ROM.

I would say that the renditions of the great oratorios and the Masses are fine for an introduction, but they are somewhat dated Vox productions, and much better is available elsewhere. Only two of the final six Masses are here anyway and, since they are all masterpieces of liturgical music, one should get them all.

The Brilliant edition also offers the first recordings of all 126 baryton trios. These, I think, are only for the Haydn completist. They were written for Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, Haydn’s patron, who played the baryton, a bowed stringed instrument with sympathetic strings that could also be plucked. While he was indubitably one of the music world’s greatest patrons, Prince Nikolaus, on the evidence provided here, had limited performance abilities. I never thought that Haydn had written a boring bar of music until I sampled some of these trios. Others demonstrate his genius with limited means.

In any case, my overall verdict is that this Brilliant Haydn Edition, while perhaps not as overwhelming a bargain as the Brilliant Bach set, is still an inestimable treasure. I am far richer for it.

What are the alternatives? Naxos offers separate boxes of the complete recordings of the symphonies, the quartets, the piano sonatas, and the oratorios. These are also bargains, if not as dirt cheap as the Brilliant discs.

In the symphonies, Naxos uses seven different orchestras: the Capella Istropolitana (Bratislava) under Barry Wordsworth; the Cologne Chamber Orchestra under Helmut Müller-Brühl; the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia under Béla Drahos; the Northern Chamber Orchestra under Nicholas Ward; the Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä under Patrick Gallois; the Swedish Chamber Orchestra under Béla Drahos; and the Toronto Chamber Orchestra under Kevin Mallon. You will get smooth, soothing Haydn from Cologne; elegant, charming, and vivacious Haydn from Ward; and very well articulated and lively Haydn from Drahos.

Naxos does not follow the symphonies in chronological order, as does Brilliant, but rather mixes the programs. I find both the Naxos and Brilliant traversals very strong. You may be safely decided depending on whether you want one orchestra for the whole series and whether you wish to have the symphonies ordered chronologically — or not. Either way you will be very happy. The Naxos box contains 34 CDs (8.503400).

You can also be assured of top quality in the Naxos boxes of string quartets, performed by the estimable Kodaly Quartet, using modern instruments (25 CDs, 8.502400), and of the complete piano sonatas, with sterling renditions performed on a modern grand piano by Jeno Jando (10 CDs, 8.501042). Naxos also has a superb box of the complete concertos (6 CDs, 8.506019). I find them generally better done than the performances on Brilliant.

Naxos offers Haydn’s three oratorios on 7 CDs (8.507008). The performance of The Creation is excellent; The Seasons only a bit less so; and, the biggest surprise for me, The Return of Tobias, a huge three-hour work from 1775, receives a splendid treatment. The gorgeous coloratura writing and other choral glories in Tobias make this a real find, especially in this exciting performance. Yes, a three-hour oratorio is a bit much, but this is what the CD player is for.

In short, you can buy these Naxos boxes with complete confidence in their quality and value.

I cannot leave you without mentioning what is one of the single most exciting Haydn recordings I have ever encountered. Haydn originally wrote his masterpiece, The Creation, to an English libretto, which was lost. During the two years of its composition, Haydn said, “Every day I fell on my knees and asked God for the strength to complete it.” A reconstruction of the original English is used in a new recording by Chetham’s Chamber Choir, and the Gabrieli Consort and Players, under Paul McCreesh, on the Archiv label (477 7361). This is an original instrument performance, using the full-size forces that were employed at the 1799 premiere of this work.

The effect is stunning. If you have never shivered at the harmonically daring Representation of Chaos in the orchestral introduction, you will here. If you can listen to “And there was light,” surely one of the most sublime and electrifying moments in all of music, without tears running down your checks, overwhelmed at the glory and goodness of the Creator, then you never will. The audience at the Vienna premiere went wild, picked Haydn up in his chair and paraded him around the concert hall. The dear man kept throwing his arms upward, shouting: “It was from Him; it was from Him!”

Indeed it was, and so much more. As Haydn wrote on his manuscript, “Laus Deo!”

Kevin Mallon - Wonderful Evening of Entertainment

Review: Thirteen Strings presents a much-needed, satisfying concert during trying times - Sophia Foglia.

The atmosphere was comfortable at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre on the evening of March 19. Audience members chattered excitedly amongst themselves in anticipation of the concert. Highlighted by calming blue and purple lighting, the stage was set in front of the church’s pipe organ. Thirteen Strings, a professional orchestra in Ottawa founded in 1976, collaborated with guitarists Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan as part of their Re/String project for the evening’s programming. According to the orchestra’s website, Cicchillitti and Cowan are a “unique duo that focuses on expanding the contemporary classical guitar repertoire through commissions and collaborations with living composers.” Cicchillitti and Cowan’s Re/String project involved commissioning six new pieces from a diverse range of composers from all over the world, with the intention of having a guitar duo accompanying the orchestra. 

Before the concert began, Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association of Canada and Thirteen Strings’ sponsor for their performance season, spoke a few words to the audience.  “One of the greatest forms of release and a great reminder of what is great about humanity is a concert such as this,” Gratton said. “I know that every one of us will be leaving here tonight feeling much better than we were probably feeling when we came.”  He also thanked Thirteen Strings’ funding agencies, including the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Trillium Foundation. The audience clapped loudly with anticipation as Gratton invited Kevin Mallon, the orchestra’s music director, to the stage. “What an amazing project it is for us to have commissioned six new pieces,” Mallon said.  He also mentioned that before each piece, he would read the audience a note about each of the compositions to provide some context about the pieces. The first piece of the night was entitled Landscape and Memory, composed by Stephen Goss. 

Immediately, the guitarists’ creative ways of utilizing their instruments were made known to the audience. Instead of the joyful strumming that is usually associated with guitar-playing, the two artists’ movements were sharp and precise, adding drama and intrigue to the piece.  The second piece of the night, The Confectioner’s Handbook, was composed by Kelly-Marie Murphy. Created to be the recreation of the process of sugar boiling, Murphy intended to show through her composition “the heat, the bubbling mixture, the precise temperature, long strands, threads, and times.” “But there are moments of beauty and indeed sweetness,” Mallon read out from Murphy’s note. The audience waited a while after the piece ended before clapping and cheering, seemingly stunned by the majestic sounds that graced their senses. Half-thorn Blooms, composed by Bekah Simms, was the third piece of the evening. While enchanting in its own way, its high-pitched frequencies gave the impression of being on the precipice of danger and sounded a little too much like audio feedback.  Patrick Roux composed the fourth piece of the evening: After The Exodus. Before the piece could start, Cicchillitti’s gaze swept over the audience. “This is for you, Pat,” he said, leaving the audience with a lingering curiosity of who Pat may be.  Representing the tumultuous path of migration towards a better life, Roux’s piece was absolutely chilling with its hair-raising raw emotion and heavenly beauty. Even the mood lighting illuminating the pipe organ behind the orchestra reflected this through the colours pink, red and blue. The fifth song of the night, Cloud path, was composed by Amy Brandon. It held its fair share of drama and mystery, however they were not as pronounced or striking as in the other pieces performed. 

The evening ended with a piece composed by Harry Stafylakis, titled To wake and find the world still burning. Composed a year into the pandemic, the piece lived up to its name and its pertinence to current events in the world. Audience members were pulled into an almost dreamlike trance that was mixed in with mystery and suspense.  The artists’ creativity was greatly seen here, as the orchestra stomped their feet to create a beat and the guitarists rapped their knuckles on their instruments to make rhythm. So moved after these incredible performances, the audience gave a standing ovation that lasted around a minute and a half. The musicians bowed as the audience gathered their belongings and met up in groups to converse about the emotions evoked during the concert.  On their way out, still reeling from the music, the audience got the chance to thank Kevin Mallon, the evening’s organizers and the musicians for a wonderful evening of entertainment.

Kevin Mallon - Irish Conductor, Violinist and Composer

The Irish conductor, violinist and composer, Kevin Mallon, was born in New Jersey, USA. However, at an early age he went to live in Belfast, Northern Ireland and became a student at St. Malachy's College. He won a scholarship to Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, UK, where he was greatly influenced by the conductor and early music specialist John Eliot Gardiner. Under him Mallon developed an interest in performance on period instruments, leading to a distinguished career as a violinist and conductor. At Chetham’s, Mallon was involved in the choirs, singing with the award winner Chetham’s chamber choir and at Manchester Cathedral. He was a member, and rehearsal conductor, of the National Choir of Great Britain. Mallon later studied composition with Peter Maxwell Davies at Dartington College of Arts, and studied violin at the Royal Northern College of Music. While a student Mallon played in projects with the Hallé Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1989-1992 Kevin Mallon led and directed The Irish Baroque Orchestra, was concert- master of Le Concert Spirituel and Les Arts Florissants in Paris. With these groups, he recorded and performed concerts all over Europe, including Vienna, London (Wigmore Hall), Berlin, Paris (Versailles), Russia, The Baltic States, China, and Japan. In 1993 he accepted positions with the University of Toronto and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and has developed parallel career as a conductor of opera, choral and orchestral music. He now left those positions in order to pursue his conducting career.

In 1999 Kevin Mallon founded the vocal and instrumental group the Aradia Ensemble, with whom he has toured widely, and become conductor of the Toronto Chamber Orchestra. With these ensembles he has made over 50 recordings for Naxos (including a series of 20th century works), has produced two music videos and appeared on numerous film soundtrack including Yes Man- Jim Carey (2008). The Aradia Ensemble has toured extensively across Canada, to Ireland, Italy, the USA and New Zealand. From 2010 to 2013 Aradia Ensemble was the orchestra in residence at the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy with Mallon conducting: George Frideric Handel’s Giulio Cesare (2010), W.A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni (2011), Le nozze di Figaro (2012).

Kevin Mallon has conducted the contemporary opera company Opera Anonymous– Igor Stravinsky’s Rakes Progress (1999), and the early 19th century opera Lucas et Cecile by Canadian Joseph Quesnel (2001). With Toronto’s Opera in Concert, he has conducted G.F. Handel’s Semele (2002) and Rameau’s Castor and Pollux (2003), G.F. Handel’s Rinaldo (2004), G.F. Handel’s Tamerlano (2005) Antonio Vivaldi’s La Griselda (2006), W.A. Mozart’s Zaide (2008), Il mondo della luna, by Haydn, (2009), G.F. Handel’s Giulio Cesare (2010), Die Freunde von Salamanka by Schubert (2012) G.F. Handel’s Orlando (2103) and Hippolite et Arice of Rameau (2014). With the Toronto Operetta Theatre has conducted Wiener Blut by Johann Strauss (2006) The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár (2007) and Lehár’s Count of Luxembourg (2008).

The Gramophone and BBC magazines have featured major profiles on Mr. Mallon. He won Gramophone Editors Choice Awards for his recordings of Boyce symphonies and G.F. Handel’s Water-Music and Royal Fireworks. Further awards include a 2009 Juno nomination for a Haydn Symphonies CD.

In Ireland Kevin Mallon was appointed Artistic Director of Opera 2005, formed to celebrate Cork’s tenure as European Capital of Culture. With this company he conducted W.A. Mozart’s Figaro’s Wedding (2005), Georges Bizet’s Carmen, (2005), Weill’s Threepenny Opera (2006) and Rossini’s Barber of Seville (2006), Don Giovanni (2007), Verdi’s Ballo in Maschera (2008). The company was three times nominated for the Irish Times Theatre Award. In 2004 and 2005 he conducted several cantatas in Orchestra of St Cecilia: Bach Cantata Series in Dublin. In 2009 he undertook a contact with the Odessa Opera, Ukraine, as to conduct in Odessa, then on tour to Holland, Belgium and Spain.

Kevin Mallon’s most recent appointments are as Music Director of Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra in Ottawa (2010), as Conductor of New York’s newly formed West Side Chamber Orchestra (2011), Music Director of Orchestra Toronto (2013) and as Interim Artistic Director of Opera Lyra, Ottawa (2014).

He also fulfills a wide range of guest conducting engagements, recently including the Windsor Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia and Symphony Niagara, the Hamilton Philharmonic, Thunder Bay Symphony, Orchestra London, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Cambridge Concentus, Halifax Summer Opera Festival etc.

Kevin Mallon is an Irish fiddler and is also a composer; most recently writing music for the TV series Camelot.

Kevin Mallon — Irish Music Director

Kevin Mallon was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey but at an early age he went to live in Belfast, Northern Ireland and became a student at St. Malachy's College. He won a scholarship to Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, England, where he was influenced by John Eliot Gardiner. He later studied composition with Peter Maxwell Davies at Dartington College of Arts, and studied violin at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Mallon played violin with orchestras such as the Hallé Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic, and later became concertmaster for Le Concert Spirituel and Les Arts Florissants. He performed with these groups around the world, in many European countries, in the United States and Canada, and in Asia. In 1993 he accepted positions with the University of Toronto and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. In 1996, Mallon founded the Aradia Ensemble, of which he is the music director.  With this early music group, and with the Toronto Chamber Orchestra, of which Mallon is music director, he has recorded more than fifty CDs for the Naxos label, including works by Buxtehude, Charpentier, Handel, Lully, Purcell and Vivaldi.