Artist unknown. An ailing Joseph Haydn being visited by friends dedicating a sonata to him in Vienna, 1805. Historisches Museum Der Stadt, Vienna, Austria. © A. Dagli Orti/De Agostini Picture Library/Bridgeman Images
Artist unknown. An ailing Joseph Haydn being visited by friends dedicating a sonata to him in Vienna, 1805. Historisches Museum Der Stadt, Vienna, Austria. © A. Dagli Orti/De Agostini Picture Library/Bridgeman Images
“Before God and as an honest man,” Haydn remarked in 1785 to Leopold Mozart, “I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name; he has taste, and, furthermore, the most profound knowledge of composition.” Haydn’s admiration was reciprocated, as evidenced by Mozart’s six quartets dedicated to his esteemed colleague, including the famous Dissonance Quartet. Their mutual regard would be echoed a century later in the competitive respect between Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. The tradition of venerating the father of the Classical style in musical terms has endured, as composers Charles-Marie Widor, Vincent d’Indy, Paul Dukas, and Reynaldo Hahn have made melodic ciphers of Haydn’s name.