Burgenland: Exhibitions & Theater
Festivities not only take place in the Haydn City: all of Burgenland is celebrating the legacy of the great genius! In 2009 Schloss Spiele Kobersdorf will premiere a play of intrigue titled "The Head of Joseph Haydn".
Main Exhibition: “Haydn – a Phenomenon”
The 2009 anniversary year’s main exhibition is titled “Haydn – a Phenomenon” (31 March to 11 November 2009) and highlights the life and work of the master composer and the importance of Eisenstadt and especially the Counts of Esterházy in the life of Joseph Haydn. It was in Eisenstadt where Haydn lay the cornerstone for the Viennese Classicism and where the Father of all Symphonies and String Quartets created his magnificent compositions. From 1761 Joseph Haydn worked as vice Kapellmeister and then Kapellmeister for the Esterházy family throughout the greatest part of his life.
The exhibition spotlights Haydn’s life and work on four different original venues – from the workplace to his private life and the milieu he lived in. The show provides insight into the music genres that where popular at the Esterházy court and presents them in an historically authentic context. Valuable original objects illustrate how great Haydn’s influence was on classical music.
An extensive event program for adults and children complements the exhibition including guided tours, symposiums, school programs, workshops, concerts etc.
Information:
Dr. Wolfgang Kuzmits
Dr. Gerhard Winkler
Schloss Esterházy Management
7000 Eisenstadt
Tel.: +43 (0) 2682/719 31 12
E-Mail: wolfgang.kuzmits@schloss-esterhazy.at
The Head of Joseph Haydn: Schloss-Spiele Koberdorf
9 July to 2 August 2009, Thursday to Sunday.
Wolfgang Böck, a great actor and artistic director of the Schloss-Spiele Kobersdorf, had the idea to add a culture-historic component to the 2009 Haydn Year with a theater play. The Schloss-Spiele Kobersdorf commissioned the well-known author Michael Korth to write a play on the life of the composer. He says: “The people loved Haydn’s wonderful music but I doubt that many were looking at Haydn as a “normal” human being with the imperfections and faults that we all have.”
Haydn worked his way from peasant to Kapellmeister and honorary doctor at Oxford. In between he worked for four Esterházy princes, had extramarital affairs and was the victim of political intrigues. After Haydn's employer Prince Nicholas died Haydn was free to travel to Vienna and subsequently to London where he immediately became the toast of the town. Haydn returned to the Esterházy court a highly acclaimed composer.
Michael Korth had written a play of intrigues with music that emphasizes Haydn as a person rather than a musical genius. Haydn had always fought for the freedom of art and this endeavor of his is also the leitmotif of The Head of Joseph Haydn. The entertaining framework plot covers a time span from the present to Haydn’s times. The composer’s music is used selectively to create special effects. Other elements include dance, vocals and modern theater effects which combine to create a wonderful piece that allows visitors to fully immerse themselves into the personality of Hadyn for a few hours.
Information:
Schloss-Spiele Kobersdorf
Office: Schloss Esterházy, A-7000 Eisenstadt
Telephone +43 (0) 2682/662 11
E-Mail: schloss-spiele@kobersdorf.at
Internet: www.kobersdorf.at
Wood Sculpture Symposium on Joseph Haydn and his Works
In 2008 wood sculptors from across Europe (maybe even from Japan and the US) will hold a symposium on Joseph Haydn and his Works in Eisenstadt. The artists will take home the results and create two pieces of art each. The actual symposium will be held between 18 and 25 May 2009 in Eisenstadt. In 15 pagoda tents – which represent the European Artist Village in the Chestnut Alley of the palace parks – the sculptors will make one artwork per week. During this time visitors have the chance to watch the artists at work and discuss their work with them. All sculptures will be on display in an exhibition.
The “Haydn Trail”: Stations of his Life in Eisenstadt
Visitors to Eisenstadt can take a walk back in time on the new Haydn Trail which also features the composer’s music at original performance venues. The journey of discovery starts at Haydn’s Mausoleum inside Bergkirche and leads via the Musicians’ House and Haydn’s former residence to the historic castle parks, the vineyard, and Aloisia Haydn’s famous herb garden. This is not just another tiresome interpretive trail but much rather an invitation to enjoy and marvel: at the great design, the artworks, and the music.
The Stations:
01. Bergkirche, Mausoleum, Calvary / Engelwirtshaus
02. Spitalskirche
03. Landesmuseum
04. Schloss Esterházy
05. Leopoldinentempel / Vineyard
06. Orangery
07. Franciscan Church / Diocese Museum
08. Haydn House
09. Cathedral
10. Haydn Herb Garden
Main Exhibition: “Haydn – a Phenomenon”
The 2009 anniversary year’s main exhibition is titled “Haydn – a Phenomenon” (31 March to 11 November 2009) and highlights the life and work of the master composer and the importance of Eisenstadt and especially the Counts of Esterházy in the life of Joseph Haydn. It was in Eisenstadt where Haydn lay the cornerstone for the Viennese Classicism and where the Father of all Symphonies and String Quartets created his magnificent compositions. From 1761 Joseph Haydn worked as vice Kapellmeister and then Kapellmeister for the Esterházy family throughout the greatest part of his life.
The exhibition spotlights Haydn’s life and work on four different original venues – from the workplace to his private life and the milieu he lived in. The show provides insight into the music genres that where popular at the Esterházy court and presents them in an historically authentic context. Valuable original objects illustrate how great Haydn’s influence was on classical music.
An extensive event program for adults and children complements the exhibition including guided tours, symposiums, school programs, workshops, concerts etc.
- Schloss Esterházy – Eisenstadt’s Center of Haydn’s Work Life
The palace in Eisenstadt was both the administrative center and main residence of the Counts of Esterházy. As Kapellmeister and court composer Haydn had a huge range of responsibilities, including composition, running the orchestra, playing chamber music for and with his patrons, and eventually the mounting of operatic productions. Schloss Esterházy provided the perfect setting for Haydn to develop his musical genius. A central music form of the Esterházy’s Chamber Music was the symphony which led to Haydn’s nickname of "Father of the Symphony". Today Schloss Esterházy highlights the symphony as an intimate divertissement, as theater and church symphony, especially in connection with the opera and chamber music. - Haydn House in Eisenstadt: Musical Side Job and Environment
The Haydn House, the former residence of the Haydn family, brings back to life the private citizen and businessman Joseph Haydn. While the majority of Haydn’s compositions where commissioned works, he used the privacy of his house to compose whatever he felt like. In his later years Haydn started to write pieces for the growing middle class and thus developed two main elements of Viennese classicism: the string quartet and the piano sonata. - Diözesanmuseum: Heaven’s Harmony and Music Cabinet
Catholic church music always played an important role at court. At the beginning of the 19th century religious works dominated Eisenstadt’s court music scene. Count Nikolaus II. managed to win back for his court the retired and meanwhile world-famous composer Joseph Haydn. At this time Eisenstadt’s church music took on European dimensions and later reached world fame with Haydn’s later masses and Beethoven’s compositions. The Music Cabinet at Diözesanmuseum very well illustrates the Esterházy’s love for music and the ambitiousness of their cultural endeavors. - Landesmuseum: Enviroments and Musical Folk Cultures
Landesmuseum offers insight into the rural environment Haydn lived in and the folk music he was exposed to. The exhibition illustrates the influence folk music and the different ethnicities (Germans, Hungarians, Croatians) had on the work of Joseph Haydn. A special exhibition shows how operas served representational purposes in Eisenstadt.
Information:
Dr. Wolfgang Kuzmits
Dr. Gerhard Winkler
Schloss Esterházy Management
7000 Eisenstadt
Tel.: +43 (0) 2682/719 31 12
E-Mail: wolfgang.kuzmits@schloss-esterhazy.at
The Head of Joseph Haydn: Schloss-Spiele Koberdorf
9 July to 2 August 2009, Thursday to Sunday.
Wolfgang Böck, a great actor and artistic director of the Schloss-Spiele Kobersdorf, had the idea to add a culture-historic component to the 2009 Haydn Year with a theater play. The Schloss-Spiele Kobersdorf commissioned the well-known author Michael Korth to write a play on the life of the composer. He says: “The people loved Haydn’s wonderful music but I doubt that many were looking at Haydn as a “normal” human being with the imperfections and faults that we all have.”
Haydn worked his way from peasant to Kapellmeister and honorary doctor at Oxford. In between he worked for four Esterházy princes, had extramarital affairs and was the victim of political intrigues. After Haydn's employer Prince Nicholas died Haydn was free to travel to Vienna and subsequently to London where he immediately became the toast of the town. Haydn returned to the Esterházy court a highly acclaimed composer.
Michael Korth had written a play of intrigues with music that emphasizes Haydn as a person rather than a musical genius. Haydn had always fought for the freedom of art and this endeavor of his is also the leitmotif of The Head of Joseph Haydn. The entertaining framework plot covers a time span from the present to Haydn’s times. The composer’s music is used selectively to create special effects. Other elements include dance, vocals and modern theater effects which combine to create a wonderful piece that allows visitors to fully immerse themselves into the personality of Hadyn for a few hours.
Information:
Schloss-Spiele Kobersdorf
Office: Schloss Esterházy, A-7000 Eisenstadt
Telephone +43 (0) 2682/662 11
E-Mail: schloss-spiele@kobersdorf.at
Internet: www.kobersdorf.at
Wood Sculpture Symposium on Joseph Haydn and his Works
In 2008 wood sculptors from across Europe (maybe even from Japan and the US) will hold a symposium on Joseph Haydn and his Works in Eisenstadt. The artists will take home the results and create two pieces of art each. The actual symposium will be held between 18 and 25 May 2009 in Eisenstadt. In 15 pagoda tents – which represent the European Artist Village in the Chestnut Alley of the palace parks – the sculptors will make one artwork per week. During this time visitors have the chance to watch the artists at work and discuss their work with them. All sculptures will be on display in an exhibition.
The “Haydn Trail”: Stations of his Life in Eisenstadt
Visitors to Eisenstadt can take a walk back in time on the new Haydn Trail which also features the composer’s music at original performance venues. The journey of discovery starts at Haydn’s Mausoleum inside Bergkirche and leads via the Musicians’ House and Haydn’s former residence to the historic castle parks, the vineyard, and Aloisia Haydn’s famous herb garden. This is not just another tiresome interpretive trail but much rather an invitation to enjoy and marvel: at the great design, the artworks, and the music.
The Stations:
01. Bergkirche, Mausoleum, Calvary / Engelwirtshaus
02. Spitalskirche
03. Landesmuseum
04. Schloss Esterházy
05. Leopoldinentempel / Vineyard
06. Orangery
07. Franciscan Church / Diocese Museum
08. Haydn House
09. Cathedral
10. Haydn Herb Garden
