Haydn and the Enlightenment

This book sets out to challenge the widely-held view of Haydn as an inspired instrumental musician who composed in isolation from eighteenth-century enlightened thinking. By means of both documentary and musical investigation the author seeks instead to present him as a culturally and politically sensitive representative of the Age of the Enlightenment. Of fundamental importance in this survey is Haydn's relationship with his audience, which, it is argued, had a significant bearing on the nature of the works. The author suggests that Haydn was well acquainted with the contemporary view that works of literature or music should serve a moral function and he points to numerous instances in the late symphonies where this end is effectively pursued.