Haydn in the Late 1790s

Affectionately nicknamed Papa, reverered as the 'Father of the Symphony' and 'Father of the String Quartet', this week Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Franz Joseph Haydn through another musical form that the composer made his own, his music for Trio.

Haydn continued to produce trios into his old age, including his Piano Trio No.29 in E flat, which seems in the fast-paced finale, to perhaps anticipate the music of Beethoven.

The mid to late 1790s saw Haydn return from London to his new employer, Prince Nicholaus II, who was distinctly unmusical. Princess Marie Hermengild was often required to smooth over disagreements between the Prince and the aging composer. Haydn was still required to provide works on a regular basis for the Prince. One was his 'Mass for times of distress', later known as the Nelson Mass, although Haydn only met Lord Nelson some time after this work was composed.

Haydn also found himself collaborating with a member of the Vienna Court Orchestra, Anton Weidinger, writing music for a newly developed kind of orchestral instrument. The outcome was a work that has become one of the composer's most popular concertos, the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in E flat.