Film Review: Haydn and the Esterhazys

A detailed Summary of Film Review: Haydn and the Esterhazys

All in all I felt that this was a very informative film depicting the life and work of Joseph Haydn. It was very extensive especially considering its short one-hour length, covering all of the major aspects of Haydn's life.

I enjoyed the format; despite the fact that the age of the film rendered it a bit antiquated as far as cinematography and entertainment value are concerned, it was a good mix of historical fact and musical excerpts. Haydn's music was not simply background. In specific instances all narration would cease in lieu of a minute or two of the music. This was nice as it provided a relief from focusing attention on the historical information. I felt that the performances for each of his works were well chosen as the musicians playing them were all obviously skilled.

Of all the music on the film, I especially enjoyed the Symphony No. 44 in E minor. The narration discusses Haydn's later years at Esterhauser (sp?), and his unhappiness

In summary, I will say that for its purposes in musical education, this was a very well balanced film, containing all the necessary information and also music in Haydn's life. For the next film review I will most likely choose one of the other films in this series.

at life in solitude at the palace. Accordingly, his instrumental music at this time became very stormy and emotional, and this is clearly heard in Symphony 44. This particular performance did every justice to the original piece by emphasizing the emotional state Haydn was in at the time of composition.

The intellectuals interviewed in the film were good sources of information, and as I enjoyed listening the Malcolm Bilson (the pianist) discuss the Piano Sonatas, I found historian Laszlo Simfai to be quite dry and uninteresting. Whereas Bilson was quite animated and provided a unique musician's perspective to Haydn's music, the information Simfai provided could have been covered instead by the narrator.

Lastly, the narrator himself: as

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Approximate Word count = 680
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Music

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