FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)
Symphony No. 89 in F Major (1787)
Franz Joseph Haydn wrote 104 symphonies between 1757 and 1789—a remarkable achievement by any measure; in the process he transformed the genre from its early Italian 3-movement incarnation to the sophisticated 4-movement form followed by composers who came after him. There is no question that Haydn’s symphonic output is an inexhaustible wellspring of ideas, full of imagination and sophistication, surely justifying his nickname, “Father of the Symphony.” The years of his symphonic production mostly coincide with his service as Kapellmeister at the Austro-Hungarian court of Prince Paul Anton Esterházy. When his patron/employer died in 1790, his successor, the prince’s brother Nikolaus, extended Haydn’s employment for another 30 years. The musicians at the princely residence coined the name of endearment, “Papa” Haydn—an appropriate appellation, as he ever had their best interests at heart. During those golden years, he was the force that developed what is known as the “classical” style of music. Between two sets of especially well-known symphonies, the Paris Symphonies (Nos. 82-87) and the London Symphonies (Nos. 93-104), composed for Haydn’s visits to those capitals, came his five symphonies humorously dubbed his “Channel” Symphonies. The rarely heard No. 89 (sometimes called the “Letter W,” alluding to an older cataloguing system) is one of two that Haydn wrote after his Parisian successes. It was part of a deal brokered by the violinist Johann Tost, his colleague in the court orchestra, who sold the scores to the French publisher Siebert…but neglected to forward payment to Haydn. Charles Rosen, who wrote the go-to book on The Classical Style, notes a fascinating variation on the normal flow of classical first movements: “…the development and recapitulation delightfully exchange roles. The development section… contains an almost complete and orderly recapitulation of the melodic outline of the exposition, while the recapitulation fragments the themes and regroups them, resolving everything harmonically at the same time into the tonic of F Major.” This deviation is a tribute to Haydn’s ability to let his imagination be his guide, rather than a straight jacket, and shows how, according to Rosen, “the living rules of proportion, balance, and dramatic interest…really governed Haydn’s art.”

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Serenade No. 1 (1858)
In 1853, five years before he completed his Serenade No. 1, Brahms had made the acquaintance of Robert and Clara Schumann, two people who would become his comrades-in-music, his champions, and friends. They encouraged the talented young man to write in the symphonic genre, though his first symphony would not come about till much later. In the meantime Brahms tried his wings with orchestral works like the present Serenade, which he spoke of at first as a “Symphony-Serenade,” as though he couldn’t quite decide on its classification. While it began as a nonet he eventually expanded its orchestration, and in 1860 it was finally premiered as the six-movement Serenade No. 1, conducted by the composer’s friend Joseph Joachim. Its lyrical, fresh, and charming music is a delight to hear.

Riccardo Muti was born in Naples, Italy, where he studied piano at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella under Vincenzo Vitale, graduating with distinction. He was subsequently awarded a diploma in composition and conducting by the Conservatory “Giuseppe Verdi,” Milan. He first came to the attention of critics and the public in 1967, when he was unanimously awarded first place in the Guido Cantelli Conductors Competition in Milan. The following year he was appointed principal conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, a position he maintained until 1980. In 1971 he was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct at the Salzburg Festival, the first of many occasions that led, in 2001, to a celebration of 30 years of artistic collaboration.

During the 1970s Mr. Muti was the London Philharmonia’s chief conductor (1972–82), succeeding Otto Klemperer. In 1980 he succeeded Eugene Ormandy as music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, where he remained until 1992. From 1986 to 2005 he was music director of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, overseeing projects such as the Mozart-Da Ponte Trilogy and the Wagner Ring Cycle, in addition to bringing many less-performed and neglected works to light. His long tenure culminated on December 7, 2004, in the re-opening of the restored La Scala, with Salieri’s Europa riconosciuta, originally commissioned for La Scala’s inaugural opening night performance in 1778.

Over the course of his career, Riccardo Muti has conducted most of the world’s important orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, and the Vienna Philharmonic, an orchestra with which he has particularly close ties, and with which he has appeared at the Salzburg Festival since 1971. In April 2003 the French national radio channel, France Musique, broadcast a “Journée Riccardo Muti,” comprising 14 hours of his operatic and symphonic recordings. On December 14, 2003, he conducted the opening concert of the newly-renovated opera house “La Fenice” in Venice. In 2004 Mr. Muti founded the “Luigi Cherubini” Youth Orchestra comprising young musicians selected by an international committee from 600 instrumentalists throughout Italy. With the Cherubini Orchestra he is leading a five-year project dedicated to the Neapolitan School of the 18th century for the Salzburg Whitsun Festival.

On May 5, 2008, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association appointed Mr. Muti as its tenth music director; he will begin his five-year contract in September 2010. In the same season he will start as director of the Rome Opera House. Riccardo Muti’s last appearance with the New York Philharmonic was in November 2009. He is scheduled to return on April 14–17, 2010. For more information, visit www.riccardomuti.com.

Thomas Quasthoff made his U.S. debut at the Oregon Bach Festival, conducted by Helmuth Rilling, and has since sung with the New York Philharmonic, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, as well as The Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has given recitals at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center, and on major recital series. In Europe, Mr. Quasthoff appears regularly with the leading orchestras, and frequently sings in the major recital halls in Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Amsterdam, and London. In the 2008–09 season, Mr. Quasthoff appears at Carnegie Hall with The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Sir Simon Rattle, for Berlioz’s La Damnation of Faust, and with the Berlin Staatskappelle led by Daniel Barenboim for Mahler song cycles. Thomas Quasthoff made his first staged opera appearance in April 2003 as Don Fernando in Beethoven’s Fidelio with Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in Salzburg. Since then he has sung the role of Amfortas in an acclaimed production of Wagner’s Parsifal at the Vienna Staatsoper. He has recorded for the BMG, Haenssler, EMI-Electrola, Philips, and the Bayer labels, and has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist since 1999. Three of his CDs have received Grammy awards. His most recent release, Haydn Italian Arias, includes the four arias he is performing with the New York Philharmonic in these concerts.

Thomas Quasthoff’s international career was launched when he was awarded first prize in the 1988 ARD International Music Competition in Munich. He received the Order of Merit from the President of the German Republic in October 2005, and in 2006 was awarded the European Culture Prize for Music at the Dresden Frauenkirche. Mr. Quasthoff was appointed professor of music at the Hanns Eisler School for Music in Berlin in October 2004, and last appeared with the New York Philharmonic in February 2004, performing Haydn’s The Creation, conducted by Music Director Lorin Maazel.