Joseph Haydn died 200 years ago Sunday. He was, by any measure, a prolific composer. In addition to the five dozen or so string quartets, he wrote hundreds of trios, piano sonatas, oratorios, masses, ...

Ivan Hewett explains why the Austrian’s humour and common touch make his music ideal for a crisis Ivan Hewett is The Telegraph’s Classical Music Critic and an author whose works include Music: Healing ...

The conductor’s final ever concert was at Sage Gateshead with the Royal Northern Sinfonia playing an all-Haydn programme. He leaves classical music changed emphatically for the better – and with less ...

When discussing Haydn’s music it's difficult to avoid using words like ‘elegant’, ‘witty’ and ‘brio’, but I'll do my best. The writer E.T.A Hoffman should shoulder much of the blame for Haydn's ...

Sometimes a composer becomes so well known for a particular genre of music that other pieces go unrecognized. The following are three examples of composers who are famous for one thing but who ...

A small step in the evolution of the trumpet. “Ear Trumpet 1”. Photo by Eknath Gomphotherium, used with permission. We’re back with a new episode! Whooo! How did the trumpet morph from a simple horn ...

The Emerson String Quartet cultivates the full range of the quartet repertoire, right up to the most contemporary offerings. But every quartet needs to revisit the source periodically, and that means ...

Comparing Brahms’s pair of cello sonatas is like looking at the two piano concertos. There’s the youthful, three-movement grumpy one. Then a long gap before a major key work in four parts, with a last ...

On his visits to London, Haydn discovered audiences who were eager to be surprised – and he met their expectations Tom Service: Why did the Haydn fan recoil from the skirl of the pipes? They had more ...

Between 1768 to 1772 Haydn published three sets of string quartets, the Op 9, 17 and 20. He wrote no more quartets until his Op 33 in 1781, and these were more mature, creative and innovative in their ...

This past week marked a musical anniversary that is worth recalling, not only on account of the performance, but also in view of what happened in the theatre on the night. February 2 was a Monday in ...

In our daily series Armchair Arts, a Telegraph critic offers expert analysis. Today, Ivan Hewett looks at a playful but majestic work Ivan Hewett is The Telegraph’s Classical Music Critic and an ...