Mon, October 5th, 2026
Haydn2032: Il dolce far niente – Giovanni Antonini & Il Giardino Armonico

The tongue-in-cheek title "Il dolce far niente" (The Sweetness of Doing Nothing) originates from a letter of complaint written in 1765 by Haydn's predecessor as Eszterházy Kapellmeister, Gregor Joseph Werner. Anyone surveying Joseph Haydn's astonishingly diverse and extensive oeuvre can hardly accuse him of a lack of diligence. It was hardly "sweet idleness" that sometimes tempted the composer to compile symphonies from existing compositions such as opera overtures or theater music, but rather the workload of the operatic operations at Eszterháza Palace. A Haydn symphony discovered only in 2013 in Spanish sources also represents such a "patchwork": here, at least, Haydn seems to have indulged himself a little. The musicians are anything but idle: Giovanni Antonini and his Giardino Armonico will perform not only the "Spanish" symphony, but also Symphonies Nos. 21 in A major and 51 in B-flat major. This program is complemented by works from a predecessor and a successor of Haydn: the very same industrious Esterházy Kapellmeister Gregor Joseph Werner, whose D minor fugue Haydn published in 1804, and the notoriously lazy, but extremely prolific, opera composer Gioachino Rossini, who was an admirer of Haydn's (and Mozart's) music, and whose charming Sonata a quattro in G major documents this admiration.

The extremely prolific Austrian Clemens J. Setz will be a guest as a literary contributor at the Haydn reading (6:30 pm), among whose numerous literary awards we would like to mention the Büchner Prize and the Grand Austrian State Prize.

Giovanni Antonini, Conductor
Il Giardino Armonico

Program:
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809): Symphony No. 21 in A major Hob. I:21 (1764)
Gregor Joseph Werner (1693–1766): From "VI Fugues in Quartets": V. [in D minor] Adagio ma poco / Allegro / Adagio
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809): Symphony No. 51 in B-flat major Hob. I:51 (1773)
Intermission
Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868): From "Sei Sonate a quattro": Sonata Ia in G major
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809): Symphony in C major "Symphony for Spain" Hob. deest (1773/1774)

6:30 p.m.: Haydn Reading with Clemens J. Setz (Moderated by Alain Claude Sulzer)
Admission to the Haydn reading and lounge is only possible with a concert ticket and prior registration at info@haydn2032.com. Seating is limited to 50 people (doors open at 6:15 pm).

7:30 pm Concert,
duration 120 minutes including intermission.

Our famous Haydn soup will be served during the intermission.