# Do you prefer the music of Haydn or Mozart? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555 "2009-04-01T06:25:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/21 "2009-04-01T23:47:55Z")
Mozart ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/22 "2009-04-01T23:53:36Z")
I love them both dearly. That being said, two things immediately come to mind. 1. It depends on the period - I love Haydn throughout his career. I love the late period Mozart more, but I don’t ever need or want to hear the first 20 Mozart symphonies, or the first 10 string quartets, ever again. It’s very impressive that he was writing that well that young, but in my opinion, it doesn’t stand up to Haydn. 2. It depends on the form. Mozart’s vocal music, esp. the big five operas and the sacred pieces are outstanding, and far better than any of Hadyn’s vocal works. On the other hand, I prefer Haydn’s solo piano music to Mozart’s. God save me from ever having to listen to a Baryton trio again, but I’d say the same about Eine kleine Nachtmusik. I think Mozart’s best quartets are the six that were dedicated to Haydn, and overall, I much prefer Haydn’s quartet writing. Thankfully, outside the context of this debate, I don’t have to choose between them, because I wouldn’t want to live without either one. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/23 "2009-04-02T04:24:02Z")
Well put, Le Ministre! The majority of Mozart’s Symphonys, Piano Sonatas, Serenades and early chamber works are rather uninspired and dull. But most of Haydn’s are inventive and melodic. But of course, some of Mozart’s works are transcendent! For that, I go with Wolfie. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/24 "2009-04-02T04:28:58Z")
Haydn wrote SUPER PRETTY. Later Mozart was more complex. Haydn when I’m reading. Mozart when I am paying attention. Bach when I’m a bit tipsy and can appreciate its robotic inevitability. And Beethoven when I’m listening. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/25 "2009-04-02T04:42:16Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Haydn wrote SUPER PRETTY. Later Mozart was more complex. Haydn when I’m reading. Mozart when I am paying attention. Bach when I’m a bit tipsy and can appreciate its robotic inevitability. And Beethoven when I’m listening. And Vivaldi when I’m doing housework. And Rachmaninoff when I’m in love. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/26 "2009-04-02T08:25:01Z")
Schumann when I’m feeling conflicted. Handel when I have special company over Wagner when I’m planning an invasion. (hey this is fun) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/27 "2009-04-02T19:46:12Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I once printed out a college thesis by John Harutunian comparing Haydn to Mozart and still have a copy (not in modern computer form, that was ca. 1978). …which got me thinking and googling, and I ran across the book, which has been reprinted: > **[Haydn's And Mozart's Sonata Styles by John Harutunian | Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/b/OL10971201M/Haydn's-And-Mozart's-Sonata-Styles)** > > Haydn's And Mozart's Sonata Styles by John Harutunian, June 30, 2005, Edwin Mellen Press edition, Hardcover in English [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Haydn-S-and-Mozart-S-Sonata-Styles/John-Harutunian/e/9780773462021](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Haydn-S-and-Mozart-S-Sonata-Styles/John-Harutunian/e/9780773462021) …and it was probably 1981, not 1978. If anyone has this reprinted book, I would be curious to know if the examples are hand-drawn or redrawn with a computer. We printed out the CP/M, Wordstar-edited text of his thesis on a daisy-wheel computer printer, allowed space to paste in cutouts of the hand-drawn musical examples, then printed multiple copies of each page on a Toshiba floor-standing copier. And in researching John Harutunian, I came across this SDMB thread mixed in with Haydn & Mozart references. It’s a circular world. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/28 "2009-04-03T01:40:29Z")
> [@Moe](#): > > Schumann when I’m feeling conflicted. > > Handel when I have special company over > > Wagner when I’m planning an invasion. > > (hey this is fun) Tchaikovsky when I want to sit in the hammock on a lovely day, sipping a daquiri. Stravinsky when I’m digging in the garden Rossini overtures when I’m on a long drive (Yeah, **Moe** , 'tis indeed) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/29 "2009-04-03T02:04:53Z")
My own tastes lean towards either the Romantics (Chopin, Liszt, and later Beethoven for me) or the Baroque (Bach is a god), but, of Mozart and Haydn, there’s no question I prefer Mozart. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/30 "2009-04-03T12:20:39Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Rossini overtures when I’m on a long drive What, no Grateful Dead? ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/31 "2009-04-03T15:48:07Z")
Haydn rules for Symphonies (both in quality and quantity), and I also think that his chamber music was superior to Mozart’s. However, when it comes down to the Horn Concertos, Mozart gets the edge. Both of them seemed to have a thing for making everything sound giddy. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/32 "2009-04-03T21:27:57Z")
AFAIC, there’s no comparison: Haydn always strikes me as dry and academic, while Mozart is as close as I’ll ever come to believing in divinity. ---
**Author:** ![Bamboo\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@Bamboo\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bamboo_Boy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/33 "2009-04-03T22:39:38Z")
I always thought that Haydn’s forte was his craft. Impeccable craft, impeccable wit. Sometimes when I listen to Haydn I feel like I am watching the inner workings of a clock ticking away. And not just the during the ‘Clock’ Symphony! It can be mesmerizing and wonderful. The Creation is a marvel for a myriad of ingenious reasons. Not that Mozart is a slouch at craft, of course, but his music is just transcendent. Yes, the Marriage of Figaro is a STUNNING piece of craft. But the ‘magic’ that pours out through the craft is just out-of-this-world wonderful. I don’t think Haydn ever made me blubber like a baby the way that Mozart can in about a million pieces. So count me in for W.A.M. I still loves me some Papa Haydn though! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/34 "2009-04-04T02:55:49Z")
…And, of course, if the question were ‘Whose biography or correspondence would you rather read?’, the answer would be Mozart a thousand times over… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555/35 "2009-04-04T05:04:12Z")
For me there is nothing more magnificent than Haydn’s Symphony #93. In particular, the second movement (Largo cantabile) is especially laden with superbly crafted music - rich, soaring harmonies, stirring melodies, gentle tensions and releases - leading up to that unforgettable passage when the orchestra slows, hesitates and unaccountably bogs down. The music virtually comes to a halt, there are querulous calls and responses between distraught instruments, and it seems that the blockage may never be cleared - until the bassoon unleashes a mighty fart, and the stately processional resumes once more. Also excellent is the final movement in Presto, with variations on a theme we have all come to know from ads for a popular cleaning product (“Mr. Clean! Mr. Clean!”). Wolfgang was never so evocative. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-music-of-haydn-or-mozart/491555.md?page=1)