Haydn 2032, Vol. 18: Il maestro di scuola – Giovanni Antonini

Joseph Haydn gave lessons in singing, keyboard instruments, theory and composition throughout his life. His pupils included Ignaz Pleyel, Sigismund Neukomm and the Pole Franciszek (Franz) Lessel. In October 1805, the latter received from his teacher the autograph score of his Symphony No. 56, dating from 1774. This symphony forms a pair with Symphony No. 55, known as ‘The Schoolmaster’, dating from the same year. Both are included in this eighteenth volume of the Haydn2032 series, along with Symphonie No. 29 (1765), « whose finale Presto sounds as if a swarm of naughty children had just escaped from a strict teacher », writes Christian Moritz-Bauer. Giovanni Antonini and the Kammerorchester Basel also recorded the finale of Lessel’s Fifth Symphony in G minor, the only movement that has survived from his complete orchestral works that include five other symphonies.