JOSEPH HAYDN - HIS LIFE, HIS WORK, HIS INFLUENCE WITH PRACTICAL TIPS FOR CONCERTS AND TEACHING

Conferenza a cura di Walter Reicher

MERCOLEDÌ 17 SETTEMBRE 2025

10:00 - 13:00 AULA MAGNA

A life from RAGS to RICHES: Joseph Haydn's story is a success story. From a poor choir boy to the wealthy and most famous composer in the western hemisphere. As the father of the symphony, inventor of the string quartet, friend of Mozart and teacher of Beethoven, he is one of the main proponents of Viennese Classicism and has shaped the history of music right up to the present day. Knowledge about his life, his environment and his work also helps us in today's music business in designing programs that are effective for the public and in teaching instrumental and music lessons.

Some aspects, focal points and questions that will be dealt with in the 3-hour lecture:

- Joseph Haydn's biography and his oeuvre in relation to his geographical homeland

- Joseph Haydn's relationships with patrons and publishers and the rapid dissemination of his works

- Examples of the professional use of Joseph Haydn's extensive oeuvre, with information on programming and teaching.

Prof. Dr. Walter Reicher

Walter Reicher is an Austrian cultural manager and Chairman of the Board of the International Joseph Haydn Private Foundation Eisenstadt. He studied commercial sciences at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (he wrote his dissertation on “Functions of Management in Art Museums”), theater studies at the University of Vienna and cultural management at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

He gained his diverse professional experience in the cultural and event sector in the museum and exhibition sector (1983 - 1988) as assistant to Dieter Ronte, director of the Museum of Modern Art in Vienna, as managing director of the art association “art flow”, as an expert on museum buildings and as a curator of exhibitions in Austria and abroad.

In the field of music, he was the artistic director and managing director of the Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt for thirty years (1988 - 2019) and was thus responsible for the programming and organization of a festival and concert program ranging from chamber music to opera, the commissioning of compositions, interdisciplinary events, film productions and their media support. Under his management (2003 - 2008), the new Franz Liszt Concert Hall in Raiding was also built, including the founding of the Liszt Festival there. In the 2020-2022 seasons, he was Managing Director of the Theater an der Wien in the Vienna Chamber Opera.

As a driving force behind the establishment and the ongoing activities of the Haydn Foundation and a proven Haydn expert, he is dedicated to research on Haydn and his context. He is the director of international musicological conferences and editor of the musicological publication series “Eisenstädter Haydn-Berichte / Eisenstadt Haydn-Reports”. The strategic development and expansion of the Haydn Foundation's archive and collections is another focus of his work. The holdings also form the basis for the exhibitions and publications he curates.

At the same time, he has been teaching at various universities and educational institutions for over three decades, including the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna since 2002.

DOCENTE REFERENTE: FEDERICO.GON@CONTS.IT