Sigma Alpha Iota

Fall 2020 12 P A N P I P E S A World of Music Haydn in Plain Sight The Haydn Museum and a sign outside it. By Jayne I. Hanlin D escribed as "a simple farmhouse" by Ludwig van Beethoven, the Haydn Geburtshaus (birth house) is located in the village of Rohrau, Austria, about an hour's drive from Vienna. Around 1728, wainwright Mathias Haydn built the original thatched-roof residence where both Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and his brother Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806) were born. Now, it is a small museum that was renovated and reopened in 2017 (coincidentally the 180th anniversary of the younger brother's birth). But even in its modern setting, it still retains a homely atmosphere. As a result of modifications to the house through the years, experts disagree over the original configuration and purpose of the rooms. Specifically, for example, where was the birth room in which Mathias's first wife, Maria, had twelve children? e museum focuses on the childhood, adolescence, and early careers of both brothers. Listening stations are present throughout the building. Paying homage to Franz Joseph's contribution of the string quartet in musical development, one display enables listeners to hear individual string parts. No portraits of the parents have survived, and the furnishings inside the small museum are not family heirlooms but rather items from the historical period. Using a long pole with an attached curly, white Haydn- esque wig, I saw how I'd look with this coiffure. In the small concert room, I posed with stand-up cardboard figures of the Haydn brothers. (I wish these representations had been life-size.) Outside I enjoyed walking around the arcade and lovely inner courtyard. Admission details may be found at: www.haydngeburtshaus.at/en/ Mathias, a folk musician himself, made sure his sons could sing. From this house at age six, each brother was sent to a relative in Hainburg (three hours away by walking) to be educated in music and academics. Later, they both became choirboys at Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral. Once their voices changed, they were mainly self-taught. Both eventually became notable composers of the Classical period; of course, the elder overshadowed the younger considerably, surpassing him in fame and fortune. Michael Haydn's career took him to Salzburg, Austria where he was first appointed

• Cover