Haydn Voyages

Haydn – Quartet no. 13 in G Major, op 9/3 (1769)

Terry Riley – G Song  (1980)

Mary Kouyoumdjian – Groung (2014)

Haydn – Quartet no. 62 in C Major, op 76/3 “Emperor” (1796)

This journey around the globe spans cultures, eras and political issues that are as alive today as they were in Haydn’s 18th-century Europe. His “Emperor” Quartet, with its variations on a theme he wrote for Francis II (later used in the German national anthem and inspired by Haydn hearing “God Save the King” in London), surely includes feelings of national pride, but may have also been a symbolic protest to Napoleon’s rise in Europe. A haunting setting of an Armenian folk song by Mary Kouyoumdjian and Terry Riley’s G Song (the work of an American master who draws on truly global influences) complete this international voyage, with Haydn as fearless leader.