The Haydn Year 2009 began in Hungary and throughout the world on January 1. The aim of the Hungarofest Community Interest Company’s KLASSZ Music Office is to mark the bicentenary of Haydn’s death by presenting the many faces of the Austrian composer’s oeuvre, which is linked to Hungary in countless ways. Our objective is not simply to offer refined music fans a singular concert experience, but to make it possible for everyone to create their own image of the inventor of the symphony and the string quartet. As part of the Haydn Year 2009, we are looking for new ways to bring classical music closer to the younger generations as an alternative to popular music. Unconventional music classes involving acclaimed artists, an alternative curriculum on the life and times of Haydn as well as a number of cross-over events have been designed to challenge the cliché that classical music is boring and old-fashioned – a „worn-out record”. During the summer of 2009, we will launch the „Feast at Eszterháza” programme series in which prominent international Haydn festivals and European cultural regions will have the opportunity to introduce themselves at the Eszterházy Palace in Fertőd, Haydn’s longtime place of residence in western Hungary. After all, Haydn, himself „roamed” across various cultures: his masterpieces were influenced by German, Hungarian and Croatian folk music as well as by Austrian and English court culture. So let the Haydn Year 2009 be about „creation” and discovery, about coming to know and love classical music, the Viennese Classic period and Haydn’s oeuvre. Let our concert halls ring with Haydn’s compositions and send the message to the world that in Hungary MUSIC is written in capital letters!
