Hadyn once said Eisenstadt was the place where "I want to live and to die", a slogan that has been adopted for the city's celebration of the anniversary.
Michael Weese, who is in charge of organising the exhibitions, recently presented the overall theme for the year at the Esterházy Castle, where Hadyn was employed as the court musician. He said many of the objects included in the exhibitions are well known to the public, but the fact that they will be on display at the same time and in the same city will offer visitors an unparalleled opportunity to examine the life and works of the great composer.
Haydn's Tomb in Eisenstadt
The exhibitions will be hosted by the Esterházy Castle, the Hadyn Museum, the museum of the local Roman Catholic diocese and the regional museum. "Haydn left an extremely versatile musical inheritance, and it is precisely this that the different exhibition venues will draw to visitors' attention," said Weese.
The exhibition in the castle will offer visitors a behind-the-scenes look at Hadyn's everyday activities in the Estzerházy court. The exhibition in the Hadyn Museum, which is located in the house where Hadyn once lived, will examine the composer's personal life. Hadyn's music - the sacred and the profane, that containing artistic as well as folk elements - will naturally have a place in all four exhibitions, Weese said.
The exhibitions will feature objects on loan from Budapest, London, Paris and Düsseldorf. They will open on March 31, the composer's birthday.
