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Joseph Haydn |
Hadyn spent many of his most productive years with the Esterházy court, both in Eisenstadt and on the Esterháza estate in the Hungarian countryside near Fertőd.
Bieler said Austria is spending about EUR 5 million on the celebrations. Part of the money is going toward joint Austrian and Hungarian PR and marketing spending.
Bieler offered a positive assessment of the cooperation between Austria and Hungary, not only related to the Haydn anniversary year, but for the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 2011 too. One of the foundations for this cooperation is the Austrian and Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, which was established two decades ago by the Hungarian conductor Ádám Fischer, he added.
Csák said the HUF 400 million subsidy would be paid to the Klassz Music Office, which operates as part of the public benefit company Hungarofest. He added that that first contract for European Union funding for the renovation of the Esterháza estate in Fertőd - which is expected to be a venue for many events during the anniversary year - would be signed by January 1.
The celebrations in 2009 will launch on Haydn's birthday - March 31 - with the opening of an exhibition in the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt. Several Hungarian institutions will lend artifacts for the exhibition, including the Fine Arts Museum and the Hungarian National Museum. Returning the gesture, Austria will lend Hungary the original manuscript for Hadyn's opera Armida, which will be performed on period instruments in the National Museum.
The renowned early music ensemble Concentus Musicus Vienna will start the celebrations with a performance of four Hadyn symphonies, each from one of the composer's main periods, under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. The Haydn Orchestra, conducted by Ádám Fischer, will perform the oratorio The Creation.
On the same day, concerts of Hadyn's music will take place in Budapest and other places in Hungary, as well as in cities around the world.
Image: Wikipedia
