Writing in Haydn Studies of the composer's reception during the 19th century, Leon Botstein tells an interesting story about Felix Weingartner, Mahler's successor as conductor at the Imperial Opera in Vienna. In 1909, he was asked to provide something that could be part of the centenary celebrations of Haydn's death. 'Weingartner expressed his dismay that the Festival Committee failed to grasp the brilliance of his idea that a new production of the Magic Flute would be the ideal tribute. Not accepting the idea that Haydn was "everything but a dramatic composer", they insisted on a Haydn opera.' Could the same situation have arisen with any other composer?

LRB 8 February 2001 | PDF Download