Kindred Spirits

What do two conductors, a composer, and a pope have in common with this humble blogger?

Though I never met the man, it’s pleasant to imagine that I have more than one thing in common with Helmut Müller-Brühl (1933-2012). A student of philosophy and theology as well as musicology, he seems at any rate to have shared a similar set of interests—though with the minor distinction he did so much more about it!

I happened to discover this kindred spirit early on in my musical hobbydom, when I chanced upon his delightful recording of J. S. Bach’s oboe concertos.

Then as now I was a musical amateur, but it was in response to this album that I developed a trick that has served to enrich my ignorance incalculably. Noting how beautifully the Cologne Chamber Orchestra played Bach—one of the few composers with whom I was then familiar—I decided to look into what else the group had recorded.

I quickly found that their conductor, Müller-Brühl, was a lover of Haydn, having produced album after album of his symphonies and concertos.

At the time, I was modestly familiar with Mozart but knew nothing of Haydn. Since their styles are so similar, at least on the surface, and since Mozart is known to be the absolute greatest, I had little incentive to check out his predecessor/successor—whose career spanned 69 years, whereas Mozart only lived to be 35.

It turns out that following a conductor is a wonderful way to discover works, genres, and composers likely to emerge from the shadows of obscurity into the light of beloved favorites. In this case, I soon learned that as much as he shares with Mozart, Haydn has a spirit all his own, and it happens to be one that I find endlessly captivating.

I have to thank Müller-Brühl for introducing me to the happiness of Haydn. Sadly, I can find very little footage of this man in action. The following video, though mediocre in visuals and sound, has the eminent virtue of giving us a glimpse into both his conducting and the public presence of a fellow lover of philosophy, theology, and music—Pope Benedict XVI.

Finally, I would be remiss in not calling attention to the incredible work of Giovanni Antonini, whose Haydn2032 project is recording and posting live performances of all 107 Haydn symphonies in time to commemorate the composer’s 300^th birthday.

As proof that Haydn’s spirit is alive and thriving, here is his Symphony No. 82: “The Bear”:

If you enjoyed these reflections, please forward to a friend!