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In Rohrau, Lower Austria, you can still see the thatched farmhouse built in 1728 where Joseph and Michael Haydn were born (pictured on the left). Concerts take place there through the year, as well as at nearby Rohrau Castle (www.schloss-rohrau.at).
In Vienna, you can visit St. Stephens' Cathedral in Vienna, where Haydn sang as a choirboy. He also lived in Vienna for the last 19 years of his life: his residence, Haydn House, is reopening to the public as the "Haydn Museum" the January 28th. And of course, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus are a must for classical music tourists. Vienna also will host city walks, starting from April and taking in the Haydn Museum.
However, top of your list for a visit has to be the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, Burgenland, Austria, a sumptuous palace. Haydn was employed by the Esterházy family for the greatest part of his working life. Pictured below is the opulent Haydn Hall, the theatre/concert hall within the palace where many of Haydn's works would have been performed. Eisenstadt will also be setting up a themed "Haydn Trail" taking in ten "authentic Haydn sites and some 40 information points", opening at the start of April 2009.
Just across the border in Fertőd, Hungary is the Esterháza Castle (confusingly also known as Esterházy Mansion), an even grander palace modelled on Versailles, which boasted a full opera house and where Haydn composed many of his symphonies. The castle was abandoned but has been gradually restored over the last 20 years, although restoration of the opera house remains a project looking for sponsorship. You can find more information about Fertőd on this link; a correspondent of ours in Hungary tells us that it will soon by renamed Esterháza.
In between Eisenstadt and Fertőd is Sopron, a frequent stopping place for the Esterházy family in between their two places and where Haydn spent frequent summers. From Easter to December, Sopron will be staging concerts to commemorate Haydn, including performances of “Seven Last Words of Christ” and the Creation. By the way, Liszt was born in Raiding, back across the Austrian border, and played his first concert in Sopron: his father was another employee of the Esterházy family.
Haydn´s birthplace in Rohrau © ÖW/Mayer, Esterházy Palace, Haydn Hall © Burgenland Tourismus/Lunardi
Anniversaries in 2009:
Purcell (b.1659) Handel (d.1759) Haydn (d.1809) Mendelssohn (b.1809) Tárrega (d.1909) Albéniz (d.1909)
Villa-Lobos (d.1959) Martinů (d.1959)
