At Christmastime in 1790, a 58-year-old Joseph Haydn was travelling from Vienna to London for a series of lucrative engagements. Breaking his journey in the small, west German city of Bonn he encountered a rebellious young musician called Ludwig van Beethoven. At this point in his career, Haydn was a superstar, his music known and beloved all over Europe, so the 20 year old Beethoven – hardly known outside of Bonn – must’ve been thrilled to meet him. Haydn was seemingly so impressed with Beethoven’s talents that he offered to take him on as a pupil.

So, what did Beethoven learn from Haydn? Where does Mozart fit in, and what makes these three composers so important to the evolving musical styles of the classical period? Check out episode 2 of Classical Encounters to find out.

Guy Jones

Head of Curation