Preface: the compositions of F.J. Haydn

It is very difficult to make a complete statement of Haydn's compositions. With regard to many compositions it is hard to tell if they are composed by Haydn or by a different composer. Some compositions are supposed to be written by Haydn, but may not be written by the maestro at all! Every catalogue of Haydn's works is missing works or it contains too much compositions. Of course Haydn made statements by himself. These statements are important for the study of his works, but are also not complete. Haydn didn't mention every composition in his lists, he simply forgot to mention some works or he used different names for different compositions, like Sonata, Divertimento, Partita etc.

Many of Haydn's compositions are destroyed during fires in Eisenstadt or the Hungarian Eszterhaza. Other compositions rest in private libraries, which we can't enter.

The most complete Haydn-catalog is made by Anthony van Hoboken. Hoboken was born in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) in 1887. He died in Zurich (Switzerland) in 1983. Hoboken was a Dutch musicologue who studied in Frankfurt (Germany) and Vienna (Austria). In 1957 his famous catalogue

"J. Haydn, Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis"

was published.

Since 1957 a lot of research has been done and a lot of Hoboken's work is outdated. The great Haydn-biographer Harold Robbins Landon has made great improvements where it comes to the knowledge of Haydn's works. If possible his lists will be displayed in this on-line catalog. It is possible that some facts between the Hoboken and the Landon catalogues don't match. Over all the Landon catalog is most reliable.

H.C. Robbins Landon

In 1955 the Joseph Haydn Institute was founded in Cologne, Germany. The purpose was to publish the complete works of Joseph Haydn. This institute has also done a great job of research with regard to the authenticity of several compositions. The compositions are published by G. Henle Verlag, P.O.Box 71 04 66, D-81545 München Germany.