H. C. Robbins Landon
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Howard Chandler Robbins Landon (March 6, 1926November 20, 2009) was an American
musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...
, journalist, historian and broadcaster, best known for his work in rediscovering the huge body of neglected music by
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
and in correcting misunderstandings about Mozart. The son of a musician, Landon became enthusiastic about Haydn's compositions in high school and was eager to pursue a career in Haydn scholarship. He studied with, among others,
Karl Geiringer Karl Geiringer (April 26, 1899 – January 10, 1989)Will Crutchfield, January 12, 1989 Retrieved 2013-08-10. was an Austrian-American musicologist, educator, and biographer of composers. He was educated in Vienna but at the beginning of the Nazi yea ...
, an authority on Haydn, graduating with a music degree in 1947. He moved to Europe, where he lived for the rest of his life. He co-founded the Haydn Society in 1949, the goal of which was to publish and record Haydn's works. Gaining access to archives in countries throughout Europe, he spent decades researching the life and works of Haydn. He rescued, published
critical edition Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
s of, wrote books about, and with the society arranged for the recording of, numerous forgotten works. He finally published his five-volume study, ''Haydn: Chronicle and Works'', between 1976 and 1980. In addition to his work on Haydn, Landon and the society recorded neglected works of Mozart, and he published five popular books about Mozart, dispelling myths about the composer's life. He had written 28 books by 1996. Landon also wrote regularly for music magazines and newspapers, especially the longest-established London paper, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
''. He was a popular broadcaster for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
on radio and television and was praised for his ability to enthuse general audiences with his chosen subject. From the 1970s, he was a sought-after lecturer and held appointments with colleges in the US and the UK.


Life and career


Early years

Landon was born in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts, the son of William Grinnell Landon, a writer of
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
descent, and his wife Dorothea LeBaron ''née'' Robbins, a musician."Landon, Howard Chandler Robbins"
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2010, accessed February 4, 2013 "H. C. Robbins Landon"
Gale Database: Contemporary Authors Online, accessed February 4, 2013 He was educated at Aiken Preparatory School,
Lenox School for Boys Lenox School was a private preparatory school for boys in grades nine through twelve in Lenox, Massachusetts. The school was affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States). School history The school opened in 1926 under the leadership of R ...
and Asheville School. While at the last he discovered the music of
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
, which became his lifelong study. Most of Haydn's music had been neglected for many years. In the first half of the nineteenth century Robert Schumann wrote of him, "Today it is impossible to learn anything new from him. He ... has ceased to arouse any particular interest." At the end of the century,
Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is be ...
said that musicians need not be ashamed of knowing only a few of Haydn's symphonies "for Haydn is scarcely himself in this most important branch of composition till this very late period of his life." Of Haydn's output of more than 750 works, only a tenth was available in print in the mid-twentieth century. Landon determined to concentrate his studies on Haydn. In pursuit of this goal, he "would learn several instruments, and study orchestration, harmony, several foreign languages, and history".Church, Michael
"The man who discovered Haydn"
''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', July 13, 1999 From 1943 to 1945 he was a student at Swarthmore College, studying music theory with Alfred Swan, composition with
Harl McDonald Harl McDonald (July 27, 1899 - March 30, 1955) was an American composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. McDonald was born in Boulder, Colorado, and studied at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Redlands, and the Leipzig Con ...
and English literature with
W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...
.Morgan, Paula
"Landon, H. C. Robbins"
Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed February 4, 2013 His studies at Swarthmore ended when its Quaker administrators expelled him for an affair with a female student.Anderson, Martin
"H.C. Robbins Landon"
''The Independent'', January 11, 2010 From 1945 to 1947 Landon was at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
, studying music with Hugo Norton and
Karl Geiringer Karl Geiringer (April 26, 1899 – January 10, 1989)Will Crutchfield, January 12, 1989 Retrieved 2013-08-10. was an Austrian-American musicologist, educator, and biographer of composers. He was educated in Vienna but at the beginning of the Nazi yea ...
, who was described by ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' as "the great Haydn scholar"."H. C. Robbins Landon"
''The Times'', November 25, 2009 Landon graduated with a
Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...
degree in 1947.


Europe

After graduating, Landon planned to go on to
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
to take a master's degree, but in the interim he decided to go to Europe for the summer of 1947. While there he secured a job as foreign music correspondent for the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System. "Obituary of H. C. Robbins Landon"
''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'', November 25, 2009 Recognizing that he would shortly be conscripted for two years' military service, Landon sought out the U.S. Army of Occupation in Vienna and volunteered as a military historian, researching and documenting the role of the Fifth Army in liberating Italy. This move gave him practical experience in handling primary sources and enabled him to remain in Vienna, writing, performing and researching. In 1949 Landon married the harpsichordist and scholar Christa Fuhrmann, completed his military service, and returned to Boston to undertake postgraduate research. While there, he and a group of friends, including Geiringer, founded the Haydn Society. They had two aims: to publish a new complete edition of the composer's works, and to make as many of his works as possible available on record. Their first set of records, issued within the year, was the ''
Harmoniemesse The ''Harmoniemesse'' in B-flat major by Joseph Haydn, Hob. XXII:14, Novello 6, was written in 1802. It was Haydn's last major work. It is because of the prominence of the winds in this mass and "the German terminology for a kind of wind ensem ...
'' of 1802. It sold out almost immediately. A legacy from an uncle in 1949 enabled him to return to Vienna, where he organized an ambitious program of recording, while continuing to search for forgotten Haydn scores in archives in central Europe. He remained secretary of the Haydn Society, which operated from Vienna rather than Boston after his move. The society issued recordings of symphonies and masses that had previously been unavailable on disc. It also published the first recordings of Mozart's '' Great Mass in C minor'' and ''
Idomeneo ' (Italian for '' Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', K. 366) is an Italian language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a Frenc ...
''.Millington, Barry
"Obituary: HC Robbins Landon"
''The Guardian'', November 25, 2009 Landon travelled through central and eastern Europe in search of Haydn manuscripts. He edited
critical edition Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
s of Haydn's music, principally the operas and masses, scarcely known at the time. Among his discoveries were the manuscripts of Haydn's opera L'anima del filosofo, that was first performed in 1951. His first book, ''The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn'', appeared in 1955. The book established the chronology of the symphonies, analyzed the scores, and discussed their role in 18th-century music and in Haydn's output as a whole. Landon could turn his scholarship to practical effect. The horn players of the
Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...
struggled to reach the high notes in Haydn's unfamiliar Symphony No. 56; Landon established that Haydn's horns had been designed to play in a range an octave higher, and arranged for replicas to be made.


Writer and lecturer

Landon wrote for many publications, including ''
Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. History 1898–19 ...
'', but he said that his most important association was with ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' in London. He wrote for that paper from the early 1950s, and found its accreditation particularly useful in gaining access to archives behind the Iron Curtain. In 1957 he was appointed the paper's "special correspondent", a post he held until 1961. He became a frequent broadcaster, first on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio, and later on television, where he was praised for his appeal to experts and lay people alike. Between 1976 and 1980, Landon produced his five volume ''magnum opus'', ''Haydn: Chronicle and Works''. ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'' rates this and Landon's 1955 book on the symphonies as "major landmarks in Haydn studies". The reviewer in ''The Times'', referring to the second volume, wrote, "Witty, enthralling and humane, it fulfils expectations in every possible way". Landon did not confine his scholarship to the study of Haydn. His five books on the life and music of Mozart were aimed at a wider public than his works about Haydn, and sold in large numbers in many languages, making his name internationally known. In the wake of long-standing myths about Mozart, and new perceptions of him created by the 1979 play and 1984 film ''
Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
'', Landon set out the facts. He rescued Mozart's fellow-composer Salieri from the charge of poisoning his rival, and restored the reputation of Mozart's wife, Constanze, long thought of as "a scatterbrained, lascivious woman, incapable of understanding Mozart and encouraging him to live a disorderly, if not dissolute, existence." In Europe and America, Landon was sought after as a lecturer. In the 1960s, '70s and '80s he held professorial posts at Queen's College, New York; the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
; University College, Cardiff University; and Middlebury College, Vermont. His scholarship was not invariably beyond reproach. In 1993, by failing to carry out rudimentary checks, he was duped by a forgery of six "Haydn" piano sonatas. When venturing outside his sphere of special expertise he was sometimes criticized for lacking scholarly precision; ''Grove'' instances his books on
Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...
, J. C. Bach and
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
. He was helped in his researches by many assistants, whose work he was scrupulous about acknowledging. Among his helpers were his first wife, Christa, with whom he continued to collaborate after their divorce in the mid-1950s, and his second wife, the historian Else Radant, whom he married in 1957.


Later years

Having made his home at various times in his career in Austria, Italy and Britain, Landon settled in 1984 at the Château de Foncoussières, Rabastens, Tarn, in southern France. Separated from his second wife in 1994, he spent his later years with a companion, Marie-Noelle Raynal-Bechetoille. In 1990 Landon collaborated with the writer and broadcaster John Julius Norwich in presenting a five-part television series about Venice's musical heritage under the title ''Maestro''. They presented episodes on "Venice and the Gabrielis", "The World of Claudio Monteverdi", "Venice and Vivaldi", "Verdi and Venetian Theatre", and "20th-Century Music in Venice", the last of which, including works by Stravinsky and
Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
, was far away from Landon's usual musical territory. Landon never formally retired, but in an interview he gave two years before his death, he said that he no longer did any research: "I do a few corrections, that kind of thing. But in effect I'm retired. I'm 81, so I'm allowed to retire." Landon died at Rabastens, at the age of 83.Kozinn, Allan
"H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydn and Mozart Scholar, Dies at 83"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', November 26, 2009


Reputation and honors

''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said of Landon, "Though a serious and prolific scholar, Mr. Landon also had a knack for making musicology seem exciting to the general public."
Charles Rosen Charles Welles Rosen (May 5, 1927December 9, 2012) was an American pianist and writer on music. He is remembered for his career as a concert pianist, for his recordings, and for his many writings, notable among them the book ''The Classical Sty ...
, in a review of Landon's five-volume Haydn compendium, expressed admiration and gratitude to the author for his energy in bringing all of Haydn's music, particularly the complete symphonies, to publication: "Only a few decades ago there were still immense tracts of unexplored Haydn. ... That we are better off today is owing in large part to the work of Robbins Landon." However, he faults Landon for haphazard scholarship and analysis, observing that "much of what he writes is sensitive and penetrating, and it is all informed by a great love of Haydn and an enthusiasm which would be infectious if the book were not so disorganized and unsystematic. ... He writes like a man going quickly through the pages of Haydn's works and pointing out to a friend the passages he likes most." Landon was granted honorary doctorates by
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
(1969),
Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...
(1974), Bristol University (1981) and the New England Conservatory (1989), and was an honorary fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, (1980). He was awarded the Siemens Prize (1991) and the Medal of Honor of the
Handel and Haydn Society The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest-serving suc ...
(1993). He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1991. He received the Verdienstkreuz für Kunst und Wissenschaft from the Austrian Government in 1972 and the Gold Medal of the City of Vienna in 1987.


Publications

Landon's output was huge; a tribute volume published for his 70th birthday in 1996 contained a bibliography listing 516 publications by him, including 28 books. In his ''Who's Who'' entry Landon selected as his major publications: *''The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn'', 1955 *''The Mozart Companion'' (co-ed with Donald Mitchell), 1956 *''The Collected Correspondence and London Notebooks of Joseph Haydn'', 1959 *Critical edition of the 107 Haydn Symphonies, completed 1968 *''Essays on Eighteenth-Century Music'', 1969 *''Ludwig van Beethoven: a documentary study'', 1970 *''Haydn: Chronicle and Works'', 1976–80: **''vol. 3, Haydn in England'', 1976 **''vol. 4, Haydn: The Years of The Creation'', 1977 **''vol. 5, Haydn: The Late Years'', 1977 **''vol. 1, Haydn: The Early Years'', 1978 **''vol. 2, Haydn in Eszterhaza'', 1980 *''Haydn: a documentary study'', 1981 *''Mozart and the Masons'', 1982 *''Handel and his World'', 1984 *''1791: Mozart's Last Year'', 1988 *''Haydn: his life and music'' (with David Wyn Jones), 1988 *''Mozart: the golden years'', 1989 *''The Mozart Compendium'' (ed), 1990 *''Mozart and Vienna'', 1991 *''Five Centuries of Music in Venice'', 1991 *''Vivaldi: voice of the Baroque'', 1993 *''The Mozart Essays'', 1995 *''Horns in High C'' (memoirs), 1999 *Scholarly editions of eighteenth-century music (various European publishing houses)


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Landon, H. C. Robbins 1926 births 2009 deaths American expatriates in France Ernst von Siemens Music Prize winners Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Haydn scholars Swarthmore College alumni 20th-century American musicologists Handel scholars Members of the American Philosophical Society