Haydn was one of the most prolific composers in classical music. I really like his lighthearted look at life — it shows in his music. He got into much mischief as a boy and it doesn’t look like he outgrew it (which means there’s hope for my mischievous kids:)). In terms of output it seems like he was off to a slow start, but boy when he got going, did he get going!

According to the Vox recording (Music Masters, I think, it’s called) he also loved good cooking, which makes you feel sorry for him because he did go through some hard times at school, getting “more flogging than food”. It would be a while before he got some Esterhazy sweets…

To get you started on some Haydn-related sweets, there’s Esterhazy Cremetorte from The Classic Art of Viennese Pastry by Christine Berl, although you may need to scale down the recipe. Easier, kid-friendly recipes can be found in the short volume Cooking the Austrian Way. Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafes of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague has “The Story behind Esterhazyschnitten”, and of course, the recipe for it.

Not exactly Haydn-inspired, but Tea-Time at the Inn has A Chamber Music Tea featuring Finger Sandwiches, Scones, Muffins, Welsh rarebit and trifle. They used to serve this particular themed tea at the Village Inn.

If you’re not a tea-person or would prefer to do something simpler for a dinner, Hadyn’s Two Pea Soup with Smoked Duck Sausage in A Good Day for Soup might be a good one to try.

And, if you haven’t done so, before you sit down to your meal, or in between your meal and dessert, have the kids hunt down Vienna, Austria on a map!

If you’ve been able to locate/borrow/buy the Opal Wheeler book on Haydn recommended on my first post, here’s an accompanying study I found on the ‘net.