Artwork Details
- Title
- Joseph Haydn
- Artist
- Idusch & Son
- Year
- 1906
- Location
- Horticulture Center grounds (Belmont Avenue and North Horticultural Drive, West Fairmount Park)
- Medium
- Bronze, on granite base
- Dimensions
- Height 3′ 11″, width 2'10", depth 2' (base height 7′ 10″, width 4'10", depth 5'6")
Artwork Description
Throughout the 19th century, Philadelphia’s German singing societies participated in singing competitions. In 1906, the United German Singers of Philadelphia won the 21st National Saengerfest held in Newark, New Jersey. The grand prize was the bust of Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), which the singing society gave to the City of Philadelphia. The sculpture was installed in West Fairmount Park near the bust of Franz Schubert, which was also won by the singing group then gifted to the City in 1891.
Haydn was considered the father of symphonic music. His masterpiece is the oratorio, The Creation.
Artwork Credits
Gift of the United German Singers of Philadelphia to the City of Philadelphia
Owned by the City of Philadelphia
Artwork Media
Museum Without Walls
Voices:
DAVID KIM is Concertmaster and solo violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He is a renowned teacher who presents master classes world-wide. Kim also works with youth to cultivate future audiences for classical music.
HARDY VON AUENMUELLER is Chairman of the Board of The German Society of Pennsylvania, founded in 1764 to assist German immigrants. Today the organization furthers the understanding of German and German-American contributions to American history and culture.
RICHARD N. JULIANI (1938-2025) was a historian who studied immigration and ethnic life, with a focus on the Italian American experience. He is the author of The Social Organization of Immigration: The Italians in Philadelphia.
Producer: Jonathan Mitchell