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Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) Background Franz Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, in 1732, the son of a wheelwright who was also an amateur harpist and singer. Joseph showed early musical ability, and possessed a fine singing voice. At age five, he was taken into the care of Johann Mathais Franck, a schoolmaster at Hainburg. At Hainburg, Joseph was taught the violin, clavier, and the rudiments of music. Three years later, his singing was noticed by Karl Georg Reutter, choirmaster at St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. Karl took Joseph as a chorister to Vienna, where he stayed for the next nine years, receiving a general education as well as tuition in violin, clavier, and singing. After his voice broke in 1749, Haydn was dismissed from St Stephens. For the next eight years, he scraped a living in Vienna by composing and teaching, and became acquainted with several prominent figures in Viennese music circles. In 1759, he acquired his first steady job as musical director in the household of a Bohemian nobleman, Count Ferdinand Maximillian von Morzin. The next year, Haydn married Maria Anna Keller. The union was an unhappy one, and they had no children. Haydn and Esterhazy After Count Morzin's orchestra disbanded in 1761 due to financial difficulties, Hadyn was forced to find another position. Fortunately, Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy, whom Haydn had met during his time with Morzin, offered him the job of assistant Kappellmeister of his orchestra in Eisenstadt. Prince Paul Anton was a keen music-lover, as was his successor Prince Nicholas, who took over after Prince Paul Anton's death in 1762. Haydn's duties at Esterhaza, the palace built by Prince Nicholas, included composition, conducting, directing operas, and performing chamber music, as well as the general administration of the musicians. |
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The 'father of the symphony' The Esterhazy orchestra gave Haydn the opportunity to experiment with symphonic writing, and it was during his early years there that he produced his first great symphonies, Nos. 6 (Le Matin), 7 (Le Midi), and 8 (Le Soir). He also produced a stream of music in every genre, including string quartets, divertimenti, operas, choral works, and incidental music for plays. By the 1770s, Haydn's fame had begun to spread throughout Europe. He began to receive commissions for symphonies, operas, and oratorios, and composed music for visiting royalty. In 1781, his symphonies were published in England for the first time. Three years later, a French musical society, Les Concerts de la Loge Olympique, requested six symphonies, which became so popular that three more were requested. Friendship with Mozart In 1781, Haydn met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met in Vienna, and the two immediately became close friends. Mozart, half the age of Haydn, valued his opinions and was highly influnced by him. Haydn also held Mozart in high regard, calling him 'the greatest composer known to me either in person or by reputation'. Prince Nicholas Esterhazy died in 1790, and was succeeded by his son Anton, who was less interested in music than his predecessors, disbanding the court orchestra and choir. This gave Haydn his long-awaited opportunity to travel to Vienna. Haydn in London Shortly after Nicholas's death, Johann Peter Salomon, a violinist and impresario, invited Haydn to London for a series of concerts. The visit was a great success; many of his works were performed, and he gained some important friends, including the Prince of Wales. It was during this visit that he witnessed a performance of Handel's Messiah, which possibly spurred Haydn to write his own oratorios. He also gained an honorary doctorate from Oxford, and dedicated his Symphony No. 92 to the occasion. His visit was so successful that he returned two years later. Haydn returned to Vienna in 1792 at the request of Prince Anton. Later that year, the young Ludwig van Beethoven came to Vienna for composition lessons from Haydn. They had very different personalities and did not work well together, although Haydn later commented that 'Beethoven will one day be one of Europe's greatest composers, and I am proud that I was his teacher'. The last years The new Prince Esterhazy ascended the throne in 1794, and restored some of Haydn's previous duties. His last creative period was mainly spent on the oratorios 'The Creation' and 'The Seasons', which were first performed in 1798 and 1801 respectively. From then on, his health deteriorated, and he died in 1809. Haydn has for a long time been in the shadow of his younger and more popular contemporaries, Mozart and Beethoven. This is unfortunate, as his music often contains both the sublime lyricism of Mozart and the dramatic profundity of Beethoven. He virtually invented several important forms, such as the string quartet and symphony, and wrote countless masterpieces in almost every other genre. His music is notable for its spontaneous melodic and harmonic invention, and the sheer number of distinctive and original ideas in all of his compositions. His symphonies, of which there are over 100, are perfect examples of the development of the form during the Classical period. Back to top of page |
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