Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)

Haydn is one of the three great composers of the Classical period. In terms of fame, it was Haydn’s misfortune to be followed by two of the greatest composers in the history of music. In terms of art, it was Mozart’s and Beethoven’s good fortune to have been preceded by one of music’s most congenial and innovative spirits.

In 1732 Franz Joseph Haydn, the son of a wheelwright, was born in Rohrau, Austria. At the age of eight he was taken into the choir of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Austria, where he remained until 1750. For the next nine years Haydn worked as a freelance violinist and keyboard player, and also as an accompanist. In 1759 he became Kapellmeister to Count Morzin of Bohemia, who kept a palace in Vienna. In 1761 Haydn became deputy Kapellmeister to Count Nikolaus Esterházy, head of a prominent Hungarian family. He remained in the service of the Esterházy family for over 30 years.

The terms of Haydn’s contract were hard. He was to present himself to the Count each morning to be given his duties, he was to lead all rehearsals and performances, and all music he composed would be the Count’s property. He was not allowed to compose for any other employer without the Count’s permission, and could not resign without the Count’s consent. At first Haydn worked at the Esterházy estate at Eisenstadt, only 30 miles from Vienna. Haydn became full Kapellmeister in 1766. The same year Count Nikolaus shifted his household to his “dream palace,” Eszterhaza, deep in the Hungarian marshes. A lesser talent might have stagnated, but as Haydn later recalled, “I was set apart from the world… and so I had to become original.” He developed a unique style, audible in his middle symphonies. The Symphony no. 43 (Mercury), no. 45 (Farewell), no. 48 (Maria Theresa), and no. 55 (Schoolmaster) demonstrate the melodic invention, the rhythmic energy, and the deft handling of instrumentation that would later influence Mozart and Beethoven.

Haydn did not invent the symphony, but he developed it into a richly sophisticated form. Neither did he invent the string quartet, but his six string quartets (Op. 20)—written between 1768–1772—show the beginning of the more adventurous and integrated styles that Haydn would develop later. In 1779 Haydn renegotiated his contract with Count Nikolaus Esterházy. This enabled him to accept commissions from sources other than his patron. During the 1880s Haydn created a torrent of piano sonatas, piano trios, symphonies, and string quartets that made him world famous. Commissions flooded in, and Haydn conducted and composed all over Europe. When Count Nikolaus died in 1790, Haydn was only nominally retained. He returned to his beloved Vienna, and toured to great acclaim. He enjoyed particular success in England, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate in music at Oxford University.

A good-natured and generous man, Haydn gave practical encouragement to younger composers. Mozart honored his debt by dedicating six string quartets to Haydn in 1781. Haydn sought patrons and commissions for the young Beethoven, and was among the very first to recognize his transcendent genius. In his later years Haydn continued his prodigious activity. His oratorio, The Creation (1798), is one of the great works of the Western choral repertoire. Haydn based the text for The Creation on John Milton's Paradise Lost and biblical texts. His Seasons (1801), based on James Thompson’s nature poetry, acknowledges the beginning of the Romantic Era.