Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Franz Joseph Haydn(March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was a very prominent composer during the classical period, and is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet."
Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, an Austrian village near the Hungarian border. Haydn was trained as a chorister at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. He remained a life-long resident of Austria.
Joseph Haydn had musical siblings as well. His brother of was Michael Haydn, who was a successful composer himself, and his brother Johann Evangelist Haydn, a highly regarded tenor. Haydn's parents were not able to read music, but his father was a self-taught harp player and folk musician. Haydn once commented that his family during his childhood was very musical, and often would sing together and with their friends and neighbors
Haydn spent a majority of his career as a court musician for a wealthy family named Esterházy, on their secluded estate. Due to his job, Haydn was somewhat isolated from other musicians and composers, and didn't keep up with the music trends of the time until later in his life. Haydn once said these circumstances "forced to become original." When Prince Esterházy died in 1790, Haydn was released of his responsibilities and allowed travel to London. During his career with the Esterházy princes, Joseph Haydn directed an ensemble of approximately twenty other musicians. The music and instruments were Haydn's responsibility, and he was required to compose on demand for his employer. Joseph Haydn was lcuky to have such wealthy and enthusiastic musical patrons as the Esterházy family who permitted him to compose such a huge amount of music during his lengthy career.
Haydn wrote several attractive piano trios between the years of 1784 and 1797. The best known of these piano trios is the G major Trio with its so-called Gypsy Rondo.
In a brief autobiographical sketch that he was asked to write in 1776 for inclusion in Das gelehrte Oesterreich, Haydn wrote the following about his career:
"I was born anno 1732 the last of March in the hamlet of Rohrau in Lower Austria, near Bruck on the Leytha River. My father was a wheelwright by profession ... and had a natural love for music. Without being able to read music he played the harp, and when I was a boy of five I was able to repeat all of his short and simple songs. This caused my father to send me to Hainburg in the care of the school director, a relative, so that I might learn there the rudiments of music and other elementary general subjects. Almighty God gave me musical talent so that in my sixth year I was able to sing along with the choir during Mass and to play some on the violin and piano. When I was seven years old the Imperial Kapellmeister von Reutter came through Hainburg. He happened to hear my small but pleasing voice and accepted me at once for the Kapellhaus [in Vienna]. Besides being instructed in academic subjects I learned from excellent teachers how to sing and had instruction in piano and violin. Until I reached the age of eighteen I sang there, with much applause, soprano parts, both at St. Stephen's Cathedral and at court. When my voice finally changed I barely managed to stay alive by giving music lessons to children for about eight years. In this way many talented people are ruined: they have to earn a miserable living and have no time to study. I had this experience myself, and I would never have reached this moderate degree of success if I had not continued to compose diligently during the nights as well. I wrote a great deal, but I lacked solid grounding until I had the good fortune to be taught the fundamentals of composition by the famous Mr. Porpora who lived in Vienna during this time. Through the recommendation of Mr. von Furnberg (who showed me special kindness) I eventually was given a position as music director to Count Morzin, and following this as Kapellmeister to His Highness Prince Esterházy; there it is my desire to live and to die."
Even if Haydn's music is not considered as intense emotionally and as that of Beethoven (who once studied music under Haydn), Haydn's music portrays solid base that is an important part of the Classical Era. James Webster, a musicologist specializing in classical music, is quoted as saying of Haydn's role in classical music history, "He excelled in every musical genre...He is familiarly known as the 'father of the symphony' and could with greater justice be thus regarded for the string quartet; no other composer approaches his combination of productivity, quality and historical importance in these genres."
In 1802, Haydn was suffering from an illness that he had developed some time back, and it had increased to the point that it was too severe and painful for him to be physically able to compose music. This was obviously a difficult time for him because he admittedly never quit thinking of fresh ideas for music and compositions, he was just unable to follow through with them. Haydn had servants in his later years and they cared for him well. He also received many public honors and notable visitors his last years, but that only did a little bit to help his suffering. During his last years, Haydn often found comfort by sitting at a piano and playing Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser (God Save Emperor Francis). Haydn had composed the melody himself as a gesture of his patriotism in 1797.The melody later was used for the Austrian and German national anthems.
Haydn died at the end of May in 1809, shortly after Napoleon and the French army lauched an attack on Vienna.. Some of Joseph Haydns last last words as he was dying were to calm his servants who were being frightened by cannon shots throughout the neighborhood.