~ Haydn, Franz Joseph ~
Born: 1732 in Rohrau (Austria)
Died: 1809 in Vienna (Austria)
Of humble origins, Haydn was born in the village of Rohrau, near
Vienna, on March 31, 1732. When he was eight years old he was accepted
into the choir school of Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where he
received his only formal education. Dismissed from the choir at the age
of 17, he spent the next several years as a struggling free-lance musician.
He studied on his own the standard textbooks on counterpoint and took occasional
lessons from the noted Italian singing master and composer Nicola Porpora.
In 1755 Haydn was engaged briefly by Baron Karl Josef von Fürnberg,
for whom he apparently composed his first string quartets. A more substantial
position followed in 1759, when he was hired as music director by Count
Ferdinand Maximilian von Morzin. Haydn's marriage in 1760 to Maria Anna
Keller proved to be unhappy as well as childless.
The turning point in Haydn's fortunes came in 1761, when he was
appointed assistant music director to Prince Pàl Antal Esterhàzy;
he became full director, or Kapellmeister, in 1762. Haydn served under
the patronage of three successive princes of the Esterhàzy family.
The second of these, Pàl Antal's brother, Prince Miklòs Jòzsef
Esterhàzy, was an ardent, cultivated music lover. At Esterhàza
(Hungarian Eszterhàza), his vast summer estate, Prince Miklòs
could boast a musical establishment second to none, the management of which
made immense demands on its director. In addition to the symphonies, operas,
marionette operettas, masses, chamber pieces, and dance music that Haydn
was expected to compose for the prince's entertainment, he was required
to rehearse and conduct performances of his own and others' works, coach
singers, maintain the instrument collection and music library, perform
as organist, violist, and violinist when needed, and settle disputes among
the musicians in his charge. Although he frequently regretted the burdens
of his job and the isolation of Esterhàza, Haydn's position was
enviable by 18th-century standards. One remarkable aspect of his contract
after 1779 was the freedom to sell his music to publishers and to accept
commissions. As a result, much of Haydn's work in the 1780s reached beyond
the guests at Esterhàza to a far wider audience, and his fame spread
accordingly.
After the death of Prince Miklòs in 1790, his son, Prince
Antal, greatly reduced the Esterhàzy musical establishment. Although
Haydn retained his title of Kapellmeister, he was at last free to travel
beyond the environs of Vienna. The enterprising British violinist and impresario
Johann Peter Salomon lost no time in engaging the composer for his concert
series in London. Haydn's two trips to England for these concerts, in 1791-92
and 1794-95, were the occasion of the huge success of his last symphonies.
Known as the 'Salomon' or 'London' symphonies, they include several of
his most popular works: Surprise (no. 94), Military (no. 100), Clock (no.
101), Drum Roll (no. 103), and London (no. 104).
In his late years in Vienna, Haydn turned to writing masses and
composed his great oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801).
From this period also comes his Emperor's Hymn (1797), which later became
the Austrian national anthem. He died in Vienna, on May 31, 1809, a famous
and wealthy man.
Haydn was prolific in nearly all genres, vocal and instrumental,
sacred and secular. Many of his works were unknown beyond the walls of
Esterhàza, most notably the 125 trios and other assorted pieces
featuring the baryton, a hybrid string instrument played by Prince Miklòs.
Most of Haydn's 19 operas and marionette operettas were written to accommodate
the talents of the Esterháza company as well as the tastes of his
prince. Haydn freely admitted the superiority of the operas of his young
friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In other categories, however, his works
circulated widely, and his influence was profound. The 107 symphonies and
68 string quartets that span his career are proof of his ever-fresh approach
to thematic materials and form, as well as of his mastery of instrumentation.
His 62 piano sonatas and 43 piano trios document a growth from the easy
elegance suitable for the home music making of amateurs to the public virtuosity
of his late works.
Haydn's productivity is matched by his inexhaustible originality.
His manner of turning a simple tune or motive into unexpectedly complex
developments was admired by his contemporaries as innovative. Dramatic
surprise, often turned to humorous effect, is characteristic of his style,
as is a fondness for folkloric melodies. A writer of Haydn's day described
the special appeal of his music as 'popular artistry', and indeed his balance
of directness and bold experiment transformed instrumental expression in
the 18th century.
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