FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)

A Composer of the Classical era.

Franz Joseph Haydn was the second of twelve children. His family was quite poor.

When Franz was six, his parents sent him to live with a family relative, Johann Frankh, in Hainburg, Austria. Mr. Frankh was a private music teacher and gave Franz lessons on the harpsichord, violin, and in music harmony and theory. In Hainburg, young Franz sang in a church boychoir and eventually became the chief soloist for the group.

When Franz turned 17 and became too old for the boychoir, he made a living playing harpsichord and violin. He also began composing and completed his first mass at age nineteen, his first string quartet at 23, and his first symphony at 27.

He married his wife Anna in 1760. They separated a few years later, but Haydn continued to support Anna for the rest of her life.

In 1761 (age 29), he became the assistant choirmaster to Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy, an Austrian prince who was a great admirer of music. Haydn eventually became a full-time court musician and lived and worked in the Esterhazy palace for 29 years, until the prince's death in 1790. His daily routine required him to provide music for family concerts, private performances, and worship services. The prince also had an excellent orchestra that regularly performed Haydn's compositions.

Living at the palace, Haydn was cut off from the musical centers of Europe and, except for a few brief trips to Vienna, Austria, was not exposed to the music of other composers. He therefore developed his own style of music. The only composer to influence Haydn was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who he met in 1781. At that time, Haydn was 49 and Mozart was 25; nevertheless, the younger Mozart influenced the older Haydn.

In 1791, after the death of Prince Esterhazy, Haydn travelled to London where he was highly regarded by the British royalty. Here he heard the music of George Frideric Handel and was much impressed with Handel's oratorios. In 1795 he returned permanently to Austria and settle in Vienna where he wrote the 'Emperor's Hymn", which is now the national anthem of Austria. Inspired by Handel, Haydn also wrote several successful oratorios. By his mids-60s Haydn's health was failing. For the last ten years of his life he wrote little, although he frequently attended concert performances of his music.

Franz Joseph Haydn was a personable man, generous and honorable. He was greatly respected by royalty throughout Europe. He wrote a large number of works and was very industrious as a composer. He was fortunate to have a patron, Prince Esterhazy, who gave him the freedom to write music for a variety of occasions. However, it was not until Haydn was over forty that his music was successful in concert halls outside the Esterhazy palace.