Joseph Haydn

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Haydn arose from humble origins, the child of working people in a rural village. He established his career first by serving as a chorister at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, then through an arduous period as a freelance musician. Eventually he found career success, spending much of his working life as music director for the wealthy Esterházy family at their palace of Eszterháza in rural Hungary. Though he had his own orchestra there, it isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". During this period his music circulated widely in publication, eventually making him the most celebrated composer in Europe. Notable works include the Paris and London symphonies. With the death of his patron Nikolaus Esterházy in 1790, Haydn was free to travel, and augmented his fame as a performer before the public in both London and Vienna. Late in life, he composed the oratorios The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801). The last years of his life (1803–1809) were spent in a state of debility, unable to compose due to poor health. He died in Vienna in 1809 at the age of 77.

Reader's Guide

Haydn's significance lies in his pivotal role in shaping Classical music forms, particularly the symphony, string quartet, and sonata form. His long career spanned the development of the Classical style, and his isolation at Eszterháza forced him to develop an original voice. His music circulated widely, making him the most celebrated composer in Europe during his lifetime. He was a friend and mentor of Mozart and a teacher of Beethoven, and together with them is sometimes referred to as the "First Viennese School". Harold C. Schonberg writes that Haydn "was the Classic performer par excellence, and in his long life, from 1732 to 1809, he grew up with the new musical ideas and, more than any one man, shaped them." His legacy includes the Paris and London symphonies, and the oratorios The Creation and The Seasons.

Did You Know?

• Haydn's father Mathias was a wheelwright and folk musician who taught himself to play the harp during his journeyman period.
• As a chorister at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Haydn was motivated to sing well in hopes of gaining more invitations to perform before aristocratic audiences, where the singers were usually served refreshments.
• Haydn was dismissed from the choir after snipping off the pigtail of a fellow chorister; he was first caned, then summarily thrown into the streets.
• He studied the counterpoint exercises in Johann Joseph Fux's text Gradus ad Parnassum and carefully studied the work of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, saying of Bach's first six keyboard sonatas, 'I did not leave my clavier till I played them through.'
• Haydn's first opera, Der krumme Teufel (The Limping Devil), was premiered successfully in 1753 but soon closed down by censors due to 'offensive remarks'.

Common Misconceptions (Editorial)

A common misconception is that Haydn was born in a city or into a musical family; in fact, he arose from humble origins as the child of working people in a rural village, and his father was a wheelwright and folk musician, not a trained professional. Another misconception holds that Haydn thrived on creative freedom and collaboration with other major composers; in reality, his isolation from other composers and trends while serving the Esterházy family forced him to become original, as he himself put it. Additionally, some may believe Haydn’s career ended with a gradual fade into retirement; instead, after his patron’s death in 1790, he traveled widely, performed in London and Vienna, and composed major late works like *The Creation* and *The Seasons* before poor health finally stopped him in 1803.

Why It Matters (Editorial)

Haydn matters because he fundamentally shaped the musical forms we still recognize today—the symphony, the string quartet, and the piano trio—earning him the lasting titles “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet.” His work endures not only for its innovation but for its humanity, rising from a childhood of rural poverty and a career of enforced isolation to produce music that became the most celebrated in Europe, proving that artistic greatness often emerges from constraint, not comfort.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Franz Joseph Haydn (March 31 1732 – May 31 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio." — Joseph Haydn "Give Him thanks, all ye His works so wondrous! Sing His honor, sing His glory, bless and magnify His Name! Jehovah’s praise endures forevermore, Amen, Amen!." — Joseph Haydn "The libretto of an 18th-century oratorio by Joseph Haydn states in praise of Jehovah. Source: The Watchtower magazine, article: Praise the King of Eternity!, 4/1, 1996." — Joseph Haydn "Ich sage ihnen vor Gott, als ein ehrlicher Mann, ihr Sohn ist der größte Componist, den ich von Person und den Nahmen nach kenne: er hat geschmack, und über das die größte Compositionswissenschaft." — Joseph Haydn