Franz Joseph Haydn was born in an Austria village, Rohrau, on March 31, 1732 to Mathias and Maria Koller Haydn. His father was a wheelwright and a town official. He also was the musical type. Though both could not read music, his father taught himself the harp. They recognized Joseph’s music talents and had him stay with a relative, Johann Matthias Franck, at the age of six in Hainburg.
Franck took Haydn in a taught him little of music and composition. In 1740, the director of music in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Georg von Reutter recognized Haydn’s talents and signed him up. There Haydn worked for him for the next nine years.
1749, Haydn was let go, and stayed with a friend for a few months. He pursued the career of a freelance musician, being a music teacher and later becoming the valet-accompanist for Italian composer, Nicola Porpora. There he learned of “the true fundamentals of composition”. As a chorister, he composed an opera, Del Krumme Teufel, “The Limping Devil”. It was a big hit in 1753, but shut down by the censors.
The Countess of Thun had heard of Haydn and hired him for her keyboard and singing teacher. He was recommended to Baron Carl Joseph Furnberg, then to Count Morzin. With Count Morzin, he picked up his first full job as a Kapellmeister.
1757, Haydn became Kapellmeister for Count Morzin. He was the music director and led the count’s small orchestra and wrote his first symphonies. In 1760, he married Maria Anna Aloysia Apollonia Keller {1729-1800}. Unfortunately, they led an unhappy marriage with no children. 1761, Count Morzin was dealing with financial problems and let Haydn go, but found a similar job as Vice Kapellmeister for the Esterhazy family, one of the wealthiest and important families in Austrian country. In 1766 he succeeded as head Kapellmeister when former Gregor Werner died.
There Haydn wrote more compositions, such as Paris symphonies {85-86} and the Seven Last Words of Christ {86}. 1784, he became acquainted with Mozart. They both praised each other’s work, and Mozart dedicated a set of six quartets to him.
Prince Nikolaus died {former pupil of the Esterhazy family} and was succeeded by an unmusical prince. Haydn was given a pension and let go. A German impresario, Johann Peter Salomon, offered Haydn to visit England and conduct new symphonies with his large orchestra. Here, the public loved him. He visited England in 1791-2 and also in 1794-5, composing Surprise, Military, Rider quartet, and Gypsy Rondo piano trio. Between his visits to England he was acquainted with and was the apprentice of Ludwig van Beethoven. Though, he did not stay around long for they did not get along well.
1795, Haydn moved to Vienna and bought his own large house there. He composed of religious works for chorus and orchestra: such as two oratorios, the Creation and the Seasons, and six masses dedicated to the Esterhazy family. He also composed instrumental pieces.
1802, an illness Haydn had been dealing with took a serious turn. The illness allowed him to not compose anymore. He later died in 1809, March 31st. His last moments were of the attack on Vienna made by Napoleon’s French army. It said his last words were of comforting of his servants from the sound of canons. |
