Haydn's Heritage: Austrian Identity And Influence

Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer and one of the most important figures in the development of Classical music during the 18th century. Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, in 1732 and died in Vienna, Austria, in 1809. He was a child prodigy and was sent to live with his cousin, who was a school principal and choirmaster, to receive musical training. Haydn went on to become a chorister at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where he gained practical musical skills but little instruction in music theory. After being expelled due to his voice changing, Haydn moved back to Vienna and worked various odd jobs before being employed by the Italian composer Nicola Porpora as an accompanist. Haydn then worked for the Bohemian count Ferdinand Maximilian von Morzin and, later, the Esterházy family, for whom he composed his first symphonies. Haydn is known for his light, witty, and elegant compositions, including the London Symphonies, The Creation, Trumpet Concerto, and Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major. He is considered the Father of the Symphony and the Father of the String Quartet due to his significant contributions to these musical forms.

Haydn's early life and musical education

Franz Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, in 1732. Haydn's father, Mathias, was a wheelwright and his mother, Maria, was a cook. Haydn's parents noticed their son's musical gifts and knew that he would have no chance to obtain serious musical training in Rohrau. For this reason, Haydn was sent to live with his relative Johann Matthias Frankh, the schoolmaster and choirmaster in Hainburg, at the age of six. Haydn never lived with his parents again.

Life with the Frankh family was difficult for Haydn, who later remembered being frequently hungry and ashamed of the state of his clothing. However, he began his musical training and soon learned to play the harpsichord and violin. He also sang treble parts in the church choir.

In 1739, Haydn was brought to the attention of Georg Reutter the Younger, the director of music at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, who happened to be visiting Hainburg and was looking for new choirboys. Haydn passed his audition and, after several months of further training, moved to Vienna in 1740. He lived in the Kapellhaus next to the cathedral and worked as a chorister for the next nine years. Haydn received instruction in Latin and other school subjects, as well as voice, violin, and keyboard. However, he received little instruction in music theory and composition.

By 1749, Haydn's voice had changed and he was expelled from the choir. With no money or possessions, Haydn supported himself with odd musical jobs, working as a music teacher, street serenader, and eventually, in 1752, as a valet-accompanist for the Italian composer Nicola Porpora, from whom he learned "the true fundamentals of composition". Haydn also worked briefly for Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz, playing the organ in the Bohemian Chancellery chapel.

During this time, Haydn undertook an intensive course of self-instruction, studying musical works and theory manuals. He made progress and was eventually introduced to the music-loving Austrian nobleman Karl Joseph von Fürnberg, for whom he wrote his first string quartets. Through Fürnberg's recommendation, Haydn was engaged as musical director and chamber composer for Count Ferdinand Maximilian von Morzin in 1758. He led an orchestra of about 16 musicians and wrote his first symphony, as well as numerous divertimenti.

Haydn's time with Count von Morzin was brief, as financial difficulties forced the count to dismiss his orchestra soon after Haydn's appointment. However, Haydn quickly found another position, this time with the Esterházy family, one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the Austrian Empire. He was appointed assistant conductor in 1761 and became musical director at the Esterházy court in 1766. Haydn served the Esterházy family until his death in 1809, composing an enormous number of works and becoming one of the most important figures in the development of the Classical style of music.

Haydn's career as a court musician for the Esterházy family

Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family. He was initially employed by Prince Pál Antal Esterházy in 1761, and his duties included conducting the orchestra, coaching the singers, composing music, and serving as chief of the musical personnel. In 1766, he became the musical director at the Esterházy court.

Haydn's role as a court musician was demanding, and he had a wide range of responsibilities, including composition, running the orchestra, playing chamber music for and with his patrons, and mounting operatic productions. Despite this backbreaking workload, the job was a superb opportunity for Haydn. The Esterházy princes, Paul Anton and, from 1762 to 1790, Nikolaus I, were musical connoisseurs who appreciated his work and gave him daily access to his own small orchestra. During the nearly thirty years that Haydn worked at the Esterházy court, he produced a flood of compositions, and his musical style continued to develop.

Much of Haydn's activity at the time followed the musical taste of his patron, Prince Nikolaus. In about 1765, the prince obtained and began to learn to play the baryton, an uncommon musical instrument similar to the bass viol. Haydn was commanded to provide music for the prince to play, and over the next ten years, he produced about 200 works for this instrument in various ensembles, the most notable of which are the 126 baryton trios. Around 1775, the prince abandoned the baryton and took up a new hobby: opera productions, which became the focus of musical life at court. Haydn served as company director, recruiting and training the singers and preparing and leading the performances. He wrote several of the operas performed and wrote substitution arias to insert into the operas of other composers.

In 1779, Haydn's contract was renegotiated, and he was now permitted to write for others and sell his work to publishers. This was a turning point in his career, and he shifted his emphasis to writing more quartets and symphonies. He negotiated with multiple publishers, both Austrian and foreign, and his new employment contract acted as a catalyst in the next stage of his career, achieving international popularity. By 1790, Haydn was in the paradoxical position of being Europe's leading composer but spending his time as a duty-bound Kapellmeister in a remote palace in the Hungarian countryside.

The remoteness of Eszterháza, the Esterházy family castle, led Haydn to feel more isolated and lonely. He longed to visit Vienna because of his friendships there. Of these, a particularly important one was with Maria Anna von Genzinger, the wife of Prince Nikolaus's personal physician in Vienna, with whom he began a close, platonic relationship in 1789. Another friend in Vienna was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom Haydn had met around 1784. Haydn and Mozart occasionally played in string quartets together, and they felt inspired by each other's work. Mozart dedicated a set of six quartets to his friend, and Haydn's music also shows the impact of Mozart.

In 1790, Prince Nikolaus died and was succeeded by his son Anton, who sought to economize by dismissing most of the court musicians. Haydn retained a nominal appointment with Anton, but since Anton had little need of his services, he was willing to let him travel. Haydn accepted a lucrative offer from the German violinist and impresario Johann Peter Salomon to visit England and conduct new symphonies with a large orchestra. This marked the start of a very auspicious period for Haydn, as his concerts in England were greeted with great enthusiasm, and he became financially secure.

Haydn's work as a composer, including his symphonies, operas, and chamber music

Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music, including the string quartet and piano trio, and his contributions to musical form have earned him the titles ''Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet". Haydn's career began as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family, where he composed his first symphonies. Over his career, he produced 106 symphonies, with notable examples including the 'Surprise', 'Military', 'Drumroll' and 'London' symphonies.

Haydn was not primarily an opera composer, but the genre occupied much of his time. During the 1770s and 1780s, he ran an opera troupe on behalf of his employer, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, which put on up to 150 performances per year. Haydn's operas are only occasionally performed today, with some of his most famous works being 'Armida', 'La fedeltà premiata', 'L'incontro improvviso', 'L'infedeltà delusa' and 'Il mondo della luna'.

Haydn was also a prolific composer of chamber music, including string quartets and piano trios. He is credited with developing the string quartet form and his string quartets are considered central to the development of what came to be called sonata form. Haydn's chamber music is known for its humour, with the most famous example being the sudden loud chord in the slow movement of his 'Surprise' symphony.

Haydn's friendship with Mozart and other composers

Joseph Haydn, born in 1732 in the small Austrian village of Rohrau, was a friend and mentor to Mozart, and a tutor to Beethoven. Haydn was already a fairly well-known composer by the time Mozart was a child. Mozart, born in 1756, was 24 years Haydn's junior.

The two composers' first documented meeting likely took place in the early 1780s, at one of the many musical gatherings held in Vienna. Mozart had moved to the city in 1781, seeking greater artistic freedom and opportunities. Haydn, meanwhile, had returned from his second successful trip to London. The two composers quickly recognised each other's genius and developed a deep friendship. Haydn was reportedly astonished by Mozart's extraordinary abilities, both as a composer and a performer, while Mozart deeply respected Haydn's mastery of form and expression.

The two composers played together in impromptu quartets, with Haydn on violin and Mozart on viola. Haydn also lent Mozart his heavily annotated copy of a textbook on Baroque counterpoint. Mozart affectionately addressed Haydn as "Papa", and used the informal "du" form of speech in German, which would have been unusual given the age gap between them.

Mozart dedicated six string quartets to Haydn, known as the "Haydn Quartets". In the preface to the quartets, Mozart wrote a heartfelt dedication to Haydn, expressing his gratitude and admiration. Mozart confessed that he had laboured hard over the quartets to meet Haydn's high standards. In turn, Haydn was very impressed with Mozart's new work.

Haydn's view of Mozart is evident in his correspondence. In a letter to his friend Marianne von Genzinger, Haydn confessed to dreaming about Mozart's work, listening happily to a performance of 'The Marriage of Figaro'. In another letter, to Franz Rott, Haydn wrote:

> If only I could impress Mozart's inimitable works on the soul of every friend of music, and the souls of high personages in particular, as deeply, with the same musical understanding and with the same deep feeling, as I understand and feel them, the nations would vie with each other to possess such a jewel.

Mozart's early biographer, Franz Niemetschek, also describes Mozart's esteem for Haydn. In one passage from his biography, he says:

> High esteem for true merit, and regard for the individual, influenced his judgment of works of art. He was always very touched when he spoke of the two Haydns or other great masters.

Niemetschek also recounts an anecdote from a private party where a new work of Haydn's was being performed. A man who was never known to praise anyone but himself was standing next to Mozart and found fault with one thing after another. Mozart listened patiently for a while, and then retorted:

> Neither would I, but do you know why? Because neither of us could have thought of anything so appropriate.

Haydn's last meeting with Mozart took place in December 1790, shortly before Haydn left for London. Mozart dined with Haydn and said at the moment of parting:

> We are probably saying our last farewell in this life.

Haydn was deeply moved, and tears welled in the eyes of both men. Mozart died the following year, at the age of 35. Haydn was distraught and wrote to their mutual friend, Michael Puchberg:

> For some time I was quite beside myself over his death, and could not believe that Providence should so quickly have called away an irreplaceable man into the next world.

Haydn also offered to provide musical instruction to Mozart's son when he reached the appropriate age, and later followed through on his offer.

Haydn's final years and legacy

Haydn's final years were marked by declining health and waning creative powers, but he continued to compose music until the end.

In 1790, Haydn's circumstances changed when Prince Nikolaus Esterházy died, and his son Anton took over. Anton sought to rein in the family's finances and disbanded the court musicians, keeping Haydn on as nominal Kapellmeister with no official duties and a reduced salary. Haydn moved to Vienna, where he was in high demand as a teacher and composer. He also received offers for new court appointments, all of which he refused.

In 1791, Haydn travelled to London, where he was feted and adored. He composed and premiered several symphonies, including the famous "Miracle" symphony (No. 96), and an opera, L'anima del filosofo. He also attended a Handel festival in Westminster Abbey, which inspired his later oratorios, "The Creation" and "The Seasons".

Haydn returned to Vienna in 1792 and then went back to London in 1794 for another successful season of concerts. During this time, he composed the remaining "London Symphonies", including the famous "Surprise" symphony (No. 94).

In 1795, Haydn returned to Vienna once more, now indisputably established as the most famous composer in Europe. He continued to compose, teach, and mentor, producing some of his greatest works, including the "Nelson" Mass in 1798 and "The Creation" in 1799.

In 1800, Haydn's wife, Anna Maria, died. They had lived together despite their loveless marriage, and Haydn maintained correspondence with other important women in his life. Haydn himself began to suffer from ill health and found it increasingly difficult to compose. His final major work, the "Harmoniemesse", was completed in 1802.

Haydn's last public performance was in December 1803, when he directed a performance of "The Seven Last Words". He died peacefully at home in Vienna in May 1809, aged 77.

Haydn's Legacy

Haydn is considered one of the most important figures in the development of the Classical style in music. He helped establish the forms and styles of the string quartet and the symphony and is often referred to as the Father of the Symphony and the Father of the String Quartet.

He was a prolific composer, with a body of work that includes symphonies, operas, concertos, masses, oratorios, string quartets, and other chamber music. His compositions are known for their light, witty, and elegant character.

Haydn's influence extended beyond his own compositions. He was a friend and mentor to Mozart and a tutor to Beethoven. He also inspired later composers, including Beethoven, who adopted Haydn's practice of taking his time with compositions to aim for higher quality.

Haydn's music continues to be celebrated and performed around the world, with projects such as Haydn2032 planning performances and recordings of all 107 of his symphonies in the lead-up to the composer's 300th birthday.

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