Franz Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn was born March 31, 1732, in Rohrau, Austria. His parents sent him to live and study music with a relative Johann Matthias Frankh when he was six; and, when he was seven, he moved to Vienna to study with Georg von Reutter and sing at St. Stephen's Cathedral. After spending nine years there (and his vocal range changing), he was told to leave. He worked as a freelance musician and composer, finding a couple of jobs with reputable patrons before being hired by the powerful Esterházy family in 1761. His music reflected the tastes and interests of his patron Prince Nikolaus, who, for a time was interested in playing the baryton, an instrument similar to the bass viol. Haydn wrote about 200 works for this instrument, including 126 trios. Among his compositions were operas, symphonies, and quartets. His style of the time might be described as energetic, mostly optimistic sounding pieces, which reflected both his cheerful - and often humorous - temperament as well as the type of music desired by his employers. He was well-liked and respected by the musicians he worked with because of the positive work environment he encouraged and for how well he represented their interests to their employer (consider the story behind the Farewell Symphony).
In 1779 Haydn's contract was renegotiated and he was able to compose more freely, including writing and selling his works to publishers outside of the Esterházy family. He was a very clever businessman and maximized his income, sometimes selling his music to more than one publisher. The next year Prince Nikolaus died and was succeeded by his son Anton who was not as interested in the musical establishment his father created and, therefore, made it significantly smaller. With this change Haydn was free to accept the invitation of Johann Peter Salomon, a German violinist and impresario, to come perform in London. His music was already popular there and his concerts were very successful and included some of his best-known symphonies including Surprise, Military, Drumroll, and London.
Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795 and by then Anton had died so he worked for his son Nikolaus II on a part-time basis. Over the next several years he composed six masses for the Esterházy family. He collaborated with librettist Gottfried van Swieten on his two great oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801) and both were enthusiastically received and Haydn often led performances of them, sometimes for charity benefits. He continued to compose instrumental music like his Trumpet Concerto and the last nine string quartets, including the Fifths, Emperor, and Sunrise. Near the end of this successful period, his health began to decline and his ability to compose deteriorated. His last completed work was his sixth mass Harmoniemesse for the Esterházy family in 1802.
His health continued to fail and his last public appearance as a conductor was in December of 1803. He died peacefully in his home at the age of 77 on May 31, 1809. Describing Haydn's character, James Webster wrote, "Haydn's public life exemplified the Enlightenment ideal of the honnête homme (honest man): the man whose good character and worldly success enable and justify each other. His modesty and probity were everywhere acknowledged. These traits were not only prerequisites to his success as Kapellmeister, entrepreneur and public figure, but also aided the favorable reception of his music."
Haydn's style, like many composers, evolved over time. From the 1760s until about 1770, his music adopted at "sturm und drang" (storm and stress) style, with intense expressiveness, especially in minor keys. After this period, his music became more light and entertaining as mentioned before, to appeal to his employers. After he was able to sell his music freely to publishers, his compositions developed to include phrasing with fluid transitions from one motif to the next, accompanying material transforming into melodic material, and instrumental parts maintaining their integrity as a sort of "classical counterpoint". By the 1790s he started utilizing folk or folk-like material and adopted a "popular" style. As a devout Catholic, he often turned to his rosary when he had difficulty composing and began each manuscript with "in nomine Domini" ("in the name of the Lord") and ended with "Laus Deo" ("praise be to God").
Haydn is often called both the "Father of the String Quartet" and the "Father of the Symphony" because of his immense influence on these genres and the composers that followed him in them. Within the sonata form, he tended to use a monothematic exposition and an extensive thematic development, then often rearranged the order of themes in the recapitulation. He integrated the fugue into the classical style and enriched the rondo form with more cohesive tonal sensibilities. He also furthered the use of the double variation form, which involves variations of two alternating themes, often major and minor versions of each other.
The websites accessed on July 29, 2020, and used as references to write this biography were: biography.com, classicfm.com, and wikipedia.org.
In 1779 Haydn's contract was renegotiated and he was able to compose more freely, including writing and selling his works to publishers outside of the Esterházy family. He was a very clever businessman and maximized his income, sometimes selling his music to more than one publisher. The next year Prince Nikolaus died and was succeeded by his son Anton who was not as interested in the musical establishment his father created and, therefore, made it significantly smaller. With this change Haydn was free to accept the invitation of Johann Peter Salomon, a German violinist and impresario, to come perform in London. His music was already popular there and his concerts were very successful and included some of his best-known symphonies including Surprise, Military, Drumroll, and London.
Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795 and by then Anton had died so he worked for his son Nikolaus II on a part-time basis. Over the next several years he composed six masses for the Esterházy family. He collaborated with librettist Gottfried van Swieten on his two great oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801) and both were enthusiastically received and Haydn often led performances of them, sometimes for charity benefits. He continued to compose instrumental music like his Trumpet Concerto and the last nine string quartets, including the Fifths, Emperor, and Sunrise. Near the end of this successful period, his health began to decline and his ability to compose deteriorated. His last completed work was his sixth mass Harmoniemesse for the Esterházy family in 1802.
His health continued to fail and his last public appearance as a conductor was in December of 1803. He died peacefully in his home at the age of 77 on May 31, 1809. Describing Haydn's character, James Webster wrote, "Haydn's public life exemplified the Enlightenment ideal of the honnête homme (honest man): the man whose good character and worldly success enable and justify each other. His modesty and probity were everywhere acknowledged. These traits were not only prerequisites to his success as Kapellmeister, entrepreneur and public figure, but also aided the favorable reception of his music."
Haydn's style, like many composers, evolved over time. From the 1760s until about 1770, his music adopted at "sturm und drang" (storm and stress) style, with intense expressiveness, especially in minor keys. After this period, his music became more light and entertaining as mentioned before, to appeal to his employers. After he was able to sell his music freely to publishers, his compositions developed to include phrasing with fluid transitions from one motif to the next, accompanying material transforming into melodic material, and instrumental parts maintaining their integrity as a sort of "classical counterpoint". By the 1790s he started utilizing folk or folk-like material and adopted a "popular" style. As a devout Catholic, he often turned to his rosary when he had difficulty composing and began each manuscript with "in nomine Domini" ("in the name of the Lord") and ended with "Laus Deo" ("praise be to God").
Haydn is often called both the "Father of the String Quartet" and the "Father of the Symphony" because of his immense influence on these genres and the composers that followed him in them. Within the sonata form, he tended to use a monothematic exposition and an extensive thematic development, then often rearranged the order of themes in the recapitulation. He integrated the fugue into the classical style and enriched the rondo form with more cohesive tonal sensibilities. He also furthered the use of the double variation form, which involves variations of two alternating themes, often major and minor versions of each other.
The websites accessed on July 29, 2020, and used as references to write this biography were: biography.com, classicfm.com, and wikipedia.org.
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