The majority of composers from the Classical era lived a life full of struggle and hardships. It was not common to have a comfortable life and still earn a profit. They used their traumas as inspiration and found ways to incorporate them into their style and sound of composing. This was not the case when it came to Franz Joseph Haydn. He lived a very comfortable, happy, well-off life that most could only dream of. He grew up in a healthy household with plenty of opportunities to express his musical talents. Known as the “Father of the Symphony”, he wrote 107 symphonies, 83 string quartets, 45 piano trios, 62 piano sonatas, 14 masses, 26 operas, and countless other scores.
Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31, 1732, in a small-town called Rohrau, Austria to a wheelwright and a local landowner’s cook. He is more commonly known as Joseph Haydn as he did not go by his first name. Although neither of his parents could read music, Joseph grew up in a household filled with music. His father, Mathias, often played the harp while he was accompanied by vocals from his wife Anna. He was first known for his incredibly talented voice which helped kick-start his career. As a young child, his voice was recognized by Johann Franc who was a school principal and choir director for a church in Hainburg. He requested that young Joseph come and live with him in order to further his study in music. His parents happily accepted as they hoped he would eventually amount to something as they knew the chances of him doing so in their small hometown were slim to none. Although his living conditions were poor and he often went hungry, while living with Johann, Joseph primarily studied music but he also learned Latin, writing, arithmetic, and about many religions. He also learned how to play the harpsichord and the violin. This portion of his childhood mainly consisted of studying and singing in church choirs. Unfortunately for Joseph, this was short-lived as he lost his talented voice when he went through puberty and was eventually upstaged by his younger brother, Michael.
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After he was dismissed from the school at the age of 18 he went on to earn a living as a freelance musician. He was also able to share his learnings and teach music and compose at the same time. This was the period in Joseph’s life when he struggled the most financially. There were often days when he was forced to sleep outside before he was taken in by friends. His first steady job came at the age of 25 when he was hired on to be a music director for Count Morzin. In the time while he was working for Morzin, Joseph composed 15 symphonies, concertos, and his first two string quartets. Then in 1759, he began his career with one of the wealthiest families in the Hungarian nobility, the Esterhazy family, and he was heavily compensated. This is where he spent the next 30 years of his life working as a vice Kapellmeister. As each year passed his salary increased from the already high pay as his ranking in the court rose too. With the security of this new lavish position, he married Maria Anna Keller on November 26th, 1760. Sadly, he and his wife did not get along and they never had any kids. There is speculation that he did have a child or two with a singer within his place of work that he had a long-term affair with. While he was working for the family he lived on their estate but he often visited Vienna. It is in Vienna that he met and befriended Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In 1779 Joseph came to a new agreement with the Esterhazy family where he was legally allowed to accept commissions from other patrons which meant he was no longer strictly bound to just serve their family. In the following decade, he wrote “The Seven Last Words of Christ” which was an orchestral work with nine movements. He also wrote his six Paris symphonies which were very popular and commissioned by a French director.
A few years later Joseph went and spent four years in London outside of the royal court to compose music. This is the most fruitful point in his career as he earned more money in one year than he did in almost twenty years with the Esterhazy family. It was also when he wrote his most famous works including Symphony No.100, “Military”. While in London he also met Ludwig Van Beethoven and spent some time mentoring him when he returned to Vienna. When he finally returned to London a few years later where he debuted a few new symphonies which were warmly accepted by the audiences. From there he spent the rest of his life in Vienna mainly composing vocal pieces such as masses. Without the stress of multiple deadlines accumulating at once, he was able to put more time into his work. This brought out “The Creation” in 1798 and “The Seasons” in 1801. These were a direct reflection of his questioning of the meaning of life and his purpose as a human. He spent over a year composing these pieces and it began to change how other composers worked and the time they spent composing. This mindset became the norm in Classical composition. It was in 1804 that Joseph retired from his work with the Esterhaza family. Unfortunately, he was struck with an illness that prevented him from composing anything else. He passed in his sleep on May 31st, 1809 at the age of 77. During his funeral, Mozart’s Requiem was performed.
Franz Joseph Haydn is one of the most famous composers from the classical period. He produced more than 100 symphonies, 60 string quartets, a dozen operas, and countless other works. He lived a comfortable life that was apparent in his work as it was bright and cheerful compared to most. He is known as the “Father of the Symphony” and the “Father of the String Quartet”. Unbound by the influence of other composers, he was able to create his own sound and style that was original in itself. Known for his love of practical jokes he was known for his lively sense of humor and love of life. A devout Catholic, he often finished his compositions with “Laus Deo”, or praise be to God. We study his music as he laid the foundation for the classical style that helped shape the musical style of the era. He also helped develop the sonata form that became a driving force in how people approached and thought about classical music.
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