Joseph Haydn 

1732-1769 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH
Franz Joseph Haydn was born the son of the wainwright Mathias and his wife Anna Maria on 31 March 1732 in the small Lower Austrian town of Rohrau near the Hungarian border. Joseph was the second of their 12 children, and Michael (1737-1806), who was also a composer, was the sixth child. The young Haydn gathered his first musical impressions from the folk music played at home by his father, who „had an enormous inherent love of music.” At the age of five Joseph Haydn was brought to a distant relative in Hainburg named Johann Mathias Franck, who gave the boy his first musical instruction.
Having succeeded his father as kapellmeister at Vienna’s Stefansdom in 1738, Georg Reutter the Younger (1708-1772) was searching for talented choristers when in Hainburg on a visit to the town priest, probably in the year 1739. On this occasion he had the young Haydn give a vocal audition and recognised his musical talent. At the age of eight Haydn was accepted as a chorister into the Kapellhaus of Vienna’s Stefansdom. In addition to very „negligent instruction“ in general subjects, Haydn received vocal training as well as piano and violin lessons.
Kapellmeister Reutter’s house in which Joseph Haydn and another five choirboys lived was close to Vienna’s Stefansdom nestled between a four-story apartment building and the Magdalenenkapelle. Vienna, the capital of the gigantic Habsburg Empire, had been the centre of an important musical tradition for generations: at the court of Emperor Charles VI music had reached a golden age with the Late Baroque’s two most important representatives, Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741) and Antonia Caldara (1670-1736).
1749/50 marked the end of Haydn’s time as a chorister as his voice was changing and he was dismissed from the boarding school for misbehaviour.

1750-1760 THE APPRENTICESHIP YEARS 
After his summary dismissal from the Kapellhaus, Joseph Haydn was without any accommodations or income. His parents tried talking him into joining the clergy again, but were unsuccessful. In 1751 he found a wretched unheated garret at Michaelerhaus, which still stands today next to Michaelerkirche across from the Hofburg. In the following years Haydn lived primarily from giving lessons and working as an accompanist. For 60 gulden he was the principal performer at the Klosterkirche der Barmherzigen Brüder in Leopoldstadt, where every Sunday and feast day he played the mass at eight in the morning. At ten he played in the noble Haugwitz’sche Kapelle and at eleven he sang at Stefansdom for 17 kreuzers per mass.
Two personalities who played a significant role in Haydn’s artistic career lived at Michaelerhaus in Vienna: court poet Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782), with whom Haydn learned the Italian language, and the opera composer and voice instructor Nicola Antonia Porpora (1686-1768). Haydn was allowed to accompany Porpora’s voice students on the piano and was also his chamber servant for a time. He admitted to his biographer Griesinger that „with Porpora he benefited a great deal in voice, composition and the Italian language.“ On the first floor of Michaelerhaus at that time lived the widowed Princess Maria Octavia Esterházy (1683-1762), mother of Princes Paul Anton and Nicholas, whose kapellmeister Joseph Haydn would later become.
For Baron Karl Joseph von Fürnberg Haydn wrote his first string quartet, which became popular very quickly. It was one of the first works to be printed abroad – in Paris 1764, albeit without the knowledge of the composer. Haydn’s stays in Weinzierl, where Baron Fürnberg owned a palace, and the early string quartets form the prelude to his employment as kapellmeister for Count Morzin. Around 1758/59 Haydn was hired as kapellmeister by Karl Joseph Franz Graf Morzin (1717-1783?) for 200 gulden per year as well as room and board. In addition to Haydn’s first symphony, among the compositions written for Morzin were a number of divertmenti for wind instruments, generally for two oboes, horns and bassoon.
Likely out of gratitude and because he had been on familiar terms with the family for several years on 26 November 1760 Haydn married the eldest daughter of the Viennese wigmaker Keller, Maria Anna Aloysia (1729-1800). He was probably in love with the youngest daughter, Therese, but she had joined a convent. The marriage with Maria Anna took place at Stefansdom in Vienna. Haydn’s marriage was not a happy one: „My wife was incapable of bearing children, thus I was less indifferent to the charms of other women,“ according to one of Haydn’s few comments concerning his married life. The biographers Griesinger and Dies have nothing admirable to say about Mrs Haydn: she was uneducated, failed to understand the genius of her husband and was said to be extravagant.

1761-1780 THE EARLY ESTERHÁZY PERIOD
After Count Morzin had run into financial trouble and was forced to dismiss his musicians, Joseph Haydn quickly found a new employer in the person of Prince Esterházy.
When Joseph Haydn began his service in 1761, the small baroque town of Eisenstadt on the west bank of Lake Neusiedl was the permanent residence of Prince Esterházy. Haydn moved into a rented flat before purchasing his own house near the Franziskanerkloster in 1766. In the middle of the 17th century Eisenstadt was elevated to the status of Royal Free City by Emperor Ferdinand III as King of Hungary in order to assert itself against the powerful Esterházy family.
In Eisenstadt Haydn`s new employer beginning in 1761 was Prince Paul Anton Esterházy I (1711-1762), who was a lover of music like his forbears. The Esterházy family was one of the richest and most powerful in the Habsburg monarchy. In addition to their palace in Vienna, they owned palaces throughout Hungary and in today`s Austrian province of Burgenland. The Esterházy princes led a regal life and governed as sovereigns over their principality. A significant period in Haydn`s life commenced as Prince Esterházy`s “deputy kapellmeister´´ in Eisenstadt, “...where I wish to live and die,´´ Haydn wrote in a letter dated 6 July 1776. His first compositions were the symphonies Le Matin, Le Midi and Le Soir (Hob.I:6-8).
Haydn`s first contract with Prince Paul Anton Esterházy I stems from 1 May 1761. When Haydn commenced his activity in Eisenstadt he was initially hired as “deputy kapellmeister´´ since the ageing and infirm Georg Joseph Werner (1693-1766) was still officially the director of the prince`s orchestra. Haydn`s contract obligated him to behave and dress in accordance with his status as well as to set an example for the musicians subordinate to him and to compose music at the behest of the prince. His duties ranged from the care of instruments and the archiving of musical scores to teaching, composing and performing. Prince Paul Anton Esterházy I, who converted a glasshouse into a theatre in the palace park, died on 18 March 1762.
Prince Nicholas Esterházy I (1714-1790) succeeded his brother Paul Anton on 17 May 1762. He was Haydn`s benefactor and employer for nearly 30 years. The epithet “lover of splendour´´ refers to the fact that he enjoyed providing money for large festivals and special occasions. Poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe wrote about the “Esterházy fairyland´´ in his autobiography. In many ways Nicholas I was an exemplary patron, and Haydn, who originated from simple circumstances, was Prince Esterházy`s third highest-paid “officer of the household´´ after the regent of the estates and physician. This financial rank demonstrates the significant position Haydn occupied and the enormous esteem he enjoyed: “My prince was satisfied with all my works, I received applause (...) I was isolated from the rest of the world (...) and thus I was forced to become original.´´ (Griesinger)
The favourite instrument of Prince Nicholas Esterházy I was the baryton, which he himself played, and thus he expected his kapellmeister to write new music for the instrument. The baryton is an instrument similar to the cello, which not only has strings to be played with a bow, but behind the neck of the instrument to pluck. Haydn composed 125 divertimenti for baryton, viola and cello, just as many solo pieces, duets and ensemble music with solos for one, sometimes two barytons. After the death of kapellmeister Georg Joseph Werner in 1766 Haydn assumed full musical responsibility.
After Joseph Haydn had become kapellmeister, he purchased a lovely little house in Eisenstadt near the Franziskanerkloster for 1000 gulden. Unfortunately the house brought him little happiness, as it burnt down twice. Prince Nicholas Esterházy I had it rebuilt again at his own expense – proof of how much he appreciated his kapellmeister. For his part Haydn “swore to serve him until death would decide over his prince`s life or his own...." (Dies) Haydn sold the house in 1778. It has housed the Haydn Museum since 1935.
Near the southeast shore of Lake Neusiedl the Esterházy princes owned a small hunting lodge named after the nearby village of Süttör. Prince Nicholas I had a special affinity for the place and opted to transform the building into a splendid palace called “Eszterháza´´ beginning in 1766. It was an extraordinary idea in the middle of marshy corner of the lake to build a “Hungarian Versailles´´ whose premises would contain an opera house, puppet theatre and numerous adjacent buildings – and to make this place into a cultural centre on par with European standards. From approximately 1766/77 Eszterháza became a centre of activity for Haydn in the summer months.
Haydn`s first opera written for the Esterházy court, Acide, was performed on the occasion of the wedding of Prince Nicholas` first born son in 1763. After the transfer of the court to Eszterháza, Haydn returned to opera with La canterina (1766), Lo speziale (1768) and Le pescatrici (1769). From 1776 the daily agenda included opera and theatre performances: between 1780 and 1790 Haydn directed over 1000 opera performances. Out of a total of 78 operas performed by 1784, 15 of them originated from Joseph Haydn. This extensive operatic activity was an enormous strain on Haydn. Of historical importance was Empress Maria Theresa`s visit to Eszterháza in September of 1773 during the course of which she enjoyed Haydn`s puppet opera Philemon and Baucis. During this visit Haydn was formally introduced to the empress.

1780-1790 THE MIDDLE ESTERHÁZY PERIOD 
After Count Morzin had run into financial trouble and was forced to dismiss his musicians, Joseph Haydn quickly found a new employer in the person of Prince Esterházy.
When Joseph Haydn began his service in 1761, the small baroque town of Eisenstadt on the west bank of Lake Neusiedl was the permanent residence of Prince Esterházy. Haydn moved into a rented flat before purchasing his own house near the Franziskanerkloster in 1766. In the middle of the 17th century Eisenstadt was elevated to the status of Royal Free City by Emperor Ferdinand III as King of Hungary in order to assert itself against the powerful Esterházy family.
In Eisenstadt Haydn’s new employer beginning in 1761 was Prince Paul Anton Esterházy I (1711-1762), who was a lover of music like his forbears. The Esterházy family was one of the richest and most powerful in the Habsburg monarchy. In addition to their palace in Vienna, they owned palaces throughout Hungary and in today’s Austrian province of Burgenland. The Esterházy princes led a regal life and governed as sovereigns over their principality. A significant period in Haydn’s life commenced as Prince Esterházy’s „deputy kapellmeister” in Eisenstadt, „...where I wish to live and die,“ Haydn wrote in a letter dated 6 July 1776. His first compositions were the symphonies Le Matin, Le Midi and Le Soir (Hob.I:6-8).
Haydn’s first contract with Prince Paul Anton Esterházy I stems from 1 May 1761. When Haydn commenced his activity in Eisenstadt he was initially hired as „deputy kapellmeister” since the ageing and infirm Georg Joseph Werner (1693-1766) was still officially the director of the prince’s orchestra. Haydn’s contract obligated him to behave and dress in accordance with his status as well as to set an example for the musicians subordinate to him and to compose music at the behest of the prince. His duties ranged from the care of instruments and the archiving of musical scores to teaching, composing and performing. Prince Paul Anton Esterházy I, who converted a glasshouse into a theatre in the palace park, died on 18 March 1762.
Prince Nicholas Esterházy I (1714-1790) succeeded his brother Paul Anton on 17 May 1762. He was Haydn’s benefactor and employer for nearly 30 years. The epithet „lover of splendour“ refers to the fact that he enjoyed providing money for large festivals and special occasions. Poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe wrote about the „Esterházy fairyland“ in his autobiography. In many ways Nicholas I was an exemplary patron, and Haydn, who originated from simple circumstances, was Prince Esterházy’s third highest-paid „officer of the household“ after the regent of the estates and physician. This financial rank demonstrates the significant position Haydn occupied and the enormous esteem he enjoyed: „My prince was satisfied with all my works, I received applause (...) I was isolated from the rest of the world (...) and thus I was forced to become original.“ (Griesinger)
The favourite instrument of Prince Nicholas Esterházy I was the baryton, which he himself played, and thus he expected his kapellmeister to write new music for the instrument. The baryton is an instrument similar to the cello, which not only has strings to be played with a bow, but behind the neck of the instrument to pluck. Haydn composed 125 divertimenti for baryton, viola and cello, just as many solo pieces, duets and ensemble music with solos for one, sometimes two barytons. After the death of kapellmeister Georg Joseph Werner in 1766 Haydn assumed full musical responsibility.
After Joseph Haydn had become kapellmeister, he purchased a lovely little house in Eisenstadt near the Franziskanerkloster for 1000 gulden. Unfortunately the house brought him little happiness, as it burnt down twice. Prince Nicholas Esterházy I had it rebuilt again at his own expense – proof of how much he appreciated his kapellmeister. For his part Haydn „swore to serve him until death would decide over his prince’s life or his own....“ (Dies) Haydn sold the house in 1778. It has housed the Haydn Museum since 1935.
Near the southeast shore of Lake Neusiedl the Esterházy princes owned a small hunting lodge named after the nearby village of Süttör. Prince Nicholas I had a special affinity for the place and opted to transform the building into a splendid palace called „Eszterháza“ beginning in 1766. It was an extraordinary idea in the middle of marshy corner of the lake to build a „Hungarian Versailles“ whose premises would contain an opera house, puppet theatre and numerous adjacent buildings – and to make this place into a cultural centre on par with European standards. From approximately 1766/77 Eszterháza became a centre of activity for Haydn in the summer months.
Haydn’s first opera written for the Esterházy court, Acide, was performed on the occasion of the wedding of Prince Nicholas’ first born son in 1763. After the transfer of the court to Eszterháza, Haydn returned to opera with La canterina (1766), Lo speziale (1768) and Le pescatrici (1769). From 1776 the daily agenda included opera and theatre performances: between 1780 and 1790 Haydn directed over 1000 opera performances. Out of a total of 78 operas performed by 1784, 15 of them originated from Joseph Haydn. This extensive operatic activity was an enormous strain on Haydn. Of historical importance was Empress Maria Theresa’s visit to Eszterháza in September of 1773 during the course of which she enjoyed Haydn’s puppet opera Philemon and Baucis. During this visit Haydn was formally introduced to the empress.

1791-1795 THE LONDON JOURNEY
„I’m Salomon of London and I’ve come to fetch you; tomorrow we’ll establish an agreement.” This is how Haydn illustrated that critical moment which formed the start of his journeys to England to his biographer Dies. For the respectable sum of 5000 gulden Haydn agreed to compose one Italian opera, six new symphonies and 20 other compositions and to perform them under his direction. Johann Peter Salomon (1745-1815), a brilliant violinist and successful concert manager, immediately notified the English audience of Haydn’s imminent arrival. To Mozart’s objection that he could not even speak English Haydn replied: „My language is understood throughout the world!” (Dies) 
On 1 January 1791 Joseph Haydn set foot on English soil after an arduous journey via Munich, Wallerstein, Bonn and Calais. Seven days later Haydn wrote Marianne von Genzinger: „... [M]y arrival caused a sensation throughout the city and I went the round of all the newspapers for three successive days. It appears that everybody wants to know me.” An enormous uproar was caused by the fact that during a royal court ball at St. James’s Palace Haydn was greeted by the Prince of Wales with a noticeable bow. The first concert series began with a concert at the Hanover Square Rooms on 11 March and was continued every week until 3 June. These concerts were social events of the highest order and invitations were directly primarily to the aristocracy.
In the week of 23 May to 1 June 1791 Haydn attended the Handel Festival at Westminster Abbey, which was held every year under the king’s patronage. No other event impressed the composer more than this gigantic commemoration, which formed the highlight of English social life. For the first time Haydn heard Handel’s oratorios Israel in Egypt, Esther, Saul and, the pinnacle of the festival, the Messiah. At the conclusion of an immensely successful first concert season and by recommendation of music historian Charles Burney (1726-1816), in July 1791 Haydn was bestowed with an honorary doctorate of music from the University of Oxford (UK). The ceremonial festivities lasted three days and were held at Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford.
Until the beginning of the next concert season Joseph Haydn withdrew, giving private lessons to Rebecca Schroeter, a wealthy widow. During his first stay in England a deep bond had developed between Haydn and his student. Her letters, which Haydn had copied into his notebook, documented her feelings of passion for the great composer. „No language can express even half of the love and devotion I feel toward you.” Haydn was a frequent guest at Mrs Schroeter’s, who took extreme care looking after the maestro’s emotional and physical well-being. During his second stay in London Haydn lived quite close to Rebecca Schroeter and in later years he dedicated his Op. 73 trios to her as a sign of his affection.
In August 1791 Prince Paul Anton Esterházy II expressed his wish that Haydn return to Eisenstadt. Haydn still had contractual obligations to meet, however, and only left the British Isles at the end of June 1782 after two successful concert seasons. He travelled to Vienna via Bonn, where he met the talented Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). It was agreed that Beethoven would come to Haydn in Vienna to study composition and counterpoint, though after a few lessons there was a falling out between teacher and student. Haydn‘s favourite students were Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) and Sigismund Neukomm (1778-1858).
In August 1793 Haydn signed the contract to purchase the new house in Gumpendorf near Vienna, which his wife had found during his stay in England. Joseph Haydn bought the single-storey house from master weaver Ignaz Weissgram and had another floor added on to it. It was only after his second trip to England that he moved into the new house, living there until his death and as a widower from March 1800 on. On 1 June 1840 a marble plaque was affixed with the inscription „To Haydn.” Today the building houses the Haydn museum of Vienna known as Haydnhaus.
In January 1784 Haydn travelled to England for the second time together with Johann Elssler (1769-1843), his private secretary and servant. The spring 1794 concert season was a success. The Military Symphony, which was to become the most popular of his symphonies during his lifetime, had its premiere. During his stay Haydn established additional contacts with English publishers. The number of compositions which Haydn wrote for his two London visits would be a notable lifetime achievement for any composer. He wrote about 250 single compositions including the opera Orpheus, the 12 London Symphonies, over 200 songs and several string quartets and piano concertos.
On 1 February 1795 Haydn received the great honour of being the only living composer to be accepted into the programmes of the Ancient Concerts. He now found official admission to the concerts of the English King George III (1738-1820), to whom he was introduced on this occasion by Prince George of Wales (1762-1830). In spring of 1795 Joseph Haydn played, conducted and sang on various occasions for the Royal Family and at concerts which the Prince of Wales (from 1820 on King George IV) held at Carlton House. The English king and his wife Queen Charlotte tried to persuade Haydn to stay in England, offering him a suite of rooms at Windsor. Haydn moved back to Austria, however.

1796-1809 SPÄTE ESTERHÁZY PERIODE
A few days after Haydn left Vienna in January 1794 Prince Paul Anton Esterházy died. His successor Nicholas II (1765-1833) told Haydn in summer that he intended to re-establish the orchestra and, as he still considered Haydn his kapellmeister, summoned him to return to Eisenstadt. The news was not displeasing to Haydn, for in consideration of his circumstances he did not want to remain in a foreign country forever. In Austria, however, he could count on the support of a royal pension and, if needed, welfare. Now world-famous and wealthy, Haydn arrived in Vienna in September 1795 and stood in the service of his fourth Esterházy prince, whose refurbishment of the palace and the park in Eisenstadt remain unaltered to this day.
The fourth Esterházy prince whom Haydn now served was an ardent lover of theatre and art collector. His interest in music was restricted primarily to sacred music and Haydn's most important responsibility was to compose masses. From 1795 until his death Haydn lived in Gumpendorf near Vienna, apart from his annual summer stays in Eisenstadt, where until 1802 he composed a mass every year to celebrate the name day of Princess Maria Josepha Hermenegild (1768-1845) and conducted the performances at the Bergkirche. The genius of Haydn’s choral music is evident in these masses, as it is in his later oratorios.
Early in 1797 with Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser Joseph Haydn composed one of his most famous works, which was the Austrian national anthem on into the twentieth century and, with Hoffmann von Fallersleben’s verse „Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit” (unity and justice and freedom), is the German national anthem today. The birthday of Emperor Francis II (1768-1835) was the occasion for the first performance. On 12 February 1797, this simple, classically beautiful melody was sung at the Burgtheater in Vienna with the emperor and empress in attendance. The new anthem was meant as a counterpart to the French Marseillaise and as a „folk song” an expression of a new patriotic enthusiasm. Later Haydn used the melody for the slow movement in his famous Emperor Quartet Op.76.
"...I was never as devout as when I was at work on The Creation; I fell to my knees daily...," Haydn told his biographer Griesinger. After the monumental Handel concerts which Haydn heard in London, he had wanted to write an oratorio which would be a moral and artistic experience for every listener. The well-known music lover Gottfried von Swieten (1730-1803) wrote a German libretto based on the English text by Lidley. A resounding success, the premiere performance of The Creation took place on 30 April 1798 before an illustrious audience at Schwarzenberg Palace on the Neuer Markt in Vienna. Joseph Haydn wrote his last oratorio in 1801 with The Seasons (Hob.XXI:3).
At the very beginning of 1803 the time had come for Haydn to stop composing. At the recommendation of his biographer Griesinger Haydn published the unfinished string quartet, Op. 103, a two-movement „farewell” together with the „calling card” bearing the text: "Gone is all my strength, old and weak am I.” On 26 December 1803 Haydn gave his last public performance, but resolutely declined travel invitations and commissions for compositions of any kind. During his final years Haydn received visits from prominent personalities and as a honorary citizen of Vienna was celebrated as "the grand old man" who was decorated with diplomas, medals and memberships from many of Europe’s important musical societies.
The last time Haydn appeared in public was on the occasion of his 76th birthday on 27 March 1808 during the performance of his oratorio The Creation in the auditorium of the Old University of Vienna. This celebrated concert was captured in a watercolour miniature by Balthasar Wigand. Prince Nicholas Esterházy II provided a carriage so that the ailing Haydn could travel comfortably from his house in Gumpendorf to the city centre. When two footmen carried Haydn into the auditorium in a sedan chair festive trumpet fanfares were sounded. The audience cheered "Vivat Haydn!" and his former student, Ludwig van Beethoven, kissed his hand in order to welcome the master. Attended by all of Vienna's nobility, the performance was conducted by Antonio Salieri (1750-1825).
Joseph Haydn died peacefully on 31 May 1809 at his house at Gumpendorf during Napoleon's siege of Vienna. On 1 June he was buried at the Hundsthurmer cemetery and the following day a requiem was held in the church at Gumpendorf. Two weeks later a large commemorative mass was celebrated at the Schottenkirche in Vienna, attended by the elegant of Viennese society. Haydn's remains are now buried in a mausoleum in the Bergkirche in Eisenstadt, which Prince Paul Esterházy had built in 1932.
With the establishment of the Haydn Festival in Burgenland in 1986 the concert scene gained critical momentum not only at Eisenstadt, but throughout the entire region. Since then regular concert activity has been established at Esterházy Palace, forming the most important cultural infrastructure for the region in the sphere of classical music. The annual International Haydn Days are among Europe’s most important festivals, furnishing a stage for the world’s best interpreters of Haydn. Comprehensive musical activity as a memorial to Joseph Haydn is provided by the Joseph Haydn Conservatory established in the Austrian province of Burgenland in 1971 as well as the International Joseph Haydn Foundation founded in Eisenstadt in 1993, which is an appropriate enhancement to the conservatory in the matters of research and archive-related work.