Born in Austria near its border with Hungary, Joseph Haydn [1732–1809] proved himself to be a pivotal composer within the realm of classical music. He is often called “Papa Haydn” because of his influence on two highly valued musical forms—sharing the informal titles Father of the Symphony as well as Father of the String Quartet. Haydn is recognized to have furthered the development of these two formats more than any other composer, whether before or since.
Haydn began his career as a self-taught freelance composer, oftentimes giving away pieces he had written in order to gain greater recognition. In an era when most composers starved until and unless they were able to secure some sort of aristocratic patronage, Haydn’s career received a significant boost when the Countess Thun engaged him to be her voice and keyboard instructor. He was in his early twenties at the time. He composed his first string quartets in 1756 while working for Baron Fürnberg, and several years later found employment with Count Morzin. All these engagements led him to capturing the position of assistant music director with the Esterházy family, quite possibly the greatest set of aristocrats of their day as members of the Austro-Hungarian ruling class. During the 30 years he was associated with this wealthiest of families, Haydn wrote all sorts of music, operated and conducted the house orchestra, performed in chamber ensembles, and even directed various operatic productions.
The composer’s Austrian ties were severed when a young and decidedly unappreciative Esterházy scion fired everyone associated with the musical organization. Haydn was awarded a small pension and used these funds—along with his great reputation—to finance extensive visits to London, which was then Vienna’s rival as two of the three European hotbeds of classical music (Paris was the third). In London, Haydn composed some of his most famous music. This included the “Surprise,” “Military” and “Drumroll” symphonies. He returned to Vienna in 1795 and was reunited with the Esterházy clan—once again in the hands of a musical champion—where he wrote several of his greatest oratorios (The Seasons and The Creation), plus a wildly popular trumpet concerto and his remaining nine string quartets. Upon his death, Mozart’s Requiem was performed at Haydn’s memorial service.
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