Franz Joseph Haydn ( / ˈ h aɪ d ən / HY -dən ; German: [ˈfʁants ˈjoːzɛf ˈhaɪdn̩] ; 31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809) was an Austrian composer from the Classical period. He played a key role in the development of chamber music forms, such as the string quartet and piano trio. His work in shaping musical structure earned him the titles "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet."

Haydn was born to working-class parents in a small village. He began his career as a chorister at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. Later, he worked as a freelance musician during a difficult time. Eventually, he became successful, spending much of his career as a music director for the wealthy Esterházy family at their palace in Eszterháza, Hungary. Though he had his own orchestra, this isolation limited his exposure to other composers and musical trends. He once said this situation "forced him to become original." His music was widely published, making him the most famous composer in Europe. After the death of his patron, Nikolaus Esterházy, in 1790, Haydn traveled and gained even more recognition as a performer in London and Vienna. His final years (1803–1809) were marked by poor health, which prevented him from composing. He died in Vienna in 1809 at the age of 77.

Haydn was a friend and teacher to Mozart, a mentor to Beethoven, and the older brother of composer Michael Haydn.

Life and career

Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, a village that was on the border with Hungary at the time. His father was Mathias Haydn, a wheelwright who also worked as a marketplace supervisor. His mother, Maria, who was born Koller, had worked as a cook in the palace of Count Harrach, the most important noble in Rohrau. Neither of his parents could read music, but Mathias enjoyed playing folk music and had taught himself to play the harp during his early career. Haydn later remembered that his family loved music and often sang together with their neighbors.

Haydn’s parents noticed his musical talent and knew that Rohrau did not offer serious music training. Around the time Haydn turned six, they agreed to let him live with their relative Johann Matthias Frankh, a schoolteacher and choir director in Hainburg, so he could study music. Haydn moved to Hainburg and never returned to live with his parents again.

Life with Frankh was difficult for Haydn. He later said he often felt hungry and was embarrassed by his dirty clothes. However, he quickly learned to play the harpsichord and violin and sang high parts in the church choir.

Haydn’s singing caught the attention of Georg Reutter the Younger, the music director of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. Reutter was visiting Hainburg and was looking for choirboys. Haydn passed an audition and moved to Vienna in 1740, where he worked as a choirboy for nine years.

Haydn lived in a house near the cathedral with Reutter, his family, and other choirboys, including his younger brother Michael after 1745. The choirboys studied Latin, voice, violin, and keyboard. Reutter did not teach Haydn much about music theory or composition, only giving him two lessons. However, St. Stephen’s Cathedral was a major musical center in Europe, and Haydn learned a lot by working there.

Like Frankh, Reutter did not always ensure Haydn was well-fed. Haydn later told his biographer that he sang well to earn invitations to perform for aristocrats, where he could receive food and drink.

By 1749, Haydn had grown too tall to sing high parts. Empress Maria Theresa complained about his singing, calling it "crowing." One day, Haydn cut off the pigtail of a fellow choirboy, and Reutter punished him by beating him and sending him into the streets. A friend, Johann Michael Spangler, took him in for a few months. Haydn then began working as a freelance musician.

At first, Haydn struggled with many jobs, including teaching music, playing in the streets, and working as a valet-accompanist for the Italian composer Nicola Porpora, from whom he learned the basics of composition. He also briefly played the organ in a chapel in Bohemia.

As a choirboy, Haydn had not studied music theory or composition. To improve, he practiced the counterpoint exercises in a book called Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Joseph Fux and studied the work of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, whom he later said influenced him greatly. In the 1750s, he also studied a detailed music treatise by Johann Mattheson.

As his skills grew, Haydn gained a reputation as a composer. He wrote an opera called Der krumme Teufel ("The Limping Devil") for a comic actor named Joseph Felix von Kurz. The opera premiered successfully in 1753 but was later closed by censors for "offensive remarks." Haydn also noticed that some of his free compositions were being sold in local shops. Between 1754 and 1756, he worked as a freelance musician for the court in Vienna, performing at balls and in the imperial chapel.

Haydn eventually earned the support of aristocrats, which was important for composers at the time. Countess Thun hired him as a singing and keyboard teacher. In 1756, Baron Carl Josef Fürnberg employed Haydn at his estate, Weinzierl, where Haydn wrote his first string quartets. Their success encouraged him to compose more. Fürnberg later recommended Haydn to Count Morzin, who became his first full-time employer in 1757.

Haydn’s job title with Count Morzin was Kapellmeister, meaning music director. The count had his own small orchestra, which Haydn led and composed for. His salary was 200 florins a year, plus food and lodging. The count lived in Vienna during winter but spent summers at his country estate in Unterlukawitz, now in the Czech Republic. Haydn and his musicians followed the count wherever he lived. For Count Morzin, Haydn wrote his first symphonies (about 10–20, though the exact number is unknown). These early works showed promise, with rich musical ideas and clear expression.

In 1760, Haydn married Maria Anna Theresia Keller, the sister of a woman he had once loved. Their marriage was unhappy, and they had no children. Both had lovers during their marriage.

Count Morzin faced financial problems and had to dismiss his musicians, but Haydn quickly found a new position in 1761 with Prince Paul Anton of the wealthy Esterházy family. His title was Vice-Kapellmeister, but he managed most of the family’s music. When the previous Kapellmeister, Gregor Werner, died in 1766, Haydn became the full Kapellmeister.

As a "house officer" for the Esterházy family, Haydn wore special clothing and moved with the family among their palaces, including Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt and Esterháza, a grand palace built in rural Hungary in the 1760s. Haydn had many responsibilities, including leading the orchestra, composing music, and performing for the family.

Character and appearance

James Webster describes Haydn's public character as follows: "Haydn's public life showed the Enlightenment idea of the honnête homme (honest man): a person whose good character and success in life support and explain each other. His modesty and honesty were widely recognized. These qualities were not only important for his success as Kapellmeister, entrepreneur, and public figure, but also helped people enjoy his music more." Haydn was especially respected by the Esterházy court musicians he managed because he created a friendly work environment and protected their interests with their employer; see Papa Haydn and the story of the "Farewell" Symphony. Haydn had a strong sense of humor, shown through his love of jokes and often seen in his music. He had many friends. Much of his life was marked by a "happy and naturally cheerful temperament," but in his later years, there are signs of periods of sadness, as noted in letters to Mrs. Genzinger and in Dies's biography, which includes accounts from Haydn's old age.

Haydn was a devout Catholic who often prayed with his rosary when he struggled to compose, a practice he found helpful. He usually began each composition with "In nomine Domini" (in the name of the Lord) and ended with "Laus Deo" (praise be to God). He kept this tradition even in his non-religious works, often using the initials "L. D." or "S. D. G." (soli Deo gloria, praise be to God alone) and sometimes adding "et om si" (and all saints).

Webster notes that Haydn could be firm in business matters, and some people were surprised or even shocked by this. He wrote: "Regarding money, Haydn always tried to earn as much as possible, whether by selling his music outside the Esterházy court, negotiating strong deals with publishers, or selling his works to multiple publishers in different countries. He often used 'sharp practice,' which today might be seen as dishonest. However, copyright laws were not well developed then, and stealing musical works was common. Publishers often used Haydn's name for popular pieces by other composers, which hurt those composers' livelihoods. Webster suggests that Haydn's business decisions might be understood better when considering his past struggles with poverty as a freelancer. Outside of business, Haydn was generous, such as when he offered to teach the two young sons of Mozart for free after Mozart's death. When Haydn died, he was financially stable but lived within middle-class standards, not aristocratic ones.

Haydn was short, possibly because he was not well-fed during much of his youth. He was not considered handsome and had scars on his face from smallpox, a disease he survived. His biographer Dies wrote: "He could not understand how many beautiful women loved him. 'They couldn't have been attracted by my beauty.'"

Haydn generally had good health but suffered from nasal polyps, which are painful growths in the nose, for much of his adult life. This condition sometimes made it difficult for him to compose music.

Music

James Webster describes Haydn's role in the history of classical music as follows:

A key feature of Haydn's music is the way he builds large, complex musical structures from very short, simple musical ideas. These ideas often come from common patterns used in background music. The music is usually tightly organized, and important musical moments in a piece can happen quickly. W. Dean Sutcliffe notes this in a discussion about how Haydn's music is performed today:

Haydn's work was important in the development of a musical form called sonata form. However, his approach to this form was different from that of Mozart and Beethoven, who were younger composers who also mastered this style. Haydn often used a type of structure called a monothematic exposition, where the music that introduces the dominant key is similar or the same as the opening theme. He also used different methods in the recapitulation sections of his music, where he sometimes changed the order of musical themes compared to the beginning and used detailed development of those themes. Rosemary Hughes writes about these "rearranged recapitulations":

Haydn's creativity with musical structure also helped him include the fugue, a complex musical technique, into the classical style. He also improved the rondo form, making it more logically connected in terms of musical keys (see sonata rondo form). Haydn was the main composer who used a form called double variation, where two alternating themes are developed, often in major and minor keys.

The Haydn scholar Karl Geiringer highlights the happiness found in much of Haydn's music:

The feeling of joy in Haydn's music was also noticed by Charles Rosen, who described a theme in a piano trio (Hob. XV:13) as follows:

A small number of Haydn's works are exceptions to this cheerful style. Some pieces show deeper emotions, such as The Seven Last Words of Christ, the slow movement of the string quartet Op. 76 No. 5, which Haydn labeled "mesto" (sorrowful), and the well-known ending of his Variations in F minor for piano.

Haydn's music is also known for its humor, especially unexpected musical moments that sound like jokes. The most famous example is the sudden loud chord in the slow movement of his "Surprise" symphony. Other humorous elements in his music include false endings (for example, in the quartets Op. 33 No. 2 and Op. 50 No. 3) and clever rhythmic tricks in the trio section of the third movement of Op. 50 No. 1.

Haydn's fast musical sections are usually energetic and full of movement, especially in the final parts of his pieces. Examples of his lively finales include the "London" Symphony No. 104, the String Quartet Op. 50 No. 1, and the Piano Trio Hob. XV:27. His early slow movements are usually not too slow, relaxed, and thoughtful. Later in his career, his slow movements showed a wider range of emotions, such as in the deeply moving slow movements of the quartets Op. 76 Nos. 3 and 5, the symphonies No. 98 and 102, and the Piano Trio Hob. XV:23. His minuets, which are dance-like, often have a strong beat and a popular feel. Over time, Haydn changed some of his minuets into "scherzi," which are much faster and have one beat per bar.

Haydn lived during the same time as some famous Baroque composers, such as J. S. Bach and Handel. However, the composers who influenced him were not these Baroque figures but earlier leaders of the emerging Classical style in Vienna, including his employer Johann Georg Reutter and others like Georg Christoph Wagenseil and Georg Matthias Monn. These composers are not widely known today. This was a time of musical experimentation, and Haydn was one of the explorers during this period. Early in his career, Haydn discovered the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the son of J. S. Bach. Karl Geiringer explains how Haydn was deeply moved by the emotional depth of Bach's work: "Before this, Haydn was familiar with the light, surface-level style of the musical rococo; here, he found music that deeply touched and excited him."

Looking at Haydn's work over the six decades he composed (from about 1749 to 1802), there is a steady increase in complexity and musical skill. This growth happened as Haydn learned from his own experiences and those of his colleagues. Several key moments mark the development of Haydn's style.

In the late 1760s and early 1770s, Haydn entered a period called "Sturm und Drang" ("storm and stress"). This term comes from a literary movement of the same time, though Haydn's musical changes happened slightly earlier. His music during this time is more expressive, especially in minor keys. James Webster describes these works as "longer, more passionate, and more daring." Famous compositions from this period include the "Trauer" (Mourning) Symphony No. 44, the "Farewell" Symphony No. 45, the Piano Sonata in C minor (Hob. XVI/20, L. 33), and the six "Sun" Quartets Op. 20, all from around 1771–72. It was also during this time that Haydn became interested in writing fugues in the Baroque style, and three of the Op. 20 quartets end with a fugue.

After the "Sturm und Drang" period, Haydn returned to a lighter, more entertaining style. There are no quartets from this time, and his symphonies began to include new features, such as trumpets and timpani. These changes were linked to a shift in Haydn's job, as he moved away from writing instrumental music and toward creating comic operas. Some of these operas were his own work, though they are rarely performed today. Haydn sometimes reused music from his operas in symphonic works, helping him continue his career as a symphonist during this busy time.

In 1779, a change in Haydn's contract allowed him to publish his music without needing permission from his employer. This likely encouraged him to return to composing instrumental music. The change had a major effect in 1781, when Haydn published the six Op. 33 String Quartets. He told buyers that these quartets were written "in a new and completely special way." Charles Rosen argues that this was not just marketing but a serious claim, pointing out several important advances in Haydn's techniques in these quartets. These include smooth phrasing, where each musical idea flows naturally from the previous one, and a style of counterpoint where each instrument maintains its own musical identity. These features continued in the many quartets Haydn wrote after Op. 33.

In the 1790s, inspired by his trips to England, Haydn developed what Charles Rosen calls his "popular style." This method created music that was widely appealing while still maintaining complex musical structure. A key part of this style was the use of folk