FREE ESSAY ON JOSEPH HAYDN

JOSEPH HAYDN

Joseph Haydn was without a doubt one of the greatest composers of his day. He was 
loved very much as both a man and a musician, and unlike many other composers when he
died 
in 1809. he was one of the most celebrated composers in the world.
Haydn once said, Young people can see from my example that something can still come 
from nothing, but what I am is the result of dire necessity. And it was very true. The
story of 
Haydn was a classic story of rags to riches. His father, Mathias Haydn (1699-1763), was a

wheelwright who after traveling through Germany settled in Rohrau, a village in Austria
near the 
border of Hungary. A year later, Mathias married Anna Maria Koller (1707-1754), and on
April 
1, 1732, Franz Joseph Haydn was born. He was the eldest of twelve children, six of whom
never 
lived past infancy. They lived in a quiet, modest home, which was always kept neat and
tidy. 
Music played a big role in the Haydn home. Mathias, through years of travel, learned how
to play 
the harp and would come home after work and practice. He and his wife would sing Austrian

folk songs along to the music, and the children quickly caught on. This was a nightly
ritual and 
one night a distant cousin named Johann Mathias Franck visited the Haydn family in
Rohrau. 
Franck was the school rector from Haimburg and was responsible for the music there. When
he 
saw the family singing after dinner, he took particular notice to the young Joseph Haydn
who 
was strumming his arm with a stick, pretending he was playing the violin. It was clear
that 
Joseph had a natural talent for music, since he kept time and pitch perfectly without
ever having 
any musical training. As a result, Franck offered to take Joseph back to Haimburg with
him and 
give him an education in music, which would most definitely lead him to becoming a
clergyman. 
Because his parents had a great deal of respect for the clergy, they jumped at the
opportunity, 
and when he was only six years old he left for Haimburg. There he was under a very strict

schedule which included lessons in reading, writing, and catechism, followed by Mass in
the 
church, and of course instruction in singing and playing almost all wind and string
instruments. 
Joseph also learned to play the timpani, and did so in a Holy Week procession. He had a
deep 
love for music and was very grateful for his stay at Haimburg. He once said, I shall owe
it to 
that man [Franck] even in my grave that he taught me so many things, though in the
process I 
have received more thrashings than food. 
In 1740, Karl Georg Reutter, the music director of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna 
came to Hainburg in search of new, young boys to replace the older ones whose voices
broke. 
Haydn was immediately recommended, and after singing a few pieces for Reutter, the badly

nourished boy was taken in as a new student to the Choir School at St. Stephen's
Cathedral, 
where he would remain for the next nine years.
Haydn loved Vienna and was impressed greatly by all the fine music surrounding the city.

his life in the Cathedral was hard, however, and the schedule once again was rigorous.
There 
were lessons in Latin, math, and all the academic studies, as well as classes in singing,
violin, 
and percussion. However, there was no teaching of composition or theory, and Haydn often

claimed that he never had a proper teacher. As a matter of fact, it was often the older
boys 
teaching the younger boys. This meant Joseph was often the teacher of his younger
brother, 
Michael, who joined the choir a few years later. His other brother, Johann Evangelist,
also joined 
the choir and together the boys had a great time. There were many concerts outside the
cathedral, 
which were looked forward to with great excitement. This was because the amount of food
at the 
Cathedral was very limited and during concerts the boys were often treated to fine
meals.
All of the fun soon ended when Haydn's voice broke and he was expelled from the school. 
He was left virtually alone in Vienna with no money and no place to go. He began
composing 
and arranging music as well as giving lessons in music. This earned him enough money to
pay 
rent for a small apartment and afford all the living expenses.
It was at this point in his life that he began studying the first six sonatas of Carl
Philipp 
Emanuel Bach, which fascinated him. Haydn once said, I did not leave the clavier until I
had 
played them through...I owe a great deal to Emanuel Bach, that I understood him and have

studied him with diligence. Emanuel Bach once paid me a compliment on [the sonatas]
himself.
It was from this time in his life that Haydn wrote his earliest composition, a Missa
Brevis in 
F. After that came the first string quartets and for the first time in Haydn's life he
was being 
recognized for his work, as well as living and eating well. 
Haydn's first orchestral compositions came out in 1758 when he became the conductor of 
the Morzin Orchestra in Lukavec, which is present day Czechoslovakia. The Morzin
Orchestra 
played an amazing performance of Haydn's first symphony, while Haydn conducted it from
the 
harpsichord. The audience was in awe of the performance, and among them sat Prince Paul 
Anton Esterhazy, who later played a very important role in the still young Haydn's life.
It was at this time, however, that Haydn married his first wife, Maria Anna Keller. He
was 
actually in love with her sister, Therese, however she did not love him in return and
instead 
joined a convent to get away from him. As a result, Haydn married Maria Anna, perhaps
because 
he felt an obligation to the family. The wedding was on November 26, 1760, however it was
an 
ill-fated marriage. Maria Anna had little tolerance for music, did not like a clean
house, children, 
and most of all Haydn. Once again, home life for Haydn was hard, but in order to get away
from 
it all he simply buried himself in his music, as he always did, composing many more great

works.
In 1761, due to financial troubles, Count Morzin had to disband the orchestra that Haydn

was in charge of and once again Haydn was left unemployed. Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy 
caught wind of this news and offered Haydn the job of Assistant Kapellmeister of his
orchestra 
in Eisenstadt.
Haydn was doing very well at Eisenstadt. He was earning more that enough money for 
healthy living and his compositions were becoming more and more well known. Haydn was 
pleased, and the Prince was pleased. Kapellmeister Werner, however, was very jealous of
Haydn 
and there was great tension between him and the assistant. 
In March 1766, when Kapellmeister Werner died, Haydn became the new musical leader of 
the Esterhazy Orchestra.
As leader, Haydn was free to experiment with the orchestra and be as bold and creative as
he 
wished. He once said, [At Esterhazy] I was cut off from the world, there was no one to
confuse 
or torment me and I was forced to become original.
In 1762 Paul Anton died and was succeeded by his brother Nicholas. Haydn wrote many 
works in honor of Nicholas's inauguration. However, it was at the Prince's eldest son's
wedding 
that Haydn conducted his first full-length opera, Acide, that he wrote specially for the
occasion.
In 1764 Prince Nicholas wanted to build a new palace, with extravagant gardens 
much like those of the Palace of Versailles. The construction immediately went underway
and in 
1768 after completion of the Music House, Haydn and the musicians moved in.
Once everything was settled, Haydn became very busy. He composed theater works for 
puppet plays, the operas La Cantarina and Lo Speziale, as well as five or six symphonies
a 
year. Between 1761 and 1765, Haydn had written over twenty symphonies. By that time, the

orchestra Haydn was in charge of had been expanded to twenty-two players, all of whom had

much consideration and respect for Haydn. Out of this respect came the nickname Papa, for

the fatherly care that he gave them.
However, it seemed as though Haydn was forever stricken with bad luck. Nearly every 
minute of the day on some days he spent composing music, whether it be for a special
visitor or 
for a big event. So naturally there were hundreds of works and ideas stored at the
palace. In 1776 
most of Haydn's manuscripts were destroyed by a fire, which had happened once before in
1771. 
The fire was at the musical theater in Esterhaza, therefore a new and more extravagant
theater 
was built in it's place. It was the host of many shows per week and Haydn found himself 
conducting operas three to five times per week. This caused him fame to increase greatly,
which 
was wonderful for him financially. he was getting requests from all over France and
England, as 
well as in Italy and sometimes Germany. His symphonies were beginning to be published and
his 
name was know all over Europe. 
In 1782 Haydn wrote the opera, Orlando Paladino, which was one of the most famous 
works during his lifetime. Over a two year span, the opera was performed over thirty
times in 
Esterhaza and later in Germany and Austria over forty times. 
In 1783 Haydn finished the last two pieces he would write for Esterhaza, as well as the 
opera which Haydn personally considered his best, Armida. 
It was also around that time that Haydn and Mozart became closer friends. Haydn and 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met in 1781 while at a concert of the famed Johann Sebastian
Bach. 
They instantly liked each other, despite the fact that the two men were quite different
in 
backgrounds and beliefs. Haydn could confide in Mozart, and Mozart in turn could call
upon 
Haydn for honest opinions and good advice. Both men regarded each other very highly.
Haydn 
said in a letter to Mozart's father, Friends tell me I am brilliant, but he [Mozart]
stood far above 
me. When Mozart died on December 5, 1791, Haydn was in London and did not believe the 
news. It upset him greatly and years later if Mozart's name was mentioned, he would still
break 
down in tears.
Music in London was at it's best while Haydn was staying there, and the English 
loved him. He was always welcomed with ceremonies and always paid well. During his stay 
there he was able to do many wonderful things and meet many wonderful people.
However, in the summer of 1792 Haydn felt it was time to return to Austria. On his way 
back, he stayed in Bonn, Germany, where he met Ludwig van Beethoven. Haydn was impressed

by Beethoven and offered to give him lessons in composition. The two were very different,

however, and often had trouble getting along. On the professional level, they respected
each 
other, but a friendship like that of Haydn and Mozart was out of the question.
From this time period, there are two pieces that come to mind when one thinks of Haydn. 
The first is The Creation and the second is The Seasons. 
The Creation was inspired by Handel's Messiah, which Haydn had heard while in the 
Westminster Abbey in 1791. Composition began in 1796 and was completed in 1798. This 
oratorio was Haydn's first completed sacred work with a German text, and Haydn said it
make 
him feel closer to God while writing it. On April 19, 1798, in the Schwarzenberg Palace
in 
Vienna, The Creation was performed for the first of many times. The public felt it was
Haydn's 
greatest work, and he was paid a great deal of money for the writing and performing of
it.
The second major composition was The Seasons. While it did not have near the success of 
the Creation, it was still quite profitable. Haydn, however, was exhausted and in 1805 he
said, 
Die Jahreszeiten did not bring me luck. I should not have composed it. It finished me.
That 
was when he decided to make his will.
The last years of his life were just as busy as the rest. Although Haydn was weak and
ill, he 
still had many important admirers come each day, such as fellow musicians Abbe Vogler,
the 
Weber family, and Mozart's widow, Constanze Weber. He was also honored with many medals,

precious gifts, and countless certificates. They all represented the joy and success of
his life and 
meant a great deal to Haydn.
Physically Haydn was not able to compose anymore, however, songs still ran through his 
head, often causing terrible headaches and prolonged spells of dizziness. Haydn said, The

musical inventions chase and torture me. I cannot escape them, they stand for me like
walls. If 
an Allegro chases me, my heartbeat becomes very quick, I cannot sleep. If it is an
Adagio, my 
heartbeat becomes slow. My fantasy plays me like a piano.
Haydn's last triumph was the performance of Die Schopfing on March 27, 1808 at the 
Vienna University. The performance was held to celebrate Haydn's seventy-sixth birthday.

Although he was weak, Haydn and his doctor went to the concert together. Crowds had
gathered 
for him, Price Esterhazy personally escorted him inside, and ever important musician of
that 
time, such as Beethoven, Hummel, and Salieri, was there. Haydn was ill and left at
intermission, 
and from that time on he was confined to his home from ill-health and disability.
However, his 
home was not a peaceful place to rest. In early may, Napoleon's troops entered Vienna,
and as a 
result, Haydn suffered from the twenty-four hour a day bombardment. Napoleon was 
compassionate and put a guard in from of Haydn's home, in an attempt stop the dying man
from 
being bothered. 
On May 31, 1809, Haydn went into a coma and died. In his Will, no one was forgotten --
old 
friends, acquaintances, people who had done him favors in his youth, and those who had
been 
kind to him in his old age. The conclusion of the Will stated, I commend my soul to my
all-
merciful Creator. As you can see, Haydn was a very religious man.
From 1809 to 1820, Haydn's body was buried at the Hundsthurmer Cemetary in Vienna. 
Some time after the burial, a student at the University of Vienna got permission to study
Haydn's 
skull. It was removed and the body was then moved to Eisenstadt at the request of Prince

Esterhazy. Today, Haydn's body, including the skull, is in a mausoleum built by Dr. Paul

Esterhazy in 1954. 
Haydn was a kindhearted, good-natured man who was respected by all. His contribution to 
the history of music is practically endless - from symphonies and quartets, to paving the
way for 
the future composers, like Mozart and Beethoven. He had a style all his own, and for that
he will 
always be remembered.