Haydn

Joseph Haydn was the trailblazer for classical music, and a pioneer in the development of the symphony and the string quartet. Because his innovation in classical music, he is known as the "father of the symphony," "father of the orchestra," and "father of the string quartet." He also had a place in the development of the sonata cycle and helped to establish the tradition of modern orchestral playing. His style influence both Mozart and Beethoven is the reason why he is also known as the "Father of Classical Music".

Joseph Haydn started his music career at the age of six. "...the true ear and feeling for rhythm of little "Sepperl," as Joseph was called, was quickly noticeable. So a cousin of his father, who was a schoolmaster at Hainburg, was allowed to take the boy home with him, placing him in the school choir..." (Baltzell, 283) This is where Haydn started to develop his talent as a musician and was discovered by a music director from St. Stephen's Cathedral, at Vienna. He immediately impressed the director and was hired as a choir boy. At St. Stephen's Cathedral, Haydn received voice and violin lessons as well as teaching himself to read and write compose. By the age of seventeen, Haydn had matured and was no longer able to sing on the choir. "Haydn was punished and then sent forth into the streets of Vienna without a penny."(Paine, Thomas, Klauser, 247)So Haydn became a freelance musician, playing the violin and keyboard instruments.

Haydn continued to practice his musical craftsmanship until he was popular enough to get a job working for an aristocrat family. "By this time he had made a name for himself, and fortunately Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy had been a frequent visitor at Count Morzin's and heard much of Haydn's music there. It had impressed him... the Prince at once engaged Haydn as his second Kapellmeister... to Eszterhaza in Hungary, where was the country seat of the richest and most liberal of the Austrian nobles." (Paine, Thomas, Klauser, 252) Haydn remained in service to the Esterhazy family for thirty-three years and was put in charge of the Eszterhaza's orchestra.

With the orchestra at his disposal, Haydn experimented with the orchestra in order to create the best sounding music he could produce. Haydn also had to abide by the rules of the Esterhazy. "It is impressed on Haydn that he must be temperate ; must abstain from vulgarity in eating and drinking and conversation ; must take care of all the music and the musical instruments, and be answerable for any injury they may suffer from carelessness or neglect ; that as he is an expert on various instruments, he shall take care to practice on all that he is acquainted with ; that when summoned to perform before company he shall take care that he and all members of his orchestra do follow the instructions given and appear in white stockings, white linen, powder, and with either a pig-tail or a tie-wig. (Paine, Thomas, Klauser, 252) Haydn worked relentlessly under the service of Esterhazy. He composed mostly all of music during his service. "The quantity of music he wrote was enormous and the rapidity with which he poured it forth was astonishing. At Esterhaz he was obliged to provide for two operatic performances and for one or two formal concerts each week, in addition to the daily music. It was here that Haydn wrote nearly all his operas, the greater number of his arias and songs, and the bulk of his orchestral and chamber music." (Paine, Thomas, Klauser, 255)

After the death of Prince Paul Esterhazy, Haydn was let go from his position, but was given a liberal pension by Prince Paul's brother. Haydn settled down in Vienna and traveled to London with a British violinist J.P. Salomon to write an opera, symphonies, and other works. Haydn composed his last 12 symphonies for performance in London, and was also given a honorary doctorate from Oxford University. Haydn also wrote a symphony concertante, choral pieces, piano trios, piano sonatas and songs, which some were in English, and he arranged British folksongs for publishers in London. During this time, Haydn wrote some of his greatest works: The Creation and The Seasons..

"The first master in whose compositions for instruments alone the successful endeavor was made to impart independent life to music, and to transform it into an actual language of human feeling, was Joseph Haydn." (Tapper, Goetschius, 241) Haydn basically invented the string quartet and his quartet compositions remain the foundation of the quartet literature. It is said that Haydn invented the string quartet form because he and another 3 performers were the only musicians he had at his disposal. Haydn compositions also include piano sonatas, piano trios, divertimentos, concertos, operas, oratorios, and masses. "the form of the Sonata was his greatest achievement; and, written in this form, his symphonies and quartets were simply an enlargement of his clavier works, the symphonies having an added Minuet movement between the second and last movements of the clavier form of sonata, thus extending the piece to larger proportions." (Baltzel, 288) Charles Rosen explains Haydn's sonata's to be not a definite form like a minuet, da capo aria, or the French overture, but it was more like the fugue, a way of writing, a feeling of proportion, direction, and texture rapture than a pattern.