Haydn, Joseph#

b. Rohrau (Lower Austria), March 31, 1732, d. Vienna, May 31, 1809, composer; son of a wheelwright, brother of Michael Haydn. At age 6 was sent to the town of Hainburg and in 1740, at age 8, came to Vienna as a choir boy at St. Stephen's Cathedral (his first extensive musical training under G. Reutter the Younger and first attempts at composing), contact with the Viennese tradition of baroque music (A. Caldara, J. J. Fux). 1749 was expelled from the choir after his voice broke, supported himself with odd jobs (including composition of comedy arias), while intensively studying composition (J. J. Fux, C. P. E. Bach). Through P. Metastasio became assistant of the famous singing teacher N. Porpora, who lived in Vienna from 1752 to1756/57. Thanks to Metastasio and Porpora met Vienna's musical celebrities, like G. C. Wagenseil, C. W. Gluck and C. Ditters von Dittersdorf. Between 1750 and 1760, during an engagement for K. J. von Fuernberg in Weinzierl Palace near Wieselburg (Lower Austria) wrote his first string quartets. In 1759, probably on Fuernberg's recommendation, was engaged as musical director by Count Morzin at Lukavec Palace near Plzen (Pilse, Czech Republic); here he produced mainly instrumental music (symphonies, divertimenti etc.). In 1760 married Maria A. Weber. 1761 appointed by Prince Pau Il Anton Esterházy as assistant conductor, remained at the Esterházy court also under his successor Prince Nikolaus I Joseph Esterházy, the Magnificent "lover of grandeur". 1766 became musical director in Eisenstadt and from 1769 at Eszterháza Palace (Fertoed, H). Increased the size of the Prince's orchestra from 10-15 to 20-25 musicians. In the isolation of the country estates H. developed his own style and experimented with the new forms of the emerging Viennese Classical style. In 1790 Prince Nikolaus I Joseph died and the Esterházy orchestra was dissolved, H. returned to Vienna, where thanks to connections formed in the late 1770s he soon became one of the leading musicians of the city. Prince Anton Esterházy, the successor of the late Nikolaus, assured H. of a full salary and title, and no duties were required of him, enabling him to turn down an offer by Prince Grassalkovics. The concert manager J. P. Salomon persuaded him to leave for England (1791/92), Oxford University awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Music - this was the high point of H.'s journey to England. He agreed to return to England in 1794/95 following his great artistic and commercial success there. Between these two journeys young L. van Beethoven was his pupil. After Prince Anton Esterházy died in 1794, his successor Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy restored the former Esterházy orchestra giving H. enormous freedom as musical director (from 1795). He was commissioned to compose a mass for the Princess's name-day and it is thanks to her that the great masses were created. As a result of his fascination for Handel's oratorios (in England and through Baron Gottfried van Swieten and his circle) he composed "The Creation" (1796-1798) and "The Seasons" (1799-1801). Furthermore, during this period he composed his most famous string quartets (including the "Rider" and the "Emperor Quartet"), the popular song "God Save Emperor Franz", (1797, precursor of the Austrian Federal Anthem) and 445 arrangements of Scottish songs, probably with the support of his students. During the occupation of Vienna by the French (1805), H. was shown great respect even by Napoleon. H. died in 1809 and was buried in the cemetery at Hundsturm. In 1820 his body was taken to Eisenstadt (his head not until 1954), where there is a mausoleum (1932) with a marble sarcophagus.

H., W. A. Mozart and L. van Beethoven are considered as the trinity of Viennese Classicism. Due to his long life and the wide scope of his work, his work includes many styles of music ranging from high and late Baroque in Vienna to the transition to new musical dimensions, which were developed by his former pupil Beethoven. H.'s contribution to Viennese Classicism was especially in the field of instrumental music, where he played a major role in the development of symphonies and string quartets, his style was based not on Italian influences (as Mozart's was) but more on basic musical traditions (mistakenly classified as "folk music"). Starting with divertimenti, serenades, table music and the baroque sinfonia, H. developed a strict concept of form based on preliminary works by the "Mannheim School" and Viennese musical traditions. In addition to the principle of four-movements (fast - slow - minuet - fast/rondo) the classic symphony was now characterised by a typical development of the two outer movements based on the theme and the motif, especially in the first movement, and by the introduction of thematic work. H. transferred this sonata form and the four-movement development to the newly-established form of string quartet (his early string quartets from the Fuernberg-period show divertimento-characteristics). H. had also great influence on the development of piano sonatas. All these innovations matured during the period of Esterházy patronage and were completed during the late 1780s and 1790s. The numerous operas, which H. wrote for the theatre at Eszterháza Palace, are also worth mentioning.

From 1765 H. wrote his own list of works, the ("Entwurf-Katalog") - catalogue of drafts. Johann Elssler, his copyist and loyal assistant wrote the great H. index in 1805 although today the Hoboken Index is always cited (A. van Hoboken). - H.'s gravestone is at its original place, today called Haydn Park in the 12th district of Vienna; there is a memorial in the house where he died in the 6th district of Vienna and a H.-Museum in the house where he lived in Eisenstadt.

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