Franz Joseph Haydn
1732-1809

Along with Mozart, they were the greatest composers of the Classical Era. Haydn was born as the Baroque Era was just ending, with Handel writing his operas and massive oratorios in London, Bach in Germany composing his complex masterpieces. And by the time of his death, the world was getting ready for the Romantic Era, created by Haydn's one-time student, Ludwig van Beethoven.

Born in the small village of Rodrau, Austria, Franz Joseph Haydn grew up in a music-loving family (Joseph's younger brother was a well-known religious composer). When he was a young boy, he was sent to live with his father's cousin, where he learned to play the harpsichord and piano. His church choir singing voice was heard by the music director of St Stephen's Church in Vienna. Absolutely stunned, the choirmaster allowed Haydn to join the choir in Vienna, where Haydn attended church school, studying all the ordinary school subjects, in addition to his composition lessons. As he sang in the choir, Haydn used his clothing money to buy books on composition, and taught himself how to compose.

However, his singing career did not last long. At seventeen, his voice broke ("He sounds like a crowing rooster," the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria remarked). Haydn, having the playful, childish attitude, performed many practical jokes on his fellow choirmates. But his last, cutting off the pigtail of another singer, was his excuse to leave the choir, thinking he had no use there with a cracked voice. But now, he was a dropout, with no money, job, or place to live.

Fortunately, the people around him were very nice people, as a friend of his was willing to share a room with him, and another friend lent Haydn some money to create his own studio. In that studio, Haydn taught, played, sang, and composed. Through one of his students, Haydn met a famous vocal composer who knew very many wealthy people interested in music, who helped launch Haydn's career. Indeed they did, as Haydn was invited and hired by royalty to compose pieces for certain ceremonies, our just out of curiosity. And he shocked them all.

He earned a large sum of money from then on, enabling him to spill out all his hundreds of works in less that thirty years of his actual career. His symphonies, operas, chamber music, all stunned the people of Europe. His most notorious, the "London" Symphonies, are each in a different treatment of ideas. The "Surprise" Symphony got its name by its slow, yet playful second movement which breaks into a large fortissimo passage, crashingly awakening the audience that might have fallen asleep. The Twelve "London Symphonies" and the "Oxford" Symphony" were all written within a period of a few years. No composer has ever made such numerous great works in such a short time, except for Mozart.

Haydn himself exclaimed that his favorite musician and composer of all time was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A friend of Mozart's father, Leopold Mozart, Haydn, considered the greatest composer of Mozart's time, met young Mozart while observing Wolfgang's lesson with another student. Already exposed to the music of young Mozart, Haydn was blown away by the genius of a young man, with so much of a taste for music similar to his own. Thus, Haydn and Mozart became very close friends, working on works together, suggesting ideas for each other about their compositions. So it is not a surprise that some works of Haydn's have the same character of joy and daintiness.

Through Haydn's lifetime, his music was that of great amusement and talent. He made many royal connections because of these works, and the most important to him was his meeting with Mozart. Even at Haydn's funeral, the music played was Mozart's last composition, a Requiem. However, Haydn's music today is not often played because of its style in composition. Musicians and composers today believe that the works of Haydn are so clear that to playing it would be childishly simple. Nonetheless, his works are those somewhat playful to listen to, and the listener can understand why he was the great premier of the Classical Era.

© 1999 H.Tsai

Some Famous Works:
Symphony No.104 "London":
First Movement
Second Movement
Third Movement
Fourth Movement

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