Transcript Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

"Young people can learn
from my example that
something can come from
nothing. What I have
become is the result of my
hard efforts.“
"I was cut off from the
world. There was no one
to confuse or bother me,
and I was forced to become
original."
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Youth
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Joseph Haydn was born in 1732
as a peasant in the Austrian
village Rohrau, son of a wagon
maker and the village mayor.
His families frequently
performed folk music for fun.
Joseph’s talent was recognized
at a young age and his parents
sent him away to a boarding
school at age 5. The conditions
there were harsh. He said,
“there was more flogging there
than food.”
Youth
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At age 8 he was accepted as a
choirboy in the Viennese Cathedral
where he studied singing, violin and
keyboard.
Again there was not much food and
lots of harsh treatment, and soon
Haydn’s voice changed and he couldn’t
sing the high notes anymore.
But Young Haydn had developed a
sense of humor to deal with his harsh
life. One day at 17 he played a joke by
cutting off the pigtails of another boy
in the choir.
On His Own
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The director beat him and
threw him out into the street
with only a change of clothes.
Haydn lived where ever he
could and made some money
giving music lessons and
serenading people on the
street.
He became the servant of a
famous composer, Niccolo,
Porpora, and taught himself
composition from observation
and reading books.
Music Director for Prince Esterhazy
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Haydn’s reputation as a
performer and composer
slowly grew and he worked
for several aristocrats.
At 29 he was hired as the
music director of Hungarian
Prince Esterhazy.
Haydn’s responsibilities were
enormous, including
monitoring the musicians of
the Prince’s orchestra, in
addition to composing and
performing orchestra, opera,
and chamber music.
Music Director for Prince Esterhazy
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The Prince’s palace, Eszterhaza
was far from any major cities and
composers, so Haydn had to be
very creative on his own.
He basically invented the
symphony and the string quartet,
two forms that would become
central to Classical music.
Many of the 104 symphonies, 68
string quartets, 15 surviving
operas, 12 masses, and 100s of
short pieces he wrote were
written during his 30 years at
Esterhaza.
Haydn’s Humor
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Haydn’s sense of humor was also present in the music
he wrote at Esterhaza.
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Surprise Symphony: Haydn got tired of the Prince
falling asleep during his symphony concerts, so he
decided to play a joke on him.
http://youtu.be/tF5kr251BRs
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Farewell Symphony: Another time all of his
orchestra wanted to go on vacation, so he wrote a
symphony that had each of the musicians stop playing
and leave the room one by one until Haydn was the
only one left on the piano.
Haydn in London
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When the Prince died and
his son decided to cut back
on his musicians, Haydn, now
60, took the opportunity to
travel to London to write
and perform symphonies.
He was greeted by an
adoring public that paid
good money to buy his
music and attend his
concerts.
He wrote his famous
“London Symphonies” then.
Haydn in Vienna
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Returning to Austria, he went to
live in Vienna where he was a
wealthy and respected celebrity.
For the first time, he wrote in the
form made famous by Handel,
oratorios:“The Creation” and
“The Seasons.”
He was a mentor and a teacher
to the next two great composers:
Mozart and Beethoven.
They called him “Papa Haydn” for
trail-blazing the way for modern
symphonies and string quartets.
Death and Legacy
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Haydn died at in 1809 at age
77 as one of the most
famous composers in the
Western world.
He lived long enough to see
Napoleon invade Vienna (in
1805 and 1809), and outlived
his younger friend Mozart
(who was 16 years younger
than him) by 18 years.
Still today, Haydn is
considered one of the
greatest composers ever.