Through quality and quantity, Haydn and his stylish works dictated the musical direction of the entire Classical period.

Born in the small town of Rohrau on the Hungarian border, Franz Joseph Haydn was the son of a local wheelwright. He received his first musical instruction at the age of five from his uncle. A talented young singer, Haydn gained the bulk of his early musical education as a member of the boy choir at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. It was there he remained until his voice changed, forcing him to leave the choir and find employment elsewhere.

Haydn made his living initially as a freelance musician and teacher, eking out an existence while studying theory and composition. He began taking lessons from Italian composer Nicola Porpora and eventually landed a job as musical director for Count Morzin. His biggest break, however, came when he entered into the service of Prince Paul Anton Ezterhazy, a wealthy and influential patron of the arts, in 1761. 

Moving to the Prince’s palatial estate, Haydn served the Ezterhazy family for the next 30 years. By 1766, he became full Kappelmeister, a position whose responsibilities included composing, conducting, and training musicians. The conditions of Haydn’s employment were ideal for his musical development. Composing on the prince’s demand, Haydn rapidly accumulated a large body of work, writing for weekly concerts and special events such as the arrival of visiting dignitaries and feast days.

His early works at the Esterhazy estate focused primarily on the instrumental genres such as the symphony and string quartet. Haydn also became particularly adept at composing for the baryton, a type of viol played by the Prince, for which he wrote 165 pieces. Eventually, Opera began to require his increased attention following the opening of the Esterhazy’s own opera house in 1768. By the 1780s, Haydn had even achieved a celebrated international reputation, quite remarkable considering his geographically isolated location.

At the death of Prince Nicolas in 1790, Haydn left Esterhazy and returned to Vienna. There, he continued his compositional activities and between 1792 and 1794 served as teacher to a young Beethoven. Two important and productive trips to London were also undertaken during this period through the efforts of British impresario and violinist Johann Peter Solomon. For these voyages, Haydn composed the twelve London Symphonies (No. 93 – 104), which stand at the height of the classical symphonic genre.

Returning from London, where the British press had hailed him as “the greatest composer in the world,” Haydn settled again in Vienna for his final years. His primary achievements during this period are the oratorios The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801). Internationally famous and well respected by his piers, Franz Joseph Haydn died at the age of seventy-seven on 31 May, 1809.