Franz Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn

(1732-1809)

Haydn's Life

• Born in the village Rohrau, Austria

• His family was fairly poor

• Father was a wheelwright (he made wagon wheels)

• Mother was a cook for a local land-owner

Early Life

• Introduced to music through folk songs his father sang while working and peasant dances on festive occasions

• Had a beautiful singing voice; served as a choirboy at St. Stephen Cathedral, Vienna

• Dismissed from the choir at 16 when his voice changed

• Thrown out in the street and left to fend for himself

• "Barely managed to stay alive by giving music lessons to children for eight years."

• Taught himself composition and learned how to play the violin

Growing Success

• Aristocratic patrons began to notice Haydn's talent

• Eventually obtained the position of music director for a Bohemian count

• 1761 - Entered the service of the Esterházy family (richest, most powerful of Hungarian nobles)

• Served under the Esterházys until the death of Prince Nicholas Esterházy in 1790

• The Esterházy palace magnificent, but isolated; 126 guest rooms, 1 opera house, 1 theater, 2 concert halls

Working for the Aristocracy

• Musicians were dependent on the will of their patrons

• Musicians were taken for granted

• Advantages: Steady income and their works were performed

"Not only did I have the encouragement of constant approval, but as a conductor of an orchestra, I could make experiments, observe what produced an effect and what weakened it, and was thus in a position to improve, alter, make additions or omissions, and be as bold as I please. I was cut off from the world; there was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original."

- Franz Joseph Haydn

Multiple Choice

True or False:

Franz Joseph Haydn was born into a wealthy family.

• True

• False

Open Ended

Why was Haydn dismissed from the St. Stephen's boy's choir? (p. 219)

Open Ended

Before gaining notoriety, how did Haydn survive after being dismissed from St. Stephen's? (p. 219)

Multiple Choice

Haydn eventually found employment for this richest and most powerful Hungarian noble family

• The Mozart Family

• The Bach Family

• The Esterházy Family

• The D'Giovanni Family

Open Ended

Even though working for the aristocracy seems degrading and stifling for musicians, why did Haydn stay with the Esterházy family for so long? (p. 220)

Haydn & Mozart

• Haydn and a young Mozart met in the early 1780s

• The two became close friends

• Had a mutual respect for each other's music

Haydn's response to someone finding fault in one of Mozart's operas:

"I cannot settle this dispute, but this I know: Mozart is the greatest composer the world possesses now."

Haydn's Music

• 104 Symphonies

• 68 String Quartets

• 62 Piano Sonatas

• 45 Piano Trios

• 26 Operas

• 14 Masses

Haydn's Music

• A pioneer in the development of the symphony and the string quartet

• Had immense influence on Mozart and Beethoven

• His works have a "folk flavor" from the music he heard as a child

• Minuets were "romp and stomp" rather than "bow and curtsy."

Example

HAYDN, Symphony No. 94 in G Major

(Surprise; 1791)

Third Movement: Allegro Molto

Minuet and Trio form

Example

HAYDN, Trumpet Concerto in E Flat Major

Third Movement: Allegro

Sonata-Rondo Form

Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser (God Save Emperor Francis)

Haydn composed this personal anthem to Francis II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire when Austria was seriously threatened by Revolutionary France and patriotic sentiments ran high.

This melody became Germany's national anthem in 1922.

The Musical Prankster

• Haydn incorporated his sense of humor into his compositions

"Farewell"

Symphony No. 45

Fourth Movement

Prince Nicholas stayed at the Esterházy palace longer than usual, forcing all servants, musicians included, to stay longer. In the score of the final movement, Haydn directed that one by one, the musicians stop playing and exit the hall until only Haydn and the first violinist remained.

"The Surprise"

Symphony No. 94

Second Movement

Because the second movement of a symphony is quiet and slow, Haydn noticed that audience members would often fall asleep. To keep them from doing so, he decided to write a sudden fortissimo chord at the end of the otherwise piano opening theme; thus, surprising the audience.

"The Joke"

String Quartet in E Flat Major, Op. 33 No.2

Haydn uses false endings, with a combination of lengthy pauses to create a sense of anxiousness.