Franz Joseph Haydn: Father of The Symphony

Even though Haydn was not born into a particularly musical family, he became a chorister at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna at 8.  He learned composition by studying the works of C.P.E. Bach, and worked as a violinist-teacher until he received his first post as Kapellmeister with Count Maximilian von Morzin.  However, his big break came in 1761 when he was employed as second Kapellmeister to the aristocratic Esterházy family, becoming full Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus in 1766.

Having a regular salary, an enthusiastic employer, and gifted musicians at his disposal, Haydn settled down to compose an massive amount of music, producing symphonies and quartets for the concerts held twice a week and a large number of trios featuring the prince’s instrument, the baryton.  At the Esterházy estate, he directed about 20 musicians, who enjoyed working with him and endearingly nicknamed him “Papa Haydn”.

Haydn could have easily rested on his laurels and continued writing in the conventional musical style of his period.  However, with the vast resources available to him at the Eszterháza Palace, he was inspired to transform some of the radical thinking of his day into musical terms such as the declaration of republics in France and the U.S.  Despite the lack of external influences on his music, he regularly experimented with his work and improved his technique.  He had the good fortune to have an ever ready orchestra to play these experimentations to determine what worked and what didn’t.   

By about 1770 he had outgrown the idea of music as mere entertainment, and attempted to accomplish something with more substance, resulting in a series of symphonies (nos. 32 to about 52) that are more solemn in character, and often in minor keys.  Though these symphonies became popular, many found them to be a bit heavy, so he lightened up soon after. His fame spread throughout Europe by the 1780s when he had renegotiated his contract to permit publication of his music that somehow prompted commission of the 6 “Paris” symphonies, nos. 82-87.

Haydn was working at around the same time on the string quartets op. 33, which established the musical form in the repertoire.  On a trip to Vienna in 1780, He befriended Mozart, who was so taken by Haydn’s quartets that he composed a set of his own quartets to him, and Haydn returned the tribute with his op. 50.  Haydn’s final years were spent on the two brilliant oratorios The Creation and The Seasons that stretched the classical idiom to its most expressive extent, displaying Haydn’s complete mastery.

Many of Haydn’s symphonies and string quartets have acquired rather humorous and odd nicknames.  Some, like the “Surprise” (no. 94), “Military” (100), and “Farewell” (45) symphonies, have descriptive titles.  Others, such as the “London” symphony (104), refer to the place of their first performances.  Most strangely, when a chandelier fell into the audience, injuring nobody, after the introductory performance of symphony No. 102, the nickname “Miracle” was immediately given to symphony No. 96.  The mass “Nelson” was so titled following the decisive victory of Admiral Horatio Nelson in the Battle of the Nile.

More classical music treats:

• Johann Sebastian Bach: The Well-tempered Musician
• Ludwig Van Beethoven: The Extraordinary Genius
• Hector Berlioz: Truly Fantastique
• Johannes Brahms: The Classical Romantic
• Frederic Chopin: The Poet of the Piano
• George Frideric Handel: The Harmonious Tunesmith
• Franz Joseph Haydn: Father of The Symphony
• Felix Mendelssohn: The Midsummer Night’s Dreamer
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Wunderkind
• Franz Schubert: The Great Lieder
• Antonio Vivaldi: The Red Priest