Franz Joseph Haydn – From Peasant to Fame and Riches

The Austrian world, into which Haydn was born, in 1732, was beginning a new life, free of foreign Turkish oppressors, full of religious zeal and expanding frontiers, living under the talented rule of the Habsburgs. Charles VI, reigning emperor, was an excellent violinist, harpsichordist, and opera composer. The class system, especially poignant at this time, gave poor peasants few opportunities to increase their stature and wealth. However, Franz Joseph Haydn, born into a peasant family, achieved unusual recognition and wealth, not only among those of his social rank, but also among composers and musicians of the time. Haydn’s father, Mathias, was a carter and his mother, Anna Maria Koller, had been a cook at Harrach Castle. Haydn was the second of twelve children of the carter and his wife. Two of Haydn’s brothers, Johann Michael and Johann Evangelist also became musicians.

As a child, Haydn was taught to love music; His father played the harp and had been gifted with a beautiful tenor voice, and his mother also enjoyed singing. Haydn went to the rector’s school in Haimburg and there he studied reading and writing, catechism, singing, wind and string instruments for two years. At the age of eight he enlisted to become a student at St. Stephen’s Cathedral Choir School, where he continued his musical studies, although he received no instruction in music theory. At sixteen his voice began to crack, and one of Haydn’s practical jokes, cutting off a classmate’s pigtails, served as an excuse for the director to fire him from the choir. Thus, without food, money, clothing or a home, Haydn was forced to go out into the world to work as a freelance musician.

As a freelance musician, Haydn played for dances, arranged compositions for a variety of instruments, taught music for little money, acted as an accompanist, composed, and participated in serenades. “Like Italy, ancient Austria had a great fondness for music in the open air at night, and many musicians were needed to meet the continuing demand. Haydn made the best use of this fashion. He made a little money from this way and drew from the rich good of the Viennese folded music”.

Thanks to the money he earned as a freelance interpreter and thanks to the kindness of Anton Buchholz, who unconditionally lent him one hundred and fifty guilders, Haydn was able to rent a room and begin to fill in the gaps in his theoretical knowledge. He studied Johann Josheph Fux’s Gradus ad Parnassum, Johann Mattheson’s Der vollkommene Kapellmeister, David Kellner’s Unterricht im Generalbass, and works by Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach.

In 1758 Haydn became a chamber composer for the Bohemian Count Karl Joseph Franz von Morzin. This was a social and financial step forward, he is now paid regularly, a sum of two hundred guilders a year, as well as receiving free board and lodging. Haydn’s great fortune had not ended, as he was made an offer to become deputy and then chief conductor at the court of Gregorius Joseph Werner, Prince Esterhazy, in Einstadt. Haydn readily accepted this new position.

The Esterhazys were at the head of the powerful Hungarian nobility. Haydn’s duties included not only composing almost all of the music presented at court, but he was also in charge of the orchestra members, making sure they wore clean white stockings and neat uniforms, and seeing that they did not get up to any mischief. This orchestra initially consisted of five violins, a cello, a double bass, a flute, two oboes, two bassoons and two horns. While in the service of Esterhazy’s court, Haydn was free to experiment with new musical ideas of form and harmony. He developed a style of developing motifs, tone painting, independence from instrumental lines, and use of “bold keys” such as B Major, F-sharp Major, and C-sharp Major.

Haydn was a prolific composer with 83 string quartets, 104 symphonies; 52 piano sonatas; many concertos for piano (15), violin (13), horn (2), trumpet (1), flute (1) and cello (2); 35 piano trios; more than 175 amusements; 19 operas; 14 masses; parts of songs and canons for voice; and 5 oratorios. Haydn’s oratorios have been a subject discussed, dissected, and speculated upon by many scholars, particularly The Seasons and The Creation.

Haydn’s compositions were some of the most beautiful written during the Golden Age of Music.