Haydn Accomplishments

When one thinks of the Classical period of music, three big names come to mind; Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn. To the average person, Haydn may seem like the lesser of the three, but in reality, he had an enormous effect on Mozart’s and Beethoven’s careers and musical styles, and they simply would not be the same without him.

Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31, 1732 in Rohrau, Austria to a simple wheelwright and his wife. Haydn began to show an interest and talent in music early in his life, so his parents sent him to live with a cousin who was a choirmaster. He left home before the age of six to begin studying music. Aside from the occasional and brief visit, he never returned home. By age eight, he joined Vienna’s most prestigious

Using a combination of these three styles, he had created his own musical identity. Haydn is known as the father of symphonies for a reason; and while his symphonies seem simple and pleasant looking back, they unquestionably laid the groundwork that would be expanded upon by his successors, even if they don’t all like to admit it. Haydn met Ludwig van Beethoven for the first time late in the December of 1790. Beethoven had just turned 20 and Haydn was already a well-seasoned and highly-praised musician. He had been on his way to London but made a stop in Beethoven’s hometown of Bonn. Their paths crossed again when Haydn was traveling back home from London in 1792. Young Beethoven took this opportunity to show Haydn some of his work, with which he was very impressed. He invited Beethoven to Vienna to study under him. Beethoven made his way to Vienna later that year but soon became dissatisfied with his new teacher. Of course, Haydn was preoccupied with his own compositions and commissions; including making yet another almost two-year-long trip to London, which resulted in a commission for what would become his London symphonies. Beethoven, growing impatient, studied with other teachers, often behind Haydn’s back, for fear of offending him. Upon Haydn’s

The two were close friends and they both spoke very fondly of each other. A Bohemian musician, Franz Xaver Niemetschek, who wrote a biography about Mozart in 1798, declares that “. . . Mozart . . . became a most sincere admirer of the great and incomparable Joseph Haydn, who had already become the pride of music, and now, since Mozart's death, remains our favourite and our delight. Mozart often called him his teacher.” Mozart said on several accounts that Haydn taught him how to write string quartets. What’s more, is that Haydn once wrote to Mozart’s father: “I tell you before God, and as an honest man, that your son is the greatest composer I know, either personally or by reputation: he has taste and moreover the greatest possible knowledge of the science of composition.” Further proof that Haydn had the utmost respect for Mozart lies in the fact that Mozart’s requiem was played at Haydn’s