Joseph Haydn Accomplishments

Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31, 1732, in Rohrau, Austria to humble parents. His father was a wheelwright, while his mother was a cook for the lords of the village. They married and had six children, including Haydn. Before the young age of six, Haydn had shown great musical talent. Haydn had a cousin in the city Hainburg, who was a principle, and choirmaster. Haydn was offered the opportunity to live with this cousin to receive musical training. Haydn left his childhood home, and only visited on rare occasions. As a young boy, Haydn sang in the church choir, he learned to play many instruments, and learned basic knowledge of music. When Haydn was eight years old, he was offered a position as a chorister, by the music director

While on the streets, he was discovered by the successful composer Nicola Porpora, who taught Haydn to compose, and worked on voice lessons with him. Haydn made great progress, and he was introduced to Karl Joseph von Fürnberg, and in his home, Haydn played chamber music. Haydn’s first string quartet was written for those instrumentalists. Fürnberg then put Haydn in charge of an orchestra of about 16 musicians, and for this ensemble he wrote his first symphony. He soon had to dismiss his orchestra due to financial instability, but he was invited to service Prince Pál Antal Esterházy. This was one of the wealthiest families in Austria, who were very proud to support music. Haydn was made assistant conductor of Prince Pál Antal Esterházy’s orchestra in 1761. Haydn was in charge of conducting the orchestra, coaching singers almost daily, and he composed nearly all of the music. Haydn did his job extremely well. He showed great skills, good nature, and a sense of humor in his music. Haydn also wrote over 150 songs for the Prince, who played the baryton. In this time, Haydn’s fame arose in Europe. Austrian and Czech monasteries spread Haydn’s church music and symphonies. Many others discovered his music, including Italians, Germans, and Austrians, and soon their libraries would become major sources for Haydn’s