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| A celebratory performance of The Creation in Vienna, honoring Haydn during his lifetime. |
Joseph Haydn is often called the “Father of the Symphony” and the “Father of the String Quartet”. He did not invent these forms — but he refined, expanded, and stabilized them to such an extent that later generations inherited them fully formed.
1732
Born on March 31, in Rohrau, Austria.
1738
Begins musical training under a relative in Hainburg.
1740
Admitted to the choir of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.
1750
Dismissed when his voice breaks. Years of financial instability follow, during which he educates himself through study and practical work.
1759
Enters the service of Count Morzin and composes his first symphony.
1760
Marries Maria Anna Keller — a union that would prove emotionally distant.
1761
Appointed Vice-Kapellmeister to the Esterházy family.
1766
Promoted to Kapellmeister. His long residence at the remote Esterháza palace becomes an unexpected laboratory of creativity.
1782
Meets Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna; a relationship of deep mutual respect develops.
1791
First of two highly successful visits to London, where he conducts and composes for a public audience rather than a court.
1792
Meets the young Ludwig van Beethoven in Bonn.
1794–95
Second London visit. Exposure to Handel’s oratorios inspires Haydn’s own monumental choral works.
1798
Premiere of The Creation, one of the defining sacred works of the Classical era.
1809
Dies on May 31 in Vienna, while the city is under Napoleonic bombardment.
- Symphony No. 45, later nicknamed the “Farewell” Symphony, illustrates Haydn’s subtle authority. In the final movement, musicians gradually stop playing, extinguish their candles, and leave the stage until only two violins remain. The gesture was not theatrical excess but diplomatic clarity: a reminder to Prince Esterházy that the orchestra had been kept away from their families for too long. The message was understood.
- Haydn’s humor was rarely frivolous. It functioned as structure — precise, architectural, humane.