Tabloid Tuesday: Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn went from being born in a little-known village in rural Austria to being one of the most celebrated composers of his time, named "the father of the symphony" by his death at the age of 77 in 1809. Here’s how it all happened:

He was sent away from home for serious music tutelage at the young age of 6. His family recognized that he was seriously musically gifted, and knew that he would never be able to get the proper training in their small Austrian town. He eventually moved to Vienna where he worked as a chorister for nine years from 1740.

In 1749, Haydn’s voice had changed enough to annoy the Empress. So when he cut off the pig tail of another chorister as a prank, this was enough to get him fired and sent out into the streets with no food, and no home. She sounds almost like Mrs. Mann from Dickens' Oliver Twist - but with more power.

Luckily, a friend took him in and he immediately began the pursuit of a career as a freelance musician. He struggled to find work, and having had little technical training in his nine years as a chorister, he worked through counterpoint textbooks and began to grow a reputation as a musician. He even had works that he had given away for free published and sold – surprisingly to little annoyance on his part.

Even though he didn’t seem to mind giving these pieces away at the time, apparently later in life he had one major character flaw: greed. He would contently haggle over compensation for his pieces and was quite aggressive when renegotiating contracts. Perhaps this perceived bit of kindness was actually a tipping point?

Getting his work into the public sphere, even without compensation, turned out to aid a wonderful turn of events for Haydn. His music caught the eye of local aristocrats and he was soon engaged as a teacher with many of them, and before long he attained his first full time private employer.

Haydn married a woman named Maira in the year 1760. She was the sister of a woman named Theresa, with whom Haydn had been in love. They had a completely unhappy marriage but the laws kept them from escaping it. They produced no children and both took on lovers.

He said that he was surprised to have been loved by many pretty women throughout his life. This is because though he was a genius, he was far from handsome. He had a short stature (due to malnourishment through his childhood, no doubt). And his face was pitted from surviving a bout of small pox. His nose was also disfigured by polypus which was painful and sometimes debilitating. It’s really quite a miracle that anyone managed to survive in that day in age!

Though his marriage was unhappy, this didn’t seem to keep him down at all. He is reported as having a naturally cheerful disposition through his life. He loved to play pranks and jokes on his friends – and not all of them got him in as much trouble as the pig tail fiasco.

Only a year later, he was offered a similar posting with the wealthy Esterhazyfamily. He moved onto their estate and remained there working in near seclusion. Despite this seclusion, he was one of the most popular composers of the day.

In 1779, his contract was renegotiated, and he could write music for others as well. This was a turning point in his career. He began to compose fewer operas, more symphonies and music for string quartets.

He grew lonelier and so reduced his position to part time so that he could be in Vienna where his friends were, including his dear companion Mozart.

He traveled to London where he gained even more popularity – and even more money until he was completely financially secure, with thanks, I’m sure, to his haggling ways.

He then met young Beethoven in his home city of Bonn and had Beethoven come to Vienna to teach him. (See my post about Beethoven for more of their… tumultuous  relationship.)

He spent many years as a public figure in Vienna, rapidly composing genius works and making public appearances. However, for the last seven years of his life, his health was in a state of decline to the point that he had difficulty composing, though the ideas for new musical works did not stop flowing.

Haydn passed away just after an attack on Vienna by the French army under Napoleon. His last words were words of comfort to his servants in light of the distressing attack: "My children, have no fear, for where Haydn is, no harm can fall," as a canon shot exploded in the neighbourhood. A funeral service was held two weeks later at which Mozart’s Requiem was played.