He was one of the
most prominent composers of the classical period, and is called by some the
"Father of the Symphony"
and "Father of
the String Quartet".
A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent most of his career as a court
musician for the wealthy Esterházy family on their remote estate. Isolated
from other composers and trends in music until the later part of his long
life, he was, as he put it, "forced to become original".
Joseph Haydn was the brother of Michael Haydn, himself a highly regarded
composer, and Johann Evangelist Haydn, a tenor.
Contemporary and friend of Mozart. He wrote 104 symphonies, arguably
creating the form as we understand it today. The last 12 of these are known
as the London symphonies, being written on the occasion of two visits to
London in the 1790s, and are very good. Haydn is also credited with the
development of the string quartet into a form capable of real feeling and
subtlety.One
shouldn’t assume that Haydn’s pioneering role in the development of the
symphony and the string quartet means that his pieces have been superseded
by subsequent composers’ works. Indeed, one of the many ways in which his
music seems impressive is the self-assurance with which a relatively limited
palette is explored.
On Wikipedia :
Joseph Haydn
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