JOSEPH HAYDNSymphony Nr. 94Fourth Movement

Joseph Haydn 1732 - 1809• Joseph was born in a tiny

Austrian village called Rohrau.• His father made wagon wheels.• Haydn’s musical background

consisted of folk songs his father loved to sing.

• Haydn’s family noticed how musical he was and sent him to live with relatives who could give him basic music lessons.

• He was six years old when he left home.

The home where Haydn was born.

• After two years of lessons, he got a position at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna as a choirboy.

• When his voice changed, Haydn was dismissed from St. Stephen’s and turned out on the street without a penny.

• “I barely managed to stay alive by giving music lessons to children for about eight years” he wrote.

• Throughout these years he struggled to teach himself composition and also took odd jobs, including playing the violin in street bands.

• Gradually, people began to notice him.

• FINALLY, by the time he was 29 years old, his life changed for the better – permanently.

• In 1761, Haydn entered the service of the Esterhazys, the richest and most powerful of the Hungarian noble families.

The Esterhazy palace where Haydn lived.

• Respected and taken care of, Haydn flourished in this palace.

• The palace contained an opera house, a theater, two concert halls, and 126 guest rooms.

• He was looked at as a highly skilled servant and was subject to the wishes of the prince.

• Haydn met the younger Mozart in the early 1780s and they became close friends.

• Of Mozart Haydn said, “This I know: Mozart is the greatest composer the world possesses now.”

• Haydn became immensely popular all over Europe.

• In 1790, after the death of the Prince, Haydn was free to go to London.

Portrait of Haydn

• Haydn gladly left to visit London. He composed many symphonies there and his works were viewed as triumphs.

• And so the servant became a celebrity.

• Haydn returned to Vienna in 1794, rich and honored.

• At this point, he was still employed by the Esterhazys, but needed only to write one mass a year.

• Haydn died in 1809, at the age of 77, while Napoleon’s army was occupying Vienna.

• The memorial service for him showed how famous he had become.

• It was attended by thousands.