HAYDN'S WORLD

My full name is Franz Joseph Haydn. I was born on March 31, 1732 in Rohrau, Austria. For those of you who do not know I am an Austrian composer who is one of the most important figures in the development of the Classical style in music during the 18th century. In addition , I helped establish the forms and styles for the string quartet and the symphony. I am the friend and mentor of Mozart, a teacher of Beethoven, and the older brother of composer Michael Haydn.

MARIA

MY BEAUTIFUL AND GORGEOUS WIFE

HE IS SHY TO TAKE A PICTURE

MY SON ALOIS ANTON NIKOLAUS POLZELLI

I AM PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT HE COMPOSED MORE THAN 360 PIECES.

MY OTHER LOVELY BROTHER MICHAEL HAYDN

My hobbies are hunting and fishing.
I am kind, optimistic, and cordial. I have a strong sense of humor, evident in my love of practical jokes and often apparent in my music.

I am short in stature because I was underfed throughout most of his youth. I am proud to say that I was a survivor of smallpox; however, my face was pitted with the scars of this disease. What I loath is that various portraitists who drew or painted me, each took a different path in attempting to portray the attractive personality instead of the ugly face; hence no two surviving portraits of Haydn are alike. They think I look ugly, but they did not look at their face. The picture is an original manuscript by me, in the British Museum. (OF COURSE)

MY HOBBIES, PERSONALITY, AND APPEARANCE image

I NEED SERIOUS TRAINING

When I was a chorister, I had not received serious training in music theory and composition, which I perceived as a serious gap. To fill it, I worked my way through the counterpoint exercises in the text Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Joseph Fux, and carefully studied the work of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

I CAN NOT SING HIGH CHORAL PARTS

In 1749, I had matured physically to the point that I was no longer able to sing high choral parts. Later, I was dismissed from my job. I evidently spent one night homeless on a park bench, but was taken in by friends and began to pursue a career as a freelance musician. During this arduous period, which lasted ten years, I worked many different jobs, including valet–accompanist for the Italian composer Nicola Porpora.