Misplaced Pages

#293706

23-526: It is the location of one of Hungary's best known palaces, Eszterháza , which was built in the 1760s by Prince Prince Nikolaus I Esterházy of the influential Esterházy family. Prince Nikolaus IV Esterházy († 1920), his wife Margit († 1910), their son Anton († 1944) and other family members are buried in the Esterházy family cemetery in Fertőd, which is located in a small park around two kilometers northeast of

46-488: A concert was performed in the presence of Prince Albert Casimir, Duke of Teschen and his spouse, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria , daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa . Musical entertainment for the higher ranks was provided in the main building, typically located in the picture gallery ground floor. Regular free-to-attend academies were typically held in the marionette theater, which were open to

69-473: A figure that Robbins Landon terms "astronomical". Eszterháza was first inhabited in 1766, but construction continued for many years. The opera house was completed in 1768 (the first performance was of Joseph Haydn 's opera Lo speziale ), the marionette theater in 1773. Joseph Haydn's concerts typically took place in the Sala Terrena on the ground floor, in the picture gallery, where on May 30, 1781,

92-481: A health hazard at the time. Robbins Landon notes that "it was a particularly eccentric idea on the part of Prince Nicolaus to choose it as the site for a large castle. Possibly the castle's existence was to prove 'mind over matter'". The palace has 126 rooms. Of particular note is the Banquet Room which has on its ceiling a painting of Apollo in his Chariot . The large library holds almost 22,000 volumes and

115-538: A sudden illness in 1794. During the Seven Years' War , Anton served in his father's regiment and was at one point taken prisoner by the enemy. He was promoted to Captain in 1763 and in 1780 to Fieldmarshal Lieutenant, eventually becoming head of the regiment. He was Captain of the Hungarian Noble Life Guard from September 1791 until his death in 1794, and commanded an autonomous corps on

138-459: Is graced with the letter 'E', standing for the family surname. The largest room is the grotto-like Sala Terrana which was inspired by the then fashionable Italianate style. On the ceiling are dancing Angels who hold wreaths of flowers in the shape of an 'E'. From 1766 to 1790, the estate was the home of the celebrated composer Joseph Haydn , where he lived in a four-room flat in a large two-storey building housing servants' quarters, separate from

161-534: Is seen in some of Haydn's letters , as well as in the famous tale of the Farewell Symphony . 47°37′14″N 16°52′18″E  /  47.62056°N 16.87167°E  / 47.62056; 16.87167 Anton Esterh%C3%A1zy Anton (Antal), Prince Esterházy de Galántha (11 April 1738 – 22 January 1794) was a prince of Hungary, a member of the wealthy Esterházy family . He is primarily known for his patronage on composer Joseph Haydn . At

184-537: The Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791) ), Therese, and Leopoldine. Maria Theresa died in 1782. Anton married his second wife 9 July 1785 in Vienna: she was Maria Anna, Gräfin von Hohenfeld (1768–1848). Anton was elevated to the status of prince (German: Fürst ) in 1783, and became the reigning prince on the death of his father in 1790. He reigned as prince for only four years, dying unexpectedly of

207-589: The Eszterháza Palace (position: 47°38′08.1″N 16°53′04.8″E  /  47.635583°N 16.884667°E  / 47.635583; 16.884667  ( Esterházy family cemetery, Fertőd ) ). Fertőd is twinned with: This Győr-Moson-Sopron location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Eszterh%C3%A1za Eszterháza is a palace in Fertőd , Hungary , built by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy . Sometimes called

230-564: The "Hungarian Versailles ", it is Hungary's grandest Rococo edifice. It was the home of Joseph Haydn and his orchestra from 1766 to 1790. Esterháza was not the primary or ancestral home of the Esterházy family ; that was Schloss Esterházy , a palace nearby (40 kilometers (25 mi) away), in Kismarton (today Eisenstadt, Austria). Miklós Esterházy began his plans for a new palace not long after he became reigning prince in 1762 on

253-522: The 34th Infantry Regiment from September 1780 until his death. He was initiated to the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1790, and became an imperial and royal Chamberlain . Anton is perhaps best remembered to history as the third in the succession of four Esterházy princes who employed the composer Joseph Haydn as the director of their court music. By a wide margin, he was the least enthusiastic of

SECTION 10

#1732783401294

276-618: The Esterházy lands, nor any of his later successors had any interest in living in the isolated palace. In 2018, it was used as the shooting location for the Melanie Martinez film K-12 . Two rooms were used in the actual building. The High School Sweethearts hall (corridors) and the Strawberry Shortcake room (banquet hall). The palace was built near the south shore of the Neusiedler See , on swampy land,

299-476: The Esterházy musical establishment. He retained a small Harmonie (wind band), a few musicians for church music, and also allocated small salaries (400 florins) to retain the services of Haydn and of the first violinist Luigi Tomasini ; neither was expected to work on a regular basis. The laid-off musicians, some of whom had worked for the Esterházys for years, were given six weeks' severance pay. Anton

322-849: The Upper Rhine at the beginning of the War of the First Coalition . His Corps participated in various actions between July and October 1792, after which he received the Commanders Cross of the Order of St. Stephen in 1792; he had already received the Grand Cross of the Order in 1777. His corps was later absorbed into other military formations. He was Colonel and Proprietor (Inhaber) of the 31st Infantry Regiment, from November 1777 to October 1780, and then Colonel and Proprietor of

345-431: The death of his brother Paul Anton . Before this time, Miklós (Nikolaus) was accustomed to spending much of his time at a hunting lodge called Süttör, built in the same location around 1720 with a design by Anton Erhard Martinelli . The hunting lodge was the nucleus around which Esterháza was built. The first architect to work on the project was Johann Ferdinand Mödlhammer, succeeded in 1765 by Melchior Hefele. While

368-796: The family patrimony, becoming the fifth prince in the Esterházy line. As such, he inherited considerable wealth, with which he built the magnificent palace of Esterháza in Hungary and patronized the arts. In particular he paid an entire orchestra, later a full-scale opera company, both directed by the composer Joseph Haydn . Anton's mother, Marie Elisabeth, was the daughter of Ferdinand Ungnadin, Reichsgraf (Imperial Count) von Weissenwolf. On 13 January 1763 Anton married Maria Theresia, Gräfin (Countess) Erdödy de Monyorokerek et Monoszlo (1745–1782) in Vienna. They had four children: Nikolaus (who succeeded him as prince), Anton (who died of wounds from

391-492: The four in this respect. Anton had known Haydn long before becoming the reigning prince. Thus, for Anton's marriage in 1763 the Esterházy musical ensemble performed Haydn's opera Acide as part of a lavish three-day celebration. Before Anton became reigning prince in 1790, his father had spent a great deal on music, particular the opera company. Anton was not particularly interested in music and wanted to cut back on expenditures. Thus when he became prince he dismissed most of

414-477: The hands of a curator, who was to control the funds until it could be established that the finances were stable. Thus Anton had strong incentives to cut back, and moreover (Jones suggests) "a desire to demonstrate where a good deal of Esterházy expenditure had always been incurred." Anton's cutbacks had an inadvertent though important influence on the history of music: Haydn took advantage of his new freedom to visit London, where he premiered many new works (such as

437-483: The palace is often compared to Versailles, which the Prince had visited in 1764 when he visited Paris, H. C. Robbins Landon claims that a more direct influence can be found in "Austrian prototypes, particularly Schönbrunn palace in Vienna." Three of the windows above the main entrance are designed as homage to strings instruments, violin, viola, cello. The palace cost the Prince the sum of 13 million Austrian gulden,

460-419: The palace. Haydn wrote the majority of his symphonies for the Prince's orchestra. Eszterháza also had two opera houses, the main theatre seating 400 (destroyed by fire in 1779) and a marionette theatre; Haydn conducted his own and others' operas, often with more than a hundred performances per year. The palace was geographically isolated, a factor which led to loneliness and tedium among the musicians. This

483-446: The public and hosting a whole range of cultural and environmental programmes. The fountain in front of the palace was not completed until 1784, at which point the Prince considered his project complete. The music room was decorated with white and gold walls with delicately rounded corners, the frescoed ceiling, glass chandeliers, roses, and audience's period chairs. Nikolaus Esterházy died in 1790. Neither his son Anton , who inherited

SECTION 20

#1732783401294

506-510: The time of Anton's birth his father Nikolaus Esterházy bore the title Graf (Count) Esterházy de Galántha. Nikolaus was a successful general and lieutenant field marshal in Austrian service who would later achieve distinction at the Battle of Kolín (1757) in the Seven Years' War leading his cavalry in a battle-winning charge. When Nikolaus's brother died without heirs, Nikolaus acquired

529-433: Was not alone in cutting back his musical establishment; this was a period of general decline in the musical forces sponsored by the empire's aristocracy. Jones offers an account of one motivation for Anton's cutbacks: prior to his accession, Anton himself had been a spendthrift, and his father Nikolaus was worried about the long-term solvency of the family. When Anton inherited, the family's financial affairs were placed in

#293706