Misplaced Pages

#123876

101-470: The string quartet was developed into its present form by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn , whose works in the 1750s established the ensemble as a group of four more-or-less equal partners. Since that time, the string quartet has been considered a prestigious form; writing for four instruments with broadly similar characteristics both constrains and tests a composer. String quartet composition flourished in

202-564: A "happy and naturally cheerful temperament", but in his later life, there is evidence for periods of depression, notably in the correspondence with Mrs. Genzinger and in Dies's biography, based on visits made in Haydn's old age. Haydn was a devout Catholic who often turned to his rosary when he had trouble composing, a practice that he usually found to be effective. He normally began the manuscript of each composition with In nomine Domini [in

303-569: A "house officer" in the Esterházy establishment, Haydn wore livery and followed the family as they moved among their various palaces, most importantly the family's ancestral seat Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt and later on Esterháza , a grand new palace built in rural Hungary in the 1760s. Haydn had a huge range of responsibilities, including composition, running the orchestra, playing chamber music for and with his patrons, and eventually

404-467: A 1000-florin pension from Nikolaus. Since Anton had little need of Haydn's services, he was willing to let him travel, and the composer accepted a lucrative offer from Johann Peter Salomon , a German violinist and impresario , to visit England and conduct new symphonies with a large orchestra. The choice was a sensible one because Haydn was already a very popular composer there. Since the death of Johann Christian Bach in 1782, Haydn's music had dominated

505-564: A catalyst in the next stage in Haydn's career, the achievement of international popularity. By 1790 Haydn was in the paradoxical position ... of being Europe's leading composer, but someone who spent his time as a duty-bound Kapellmeister in a remote palace in the Hungarian countryside." The new publication campaign resulted in the composition of a great number of new string quartets (the six-quartet sets of Op. 33 , 50 , 54/55, and 64 ). Haydn also composed in response to commissions from abroad:

606-607: A conductor was a charity performance of The Seven Last Words on 26 December 1803. As debility set in, he made largely futile efforts at composition, attempting to revise a rediscovered Missa brevis from his teenage years and complete his final string quartet . The former project was abandoned for good in 1805, and the quartet was published with just two movements. Haydn was well cared for by his servants, and he received many visitors and public honors during his last years, but they could not have been very happy years for him. During his illness, Haydn often found solace by sitting at

707-738: A different journey; it was stolen by phrenologists shortly after burial, and the skull was reunited with the other remains only in 1954, now interred in a tomb in the north tower of the Bergkirche . James Webster writes of Haydn's public character thus: "Haydn's public life exemplified the Enlightenment ideal of the honnête homme ( honest man ): the man whose good character and worldly success enable and justify each other. His modesty and probity were everywhere acknowledged. These traits were not only prerequisites to his success as Kapellmeister , entrepreneur and public figure, but also aided

808-613: A familiar figure on the London concert scene. The 1794 season was dominated by Salomon's ensemble, as the Professional Concerts had abandoned their efforts. The concerts included the premieres of the 99th, 100th, and 101st symphonies. For 1795, Salomon had abandoned his own series, citing difficulty in obtaining "vocal performers of the first rank from abroad", and Haydn joined forces with the Opera Concerts, headed by

909-564: A few months. Haydn immediately began his pursuit of a career as a freelance musician. Haydn struggled at first, working at many different jobs: as a music teacher, as a street serenader, and eventually, in 1752, as valet-accompanist for the Italian composer Nicola Porpora , from whom he later said he learned "the true fundamentals of composition". He was also briefly in Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz 's employ, playing

1010-420: A flood of compositions, and his musical style continued to develop. Much of Haydn's activity at the time followed the musical taste of his patron Prince Nikolaus. In about 1765, the prince obtained and began to learn to play the baryton , an uncommon musical instrument similar to the bass viol , but with a set of plucked sympathetic strings . Haydn was commanded to provide music for the prince to play, and over

1111-513: A genre, typically consisting of several movements, with two melody instruments and basso continuo . It originated in the early 17th century and was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era . The trio sonata typically was written for two melody instruments (such as two violins) and basso continuo . However, either or both of the melody parts could be played on the flute, recorder, oboe, or even viola da gamba . The bass part,

SECTION 10

#1732772983124

1212-438: A great deal to Emanuel Bach, that I understood him and have studied him with diligence." According to Griesinger and Dies, in the 1750s Haydn studied an encyclopedic treatise by Johann Mattheson , a German composer. As his skills increased, Haydn began to acquire a public reputation, first as the composer of an opera, Der krumme Teufel , "The Limping Devil", written for the comic actor Joseph Felix von Kurz, whose stage name

1313-593: A license to permit opera performances in the theatre he directed, the King's Theatre . Haydn was well paid for the opera (£300) but much time was wasted. Thus only two new symphonies, no. 95 and no. 96 Miracle , could be premiered in the 12 concerts of Salomon's spring concert series in 1791. Another problem arose from the jealously competitive efforts of a senior, rival orchestra, the Professional Concerts , who recruited Haydn's old pupil Ignaz Pleyel as

1414-524: A location (e.g. the Budapest Quartet ). Established quartets may undergo changes in membership whilst retaining their original name. Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( / ˈ h aɪ d ən / HY -dən ; German: [ˈfʁants ˈjoːzɛf ˈhaɪdn̩] ; 31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period . He was instrumental in

1515-637: A new world to him". Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795. Prince Anton had died, and his successor Nikolaus II proposed that the Esterházy musical establishment be revived with Haydn serving again as Kapellmeister. Haydn took up the position on a part-time basis. He spent his summers with the Esterházys in Eisenstadt, and over the course of several years wrote six masses for them including the Lord Nelson mass in 1798. By this time Haydn had become

1616-583: A number of quartets: "Beethoven in particular is credited with developing the genre in an experimental and dynamic fashion, especially in his later series of quartets written in the 1820s up until his death. Their forms and ideas inspired and continue to inspire musicians and composers, such as Wagner and Bartók ." Schubert's last musical wish was to hear Beethoven's Quartet in C ♯ minor, Op. 131 , which he heard on 14 November 1828, just five days before his death. Upon listening to an earlier performance of this quartet, Schubert had remarked, "After this, what

1717-415: A part. The British musicologist David Wyn Jones cites the widespread practice of four players, one to a part, playing works written for string orchestra , such as divertimenti and serenades , there being no separate (fifth) contrabass part in string scoring before the 19th century. However, these composers showed no interest in exploring the development of the string quartet as a medium. The origins of

1818-434: A perspective] is the notion that Haydn "invented" the string quartet... Although he may still be considered the 'father' of the 'Classical' string quartet, he is not the creator of the sting quartet genre itself... This old and otiose myth not only misrepresents the achievements of other excellent composers, but also distorts the character and qualities of Haydn's opp. 1, 2 and 9". The musicologist Cliff Eisen contextualizes

1919-647: A proposal from their relative Johann Matthias Frankh, the schoolmaster and choirmaster in Hainburg , that Haydn be apprenticed to Frankh in his home to train as a musician. Haydn therefore went off with Frankh to Hainburg and he never again lived with his parents. Life in the Frankh household was not easy for Haydn, who later remembered being frequently hungry and humiliated by the filthy state of his clothing. He began his musical training there, and could soon play both harpsichord and violin. He also sang treble parts in

2020-502: A public figure in Vienna. He spent most of his time in his home, a large house in the suburb of Windmühle, and wrote works for public performance. In collaboration with his librettist and mentor Gottfried van Swieten , and with funding from van Swieten's Gesellschaft der Associierten , he composed his two great oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801). Both were enthusiastically received. Haydn frequently appeared before

2121-453: A result of having been underfed throughout most of his youth. He was not handsome, and like many in his day he was a survivor of smallpox ; his face was pitted with the scars of this disease. His biographer Dies wrote: "he couldn't understand how it happened that in his life he had been loved by many a pretty woman. 'They couldn't have been led to it by my beauty. ' " Haydn had a dark complexion and black eyes. His nose, large and aquiline,

SECTION 20

#1732772983124

2222-548: A richness and profusion of material, and a disciplined yet varied expression." In 1760, with the security of a Kapellmeister position, Haydn married. His wife was the former Maria Anna Theresia Keller (1729–1800), the sister of Therese (b. 1733), with whom Haydn had previously been in love. Haydn and his wife had a completely unhappy marriage, from which time permitted no escape. They produced no children, and both took lovers. Count Morzin soon suffered financial reverses that forced him to dismiss his musical establishment, but Haydn

2323-462: A rival visiting composer; the two composers, refusing to play along with the concocted rivalry, dined together and put each other's symphonies on their concert programs. The end of Salomon's series in June gave Haydn a rare period of relative leisure. He spent some of the time in the country ( Hertingfordbury ), but also had time to travel, notably to Oxford, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate by

2424-500: A similar way to an instrumental soloist or an orchestra . The early history of the string quartet is in many ways the history of the development of the genre by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn . There had been examples of divertimenti for two solo violins, viola and cello by the Viennese composers Georg Christoph Wagenseil and Ignaz Holzbauer ; and there had long been a tradition of performing orchestral works one instrument to

2525-498: A third soloist; and moreover it became common to omit the keyboard part, letting the cello support the bass line alone. Thus when Alessandro Scarlatti wrote a set of six works entitled Sonata à Quattro per due Violini, Violetta [viola], e Violoncello senza Cembalo (Sonata for four instruments: two violins, viola, and cello without harpsichord), this was a natural evolution from the existing tradition. The musicologist Hartmut Schick has suggested that Franz Xaver Richter invented

2626-464: A total of five string quartets; he won Pulitzer Prizes for two of them: No. 2 and No. 3 . Three important string quartets were written by Helmut Lachenmann . The late 20th century also saw the string quartet expand in various ways: Morton Feldman's vast Second String Quartet is one of the longest ever written, and Karlheinz Stockhausen's Helikopter-Streichquartett is to be performed by the four musicians in four helicopters. Quartets written during

2727-492: A tre for violin, cornett and continuo in the collection Concerti ecclesiastici , 1610). Italian composer Arcangelo Corelli was one of the most influential composers of the trio sonata. The published trio sonatas by Corelli are: An additional collection of Trio Sonatas, for two violins, cello, and organ, was published as "Op. post." in Amsterdam, in 1714. Corelli's trios would serve as models for other composers well into

2828-422: A village that at that time stood on the border with Hungary. His father was Mathias Haydn , a wheelwright who also served as "Marktrichter", or marketplace supervisor. Haydn's mother Maria, née Koller, had worked as a cook in the palace of Aloys Thomas Raimund, Count von Harrach , the presiding aristocrat of Rohrau. Neither parent could read music; however, Mathias was an enthusiastic folk musician , who during

2929-399: Is known for its humor. The most famous example is the sudden loud chord in the slow movement of his "Surprise" symphony ; Haydn's many other musical jokes include numerous false endings (e.g., in the quartets Op. 33 No. 2 and Op. 50 No. 3 ), and the remarkable rhythmic illusion placed in the trio section of the third movement of Op. 50 No. 1 . Trio sonata The trio sonata is

3030-646: Is left for us to write?" Wagner, when reflecting on Op. 131's first movement, said that it "reveals the most melancholy sentiment expressed in music". Of the late quartets , Beethoven cited his own favorite as Op. 131 , which he saw as his most perfect single work. Mendelssohn 's six string quartets span the full range of his career, from 1828 to 1847; Schumann 's three string quartets were all written in 1842 and dedicated to Mendelssohn, whose quartets Schumann had been studying in preparation, along with those of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Several Romantic-era composers wrote only one quartet, while Dvořák wrote 14. In

3131-617: Is today the national anthem of Germany. (Modern Austria uses a different anthem .) During the later years of this successful period, Haydn faced incipient old age and fluctuating health, and he had to struggle to complete his final works. His last major work, from 1802, was the sixth mass for the Esterházys, the Harmoniemesse . By the end of 1803, Haydn's condition had declined to the point that he became physically unable to compose. He suffered from weakness, dizziness, inability to concentrate and painfully swollen legs. Since diagnosis

String quartet - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-524: The Surprise , Military , Drumroll and London symphonies; the Rider quartet; and the "Gypsy Rondo" piano trio. The great success of the overall enterprise does not mean that the journeys were free of trouble. Notably, his first project, the commissioned opera L'anima del filosofo was duly written during the early stages of the trip, but the opera's impresario John Gallini was unable to obtain

3333-583: The Classical era , and Mozart , Beethoven and Schubert each wrote a number of them. Many Romantic and early-twentieth-century composers composed string quartets, including Mendelssohn , Schumann , Brahms , Dvořák , Janáček , and Debussy . There was a slight lull in string quartet composition later in the 19th century, but it received a resurgence in the 20th century, with the Second Viennese School , Bartók , Shostakovich , Babbitt , and Carter producing highly regarded examples of

3434-486: The Paris symphonies (1785–1786) and the original orchestral version of The Seven Last Words of Christ (1786), a commission from Cádiz , Spain. The remoteness of Eszterháza , which was farther from Vienna than Eisenstadt, led Haydn gradually to feel more isolated and lonely. He longed to visit Vienna because of his friendships there. Of these, a particularly important one was with Maria Anna von Genzinger (1754–1793),

3535-460: The classical period usually had four movements, with a structure similar to that of a symphony : The positions of the slow movement and third movement are flexible. For example, in Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn , three have a minuet followed by a slow movement and three have the slow movement before the minuet. Substantial modifications to the typical structure were already present by

3636-492: The journeyman period of his career had taught himself to play the harp. According to Haydn's later reminiscences, his family was extremely musical, and they frequently sang together and with their neighbours. Haydn's parents had noticed that their son was musically gifted and knew that in Rohrau he would have no chance to obtain serious musical training. It was for this reason that, around the time Haydn turned six, they accepted

3737-454: The "classical" string quartet around 1757, but the consensus amongst most authorities is that Haydn is responsible for the genre in its currently accepted form. The string quartet enjoyed no recognized status as an ensemble in the way that two violins with basso continuo – the so-called ' trio sonata ' – had for more than a hundred years. Even the composition of Haydn's earliest string quartets owed more to chance than artistic imperative. During

3838-480: The 1750s, when the young composer was still working mainly as a teacher and violinist in Vienna, he would occasionally be invited to spend time at the nearby castle at Weinzierl of the music-loving Austrian nobleman Karl Joseph Weber, Edler von Fürnberg. There he would play chamber music in an ad hoc ensemble consisting of Fürnberg's steward, a priest, and a local cellist, and when the Baron asked for some new music for

3939-782: The English Channel on New Year's Day of 1791. It was the first time that the 58-year-old composer had seen the sea. Arriving in London, Haydn stayed with Salomon in Great Pulteney Street (London, near Piccadilly Circus ) working in a borrowed studio at the Broadwood piano firm nearby. It was the start of a very auspicious period for Haydn: both the 1791–1792 journey, along with a repeat visit in 1794–1795, were greatly successful. Audiences flocked to Haydn's concerts; he augmented his fame and made large profits, thus becoming financially secure. Charles Burney reviewed

4040-588: The King in London, in 1797 Haydn wrote a patriotic "Emperor's Hymn" " Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser ", ("God Save Emperor Francis"). This achieved great success and became "the enduring emblem of Austrian identity right up to the First World War" (Jones). The melody was used for von Fallersleben's Deutschlandlied (1841), which was written as part of the German unification movement and whose third stanza

4141-509: The Op. 20 quartets as follows: "Haydn's quartets of the late 1760s and early 1770s [opp. 9, 17, and 20] are high points in the early history of the quartet. Characterized by a wide range of textures, frequent asymmetries and theatrical gestures...these quartets established the genre's four-movement form, its larger dimensions, and ...its greater aesthetic pretensions and expressive range." That Haydn's string quartets were already "classics" that defined

String quartet - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-493: The bass part rather than writing out the chords in full, a style of notation called figured bass . Because there normally are two people playing the continuo part, there are usually four players in all. This accounts for the title of Henry Purcell 's second collection, Ten Sonatas in Four Parts (1697); his first publication Sonnata's of III Parts (1683) likewise included separate parts for cello and keyboard. From about

4343-544: The church choir . There is reason to think that Haydn's singing impressed those who heard him, because in 1739 he was brought to the attention of Georg Reutter the Younger , the director of music in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, who happened to be visiting Hainburg and was looking for new choirboys. Haydn passed his audition with Reutter, and after several months of further training moved to Vienna (1740), where he worked for

4444-495: The composer wrote his first string quartets. Of them, Philip G. Downs said "they abound in novel effects and instrumental combinations that can only be the result of humorous intent". Their enthusiastic reception encouraged Haydn to write more. It was a turning point in his career. As a result of the performances, he became in great demand both as a performer and a teacher. Fürnberg later recommended Haydn to Count Morzin , who, in 1757, became his first full-time employer. His salary

4545-698: The concert scene in London; "hardly a concert did not feature a work by him". Haydn's work was widely distributed by publishers in London, including Forster (who had their own contract with Haydn) and Longman & Broderip (who served as agent in England for Haydn's Vienna publisher Artaria ). Efforts to bring Haydn to London had been made since 1782, though Haydn's loyalty to Prince Nikolaus had prevented him from accepting. After fond farewells from Mozart and other friends, Haydn departed from Vienna with Salomon on 15 December 1790, arriving in Calais in time to cross

4646-401: The continuo, typically involves two players. One player plays the bass line on a bass instrument such as a bass viol , violone , violoncello , or bassoon . The second player fills in harmonies above the bass line, using an instrument that can produce chords , such as a small organ , a harpsichord , or a theorbo . These chords are normally indicated to the player by placing numbers above

4747-651: The development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio . His contributions to musical form have led him to be called "Father of the Symphony " and "Father of the String quartet". Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family at their Eszterháza Castle. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". Yet his music circulated widely, and for much of his career he

4848-615: The difference between one masterpiece and the next." The musicologist Roger Hickman has however demurred from this consensus view. He notes a change in string quartet writing towards the end of the 1760s, featuring characteristics which are today thought of as essential to the genre – scoring for two violins, viola and cello, solo passages, and absence of actual or potential basso continuo accompaniment. Noting that at this time other composers than Haydn were writing works conforming to these 'modern' criteria, and that Haydn's earlier quartets did not meet them, he suggests that "one casualty [of such

4949-412: The early "quartets" are actually symphonies missing their wind parts. They have five movements and take the form: fast movement, minuet and trio I, slow movement, minuet and trio II, and fast finale . As Ludwig Finscher notes, they draw stylistically on the Austrian divertimento tradition. After these early efforts, Haydn did not return to the string quartet for several years, but when he did so, it

5050-422: The esteem in his "Haydn" quartets . In 1785 Haydn was admitted to the same Masonic lodge as Mozart, the " Zur wahren Eintracht " in Vienna. In 1790, Prince Nikolaus died and was succeeded as prince by his son Anton . Following a trend of the time, Anton sought to economize by dismissing most of the court musicians. Haydn retained a nominal appointment with Anton, at a reduced salary of 400 florins, as well as

5151-579: The experience and had to depart at intermission. Haydn lived on for 14 more months. His final days were hardly serene, as in May 1809 the French army under Napoleon launched an attack on Vienna and on 10 May bombarded his neighborhood. According to Griesinger, "Four case shots fell, rattling the windows and doors of his house. He called out in a loud voice to his alarmed and frightened people, 'Don't be afraid, children, where Haydn is, no harm can reach you!'. But

SECTION 50

#1732772983124

5252-475: The favorable reception of his music." Haydn was especially respected by the Esterházy court musicians whom he supervised, as he maintained a cordial working atmosphere and effectively represented the musicians' interests with their employer; see Papa Haydn and the tale of the "Farewell" Symphony . Haydn had a robust sense of humor, evident in his love of practical jokes and often apparent in his music, and he had many friends. For much of his life he benefited from

5353-407: The finales of nos. 2, 5 and 6. After Op. 20, it becomes harder to point to similar major jumps in the string quartet's development in Haydn's hands, though not due to any lack of invention or application on the composer's part. As Donald Tovey put it: "with Op. 20 the historical development of Haydn's quartets reaches its goal; and further progress is not progress in any historical sense, but simply

5454-619: The financial precariousness of musical life made him astute and even sharp in his business dealings. Some contemporaries (usually, it has to be said, wealthy ones) were surprised and even shocked at this. Webster writes: "As regards money, Haydn…always attempted to maximize his income, whether by negotiating the right to sell his music outside the Esterházy court, driving hard bargains with publishers or selling his works three and four times over [to publishers in different countries]; he regularly engaged in 'sharp practice'" which nowadays might be regarded as plain fraud. But those were days when copyright

5555-454: The first concert thus: "Haydn himself presided at the piano-forte; and the sight of that renowned composer so electrified the audience, as to excite an attention and a pleasure superior to any that had ever been caused by instrumental music in England." Haydn made many new friends and, for a time, was involved in a romantic relationship with Rebecca Schroeter . Musically, Haydn's visits to England generated some of his best-known work, including

5656-459: The genre by 1801 can be judged by Ignaz Pleyel 's publication in Paris of a "complete" series that year, and the quartet's evolution as vehicle for public performance can be judged by Pleyel's ten-volume set of miniature scores intended for hearers rather than players – early examples of this genre of music publishing . Since Haydn's day, the string quartet has been prestigious and considered one of

5757-566: The genre, and it remains an important and refined musical form. The standard structure for a string quartet as established in the Classical era is four movements , with the first movement in sonata form , allegro, in the tonic key; a slow movement in a related key and a minuet and trio follow; and the fourth movement is often in rondo form or sonata rondo form , in the tonic key. Some string quartet ensembles play together for many years and become established and promoted as an entity in

5858-575: The genre. During his tenure as Master of the Queen's Music , Peter Maxwell Davies produced a set of ten entitled the Naxos Quartets (to a commission from Naxos Records ) from 2001 to 2007. Margaret Jones Wiles composed over 50 string quartets. David Matthews has written eleven, and Robin Holloway both five quartets and six "quartettini". Over nearly five decades, Elliott Carter wrote

5959-430: The group to play, Haydn's first string quartets were born. It is not clear whether any of these works ended up in the two sets published in the mid-1760s and known as Haydn's Opp. 1 and 2 ('Op. 0' is a quartet included in some early editions of Op. 1, and only rediscovered in the 1930s), but it seems reasonable to assume that they were at least similar in character. Haydn's early biographer Georg August Griesinger tells

6060-604: The imperial children during carnival season, and as supplementary singers in the imperial chapel (the Hofkapelle ) in Lent and Holy Week. With the increase in his reputation, Haydn eventually obtained aristocratic patronage, crucial for the career of a composer in his day. Countess Thun, having seen one of Haydn's compositions, summoned him and engaged him as her singing and keyboard teacher. In 1756, Baron Carl Josef Fürnberg employed Haydn at his country estate, Weinzierl , where

6161-685: The middle of the 17th century two distinct types of sonatas appeared: sonata da camera (chamber sonata) and sonata da chiesa (church sonata). The sonata da camera was a suite of dances, while the sonata da chiesa had a typical four-movement structure of slow-fast-slow-fast. The genre originated as instrumental adaptation of the three-part texture common in Italian vocal music in the late 16th century. The earliest published trio sonatas appeared in Venice ( Salamone Rossi Il primo libro delle sinfonie e gagliarde , 1607) and in Milan ( Giovanni Paolo Cima , Sonata

SECTION 60

#1732772983124

6262-468: The modern era, the string quartet played a key role in the development of Schoenberg (who added a soprano in his String Quartet No. 2 ), Bartók , and Shostakovich especially. After the Second World War , some composers, such as Messiaen questioned the relevance of the string quartet and avoided writing them. However, from the 1960s onwards, many composers have shown a renewed interest in

6363-400: The mounting of operatic productions. Despite this backbreaking workload, the job was in artistic terms a superb opportunity for Haydn. The Esterházy princes (Paul Anton, then from 1762 to 1790 Nikolaus I ) were musical connoisseurs who appreciated his work and gave him daily access to his own small orchestra. During the nearly thirty years that Haydn worked at the Esterházy court, he produced

6464-469: The name of the Lord] and ended with Laus Deo [praise be to God]. He retained this practice even in his secular works; he frequently only uses the initials "L. D.", "S. D. G." [ soli Deo gloria ], or Laus Deo et B. V. M. [... and to Beatae Virgini Mariae ] and sometimes adds, "et om si " ( et omnibus sanctis – and all saints) Haydn's early years of poverty and awareness of

6565-608: The next nine years as a chorister. Haydn lived in the Kapellhaus next to the cathedral, along with Reutter, Reutter's family, and the other four choirboys, which after 1745 included his younger brother Michael . The choirboys were instructed in Latin and other school subjects as well as voice, violin, and keyboard. Reutter was of little help to Haydn in the areas of music theory and composition, giving him only two lessons in his entire time as chorister. However, since St. Stephen's

6666-504: The next ten years produced about 200 works for this instrument in various ensembles, the most notable of which are the 126 baryton trios . Around 1775, the prince abandoned the baryton and took up a new hobby: opera productions, previously a sporadic event for special occasions, became the focus of musical life at court, and the opera theater the prince had built at Esterháza came to host a major season, with multiple productions each year. Haydn served as company director, recruiting and training

6767-496: The order of themes compared to the exposition and uses extensive thematic development . Haydn's formal inventiveness also led him to integrate the fugue into the classical style and to enrich the rondo form with more cohesive tonal logic (see sonata rondo form ). Haydn was also the principal exponent of the double variation form—variations on two alternating themes, which are often major- and minor-mode versions of each other. Perhaps more than any other composer's, Haydn's music

6868-705: The organ in the Bohemian Chancellery chapel at the Judenplatz . While a chorister, Haydn had not received any systematic training in music theory and composition. As a remedy, he worked his 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 , whom he later acknowledged as an important influence. He said of CPE Bach's first six keyboard sonatas, "I did not leave my clavier till I played them through, and whoever knows me thoroughly must discover that I owe

6969-412: The piano and playing his " Emperor's Hymn ". A final triumph occurred on 27 March 1808 when a performance of The Creation was organized in his honour. The very frail composer was brought into the hall on an armchair to the sound of trumpets and drums and was greeted by Beethoven, Salieri (who led the performance) and by other musicians and members of the aristocracy. Haydn was both moved and exhausted by

7070-407: The point of torture, I cannot escape them, they stand like walls before me. If it's an allegro that pursues me, my pulse keeps beating faster, I can get no sleep. If it's an adagio , then I notice my pulse beating slowly. My imagination plays on me as if I were a clavier." Haydn smiled, the blood rushed to his face, and he said "I am really just a living clavier." The winding down of Haydn's career

7171-488: The point that he was no longer able to sing high choral parts. Empress Maria Theresa herself complained to Reutter about his singing, calling it "crowing". One day, Haydn carried out a prank, snipping off the pigtail of a fellow chorister. This was enough for Reutter: Haydn was first caned , then summarily dismissed and sent into the streets. He had the good fortune to be taken in by a friend, Johann Michael Spangler, who shared his family's crowded garret room with Haydn for

7272-453: The progressive aims of the Op. 20 set of 1772, in particular, makes them the first major peak in the history of the string quartet. Certainly they offered to their own time state-of-the art models to follow for the best part of a decade; the teenage Mozart , in his early quartets, was among the composers moved to imitate many of their characteristics, right down to the vital fugues with which Haydn sought to bring greater architectural weight to

7373-455: The public, often leading performances of The Creation and The Seasons for charity benefits, including Tonkünstler-Societät programs with massed musical forces. He also composed instrumental music: the popular Trumpet Concerto , and the last nine in his long series of string quartets, including the Fifths , Emperor , and Sunrise . Directly inspired by hearing audiences sing God Save

7474-564: The pursuit of the more advanced quartet style found in the eighteen works published in the early 1770s as Opp. 9, 17, and 20 . These are written in a form that became established as standard both for Haydn and for other composers. Clearly composed as sets, these quartets feature a four-movement layout having broadly conceived, moderately paced first movements and, in increasing measure, a democratic and conversational interplay of parts, close-knit thematic development, and skilful though often restrained use of counterpoint. The convincing realizations of

7575-477: The same evening he collapsed and was taken to what proved to be to his deathbed. He died peacefully in his own home at 12:40 a.m. on 31 May 1809, aged 77. On 15 June, a memorial service was held in the Schottenkirche at which Mozart's Requiem was performed. Haydn's remains were interred in the local Hundsturm cemetery until 1820, when they were moved to Eisenstadt by Prince Nikolaus. His head took

7676-626: The singers and preparing and leading the performances. He wrote several of the operas performed and wrote substitution arias to insert into the operas of other composers. 1779 was a watershed year for Haydn, as his contract was renegotiated: whereas previously all his compositions were the property of the Esterházy family, he now was permitted to write for others and sell his work to publishers. Haydn soon shifted his emphasis in composition to reflect this (fewer operas, and more quartets and symphonies) and he negotiated with multiple publishers, both Austrian and foreign. His new employment contract "acted as

7777-453: The spirit was stronger than the flesh, for he had hardly uttered the brave words when his whole body began to tremble." More bombardments followed until the city fell to the French on 13 May. Haydn, was, however, deeply moved and appreciative when on 17 May a French cavalry officer named Sulémy came to pay his respects and sang, skillfully, an aria from The Creation . On 26 May Haydn played his "Emperor's Hymn" with unusual gusto three times;

7878-908: The story thus: The following purely chance circumstance had led him to try his luck at the composition of quartets. A Baron Fürnberg had a place in Weinzierl , several stages from Vienna, and he invited from time to time his pastor, his manager, Haydn, and Albrechtsberger (a brother of the celebrated contrapuntist Albrechtsberger ) in order to have a little music. Fürnberg requested Haydn to compose something that could be performed by these four amateurs. Haydn, then eighteen years old [ sic ], took up this proposal, and so originated his first quartet which, immediately it appeared, received such general approval that Haydn took courage to work further in this form. Haydn went on to write nine other quartets around this time. These works were published as his Op. 1 and Op. 2; one quartet went unpublished, and some of

7979-425: The string quartet can be further traced back to the Baroque trio sonata , in which two solo instruments performed with a continuo section consisting of a bass instrument (such as the cello) and keyboard . A very early example is a four-part sonata for string ensemble by the Italian composer Gregorio Allegri that might be considered an important prototype. By the early 18th century, composers were often adding

8080-477: The string quartet: Further expansions have also produced works such as the String octet by Mendelssohn , consisting of the equivalent of two string quartets. Notably, Schoenberg included a soprano in the last two movements of his second string quartet , composed in 1908. Adding a voice has since been done by Milhaud , Ginastera , Ferneyhough , Davies , İlhan Mimaroğlu and many others. Another variation on

8181-447: The string quartet; no other composer approaches his combination of productivity, quality and historical importance in these genres. A central characteristic of Haydn's music is the development of larger structures out of very short, simple musical motifs , often derived from standard accompanying figures. The music is often quite formally concentrated, and the important musical events of a movement can unfold rather quickly. Haydn's work

8282-448: The time of Beethoven's late quartets, and despite some notable examples to the contrary, composers writing in the twentieth century increasingly abandoned this structure. Bartók's fourth and fifth string quartets, written in the 1930s, are five-movement works, symmetrical around a central movement. Shostakovich's final quartet , written in the 1970s, comprises six slow movements. Many other chamber groups can be seen as modifications of

8383-550: The traditional string quartet is the electric string quartet with players performing on electric instruments . Notable works for string quartet include: Whereas individual string players often group together to make ad hoc string quartets, others continue to play together for many years in ensembles which may be named after the first violinist (e.g. the Takács Quartet ), a composer (e.g. the Borodin Quartet ) or

8484-413: The true tests of a composer's art. This may be partly because the palette of sound is more restricted than with orchestral music, forcing the music to stand more on its own rather than relying on tonal color ; or from the inherently contrapuntal tendency in music written for four equal instruments. Quartet composition flourished in the Classical era. Mozart , Beethoven and Schubert each composed

8585-492: The university. The symphony performed for the occasion, no. 92 has since come to be known as the Oxford Symphony , although it had been written two years before, in 1789. Four further new symphonies (Nos. 93 , 94 , 97 and 98 ) were performed in early 1792. While traveling to London in 1790, Haydn had met the young Ludwig van Beethoven in his native city of Bonn . On Haydn's return, Beethoven came to Vienna and

8686-427: The violinist Giovanni Battista Viotti . These were the venue of the last three symphonies, 102, 103, and 104. The final benefit concert for Haydn ("Dr. Haydn's night") at the end of the 1795 season was a great success and was perhaps the peak of his English career. Haydn's biographer Griesinger wrote that Haydn "considered the days spent in England the happiest of his life. He was everywhere appreciated there; it opened

8787-519: The wife of Prince Nikolaus's personal physician in Vienna, who began a close, platonic relationship with the composer in 1789. Haydn wrote to Mrs. Genzinger often, expressing his loneliness at Esterháza and his happiness for the few occasions on which he was able to visit her in Vienna. Later on, Haydn wrote to her frequently from London. Her premature death in 1793 was a blow to Haydn, and his F minor variations for piano, Hob. XVII:6, may have been written in response to her death. Another friend in Vienna

8888-416: The world of business, in his dealings, for example, with relatives, musicians and servants, and in volunteering his services for charitable concerts, Haydn was a generous man – e.g., offering to teach the two infant sons of Mozart for free after their father's death. When Haydn died he was certainly comfortably off, but by middle class rather than aristocratic standards. Haydn was short in stature, perhaps as

8989-451: Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , whom Haydn had met sometime around 1784. According to later testimony by Michael Kelly and others, the two composers occasionally played in string quartets with Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (second violin) and Johann Baptist Wanhal (cello) for small gatherings attended by Giovanni Paisiello and Giovanni Battista Casti . Impressed by Mozart's work, Haydn praised it unstintingly to others. Mozart returned

9090-448: Was "Bernardon". The work was premiered successfully in 1753, but was soon closed down by the censors due to "offensive remarks". Haydn also noticed, apparently without annoyance, that works he had simply given away were being published and sold in local music shops. Between 1754 and 1756 Haydn also worked freelance for the court in Vienna. He was among several musicians who were paid for services as supplementary musicians at balls given for

9191-474: Was Haydn's pupil up until the second London journey. Haydn took Beethoven with him to Eisenstadt for the summer, where Haydn had little to do, and taught Beethoven some counterpoint . While in Vienna, Haydn purchased a house for himself and his wife in the suburbs and started remodeling it. He also arranged for the performance of some of his London symphonies in local concerts. By the time he arrived on his second journey to England (1794–1795), Haydn had become

9292-473: Was a respectable 200 florins a year, plus free board and lodging. Haydn's job title under Count Morzin was Kapellmeister , that is, music director. He led the count's small orchestra in Unterlukawitz and wrote his first symphonies for this ensemble – perhaps numbering in the double figures. Philip Downs comments of these first symphonies: "the seeds of the future are there, his works already exhibit

9393-509: Was central to the development of what came to be called sonata form . His practice, however, differed in some ways from that of Mozart and Beethoven , his younger contemporaries who likewise excelled in this form of composition. Haydn was particularly fond of the so-called monothematic exposition , in which the music that establishes the dominant key is similar or identical to the opening theme. Haydn also differs from Mozart and Beethoven in his recapitulation sections, where he often rearranges

9494-436: Was disfigured by the polyps he suffered during much of his adult life, an agonizing and debilitating disease that at times prevented him from writing music. James Webster summarizes Haydn's role in the history of classical music as follows: He excelled in every musical genre. [...] He is familiarly known as the "father of the symphony" because he composed 107 symphonies, and could with greater justice be thus regarded for

9595-406: Was gradual. The Esterházy family kept him on as Kapellmeister to the very end (much as they had with his predecessor Werner long before), but they appointed new staff to lead their musical establishment: Johann Michael Fuchs in 1802 as Vice-Kapellmeister and Johann Nepomuk Hummel as Konzertmeister in 1804. Haydn's last summer in Eisenstadt was in 1803, and his last appearance before the public as

9696-410: Was in its infancy, and the pirating of musical works was common. Publishers had few qualms about attaching Haydn's name to popular works by lesser composers, an arrangement that effectively robbed the lesser musician of livelihood. Webster notes that Haydn's ruthlessness in business might be viewed more sympathetically in light of his struggles with poverty during his years as a freelancer—and that outside

9797-541: Was one of the leading musical centres in Europe, Haydn learned a great deal simply by serving as a professional musician there. Like Frankh before him, Reutter did not always bother to make sure Haydn was properly fed. As he later told his biographer Albert Christoph Dies , Haydn was motivated to sing well, in hopes of gaining more invitations to perform before aristocratic audiences, where the singers were usually served refreshments. By 1749, Haydn had matured physically to

9898-408: Was quickly offered a similar job (1761) by Prince Paul Anton , head of the immensely wealthy Esterházy family . Haydn's job title was only Vice-Kapellmeister, but he was immediately placed in charge of most of the Esterházy musical establishment, with the old Kapellmeister Gregor Werner retaining authority only for church music. When Werner died in 1766, Haydn was elevated to full Kapellmeister. As

9999-475: Was the most celebrated composer in Europe. The melody of his patriotic "Emperor's Hymn" " Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser ", (1797) was used for von Fallersleben's Deutschlandlied (1841), whose third stanza is today the national anthem of Germany. He was a friend and mentor of Mozart , a tutor of Beethoven , and the elder brother of composer Michael Haydn . Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau , Austria,

10100-496: Was to make a significant step in the genre's development. The intervening years saw Haydn begin his employment as Kapellmeister to the Esterházy princes, for whom he was required to compose numerous symphonies and dozens of trios for violin, viola, and the bass instrument called the baryton (played by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy himself). The opportunities for experiment which both these genres offered Haydn perhaps helped him in

10201-424: Was uncertain in Haydn's time, it is unlikely that the precise illness can ever be identified, though Jones suggests arteriosclerosis . The illness was especially hard for Haydn because the flow of fresh musical ideas continued unabated, although he could no longer work them out as compositions. His biographer Dies reported Haydn saying in 1806: I must have something to do—usually musical ideas are pursuing me, to

#123876