Haydn is known as the father of the Symphony. As a matter of fact, the 'Classical' symphony existed for quite some time before the influence of this diminutive musician, but it was indeed he who brought it to prominence, and who developed it into the form we are familiar with from his later works, as well as the symphonies of Mozart and (most) of the symphonies of Beethoven.
It is with these two gentlemen that Haydn is usually venerated as one of the Holy Trinity of Classicism. He predated both by a fair length of time, but managed to outlive Mozart by many years. Think of it this way – Mozart was a child prodigy while Haydn was already writing the earliest of his symphonies. Beethoven was a child when Mozart met him and predicted great things for him – Haydn was a teacher of Beethoven when the latter was a teenager, quite some time after Mozart had expired. He had been a singer as a child and, after his voice broke, he became a teacher. Working his way up rapidly, he became Kappelmeister, master of the chapel – a highly respected musical position – to the rich and powerful Eserházy family, headed by Prince Paul, in 1761.
Haydn became effectively isolated from the rest of the musical world, secure in his position as chief musician to some of the richest music lovers in Europe. His solitary nature did not bother him though; he had an orchestra at his disposal, and was required to do little more than compose and play almost continually. Of his time with the Eserházy family he later said; "there was no-one there to confuse me, so I was forced to become original". It was this originality, allied to what was, by all accounts, a sparkling wit which made his name famous throughout Europe. Furthermore, his generous and indulgent nature with younger musicians earned him the pet-name 'Papa Joe'.
After installing the symphony as the supreme vehicle of musical expression, Hayden proceeded to write no less than 104 of them. (In contrast, Mozart wrote 41, and Beethoven only 9). A lot of the early ones are nothing very radical, owing a lot to the Baroque symphony, not least in their use of the harpsichord. He used unconventional formats, such as six movements (the standard was usually 3 or 4 at the most), and many of his symphonies had nicknames – such as the set of 'Le Matin', 'Le Midi', and 'Le Soir. (Morning, Afternoon, and Night, No.s 6, 7, and 8) and 'Il Distratto', number 60, which was based on incidental music he had originally written for a play of the same name. His best known symphonies are actually known by their nicknames. The best example of his wit and innovation is probably number 45, which is in the strange key of F# minor and which I’ve always thought of as 'grumpy music'. It’s possibly the earliest example of industrial action by musicians, and was written in 1768 as a protest at the amount of time Prince Esterházy was spending at his Summer Palace, keeping the musicians away from their families. Towards the end of the symphony, the musicians, one by one, blew out their candles, picked up their music, and left the stage: exactly as Haydn had planned. After the last two violinists played to the end alone, the Prince finally got the message and the Symphony earned the nickname 'Abschied', or 'Farewell'. (Interesting note – the tradition of musicians leaving the stage in accordance with the way the piece was written has taken a downturn in popularity in recent years in the wake of a violinist falling and smashing his mega-expensive violin in the execution of Papa Joe’s wishes. The composer would probably have split his sides laughing, and then offered to buy the poor man a new violin).
Haydn’s later years saw a toning down of his huge output, but a distillation of his talent into his best work. His last 12 symphonies, the 'London' symphonies – so called because they were commissioned by the impresario Salomon for a trip to London – are among the finest ever written. The infamous 'Surprise' symphony is one of these. I won't tell you where it got its name, but suffice it to say that Haydn wanted to include something that would wake up any dozing member of the audience. His finest vocal works were written during his late period too; 'The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross', 'The Creation', and 'The Seasons' remain, in my opinion, the finest oratorios ever penned by any composer.
Haydn also wrote 62 piano sonatas and was a master of the concerto, a form he loved. His trumpet concerto is the best known for the instrument, and was the last concerto he ever wrote. He was a highly religious man, and his masses reflect the joy he derived from his Catholic faith. The earliest string quartets known today are Haydn’s, and his are still among the favourites in the repertoire, even after the contributions of Mozart and Beethoven, the other two members of the trinity. Many still consider them unsurpassed.
By the time he died in 1809, Haydn was truly an international star, and the darling of society. His influence on the composers who followed him was immense. Even though Beethoven claimed he was a poor teacher he always had great affection for him, and said he learned much from his scores. Although his own life was relatively without incident, his music is never uninteresting. In spite of his great fame and wealth, I think the best image of him is as a choirboy, carving his name into the wood at St. Stephen’s in Vienna before getting into severe trouble for cutting the pigtails of a little girl whose name is now, unfortunately, lost to history.
Recording: The definitive recording, bar NONE, of the trumpet concerto is Wynton Marsalis with Raymond Leppard conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra on CBS Masterworks MK 37846. Also watch out for any recordings of his piano concerti or sonatas by the pianist Alfred Brendel.
