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Music Lesson 7 Franz Joseph Haydn

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Franz Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn, also known as Joseph Haydn, was


an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and
prominent of the Classical Period. He helped develop
new musical forms, the string quartet and symphony,
earning him the title “Father of the String Quartet” and
“Father of the Symphony Orchestra”. Haydn's nickname
as a child was “Sepperl”. Although his full name was
Franz Joseph Haydn, he didn't use the name Franz.
Haydn was born in the tiny Austrian town of Rohrau, where his
father, Matias made huge wooden carts and wagon wheels. His
mother, Maria, was a cook. When he was 8, Joseph (he didn't go
by Franz) went to Vienna to sing in the choir at St. Stephen's
Cathedral, and to attend the choir school. His younger brother
Michael joined him a short time later. Joseph could never resist
a playing a joke, which got him in trouble at school. Since
Michael Haydn was much better behaved than his brother,
everyone thought he would be the more successful musician.
At first, Haydn struggled to earn a living as a
composer. Then, he got a job with a rich,
powerful family named Esterhazy. It was Haydn's
job to write music for the Esterhazy princes, and
to conduct their orchestra. Haydn composed
symphonies, operas, string quartets, and all kinds
of other music for performance at the Esterhazy
court.
Haydn was also a good businessman. Music
Publishing made him and his music famous all
over Europe. After he retired from working for
the Esterhazy family, Haydn made two very
successful trips to England, where audiences at
concerts of his music treated him like a superstar
Haydn was prolific in nearly all genres, vocal
and instrumental, sacred and secular.
Dramatic surprise, often turned to humorous
effect, is characteristic of his style, as is a
fondness for folk-like melodies. The first
violin dominates most of his early quartets.

He developed the symphony from a short, simple


form of musical composition to a long form for large
orchestra. His instrumental music consisted of four
movements that both contrasted with and balanced
one another. Haydn built his movements on phrases
that consisted of three or four notes. These phrases
are called motives.
Haydn wrote more than 100 symphonies which he
gave short, funny nicknames. They are Symphony
No. 96 “The Miracle”, Symphony No. 100 “The
Military”, Symphony No. 101 “The Clock”,
Symphony No. 103 "The Drumroll”, Symphony No.
45 “Farewell Symphony” and the most popular of
all Symphony No. 94 "Surprise Symphony”.
The “Farewell” Symphony dropped a hint to
Esterhazy that the musicians deserved a
vacation; the “Clock” Symphony suggests a
ticking clock. The “Surprise” Symphony (#94, in
G Major) features a fortissimo chord in the
second movement, the “surprise” written to
make the ladies of the court jump in their seats.
The “Oxford” Symphony was actually written for
performance in Paris, but got its name when it
was performed on the occasion of Haydn's
honorary doctorate from Oxford University. And
the Emperor's Hymn to Francis the Kaiser, which
was the national anthem of Austria until 1918
and today is the national anthem of Germany.

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