Franz Joseph Haydn

Biography

Born in 1732, Joseph Haydn was the second son of twelve children of whom six died in infancy. He received education in Hainburg, learning to play all the instruments.

Haydn learned the art of singing, the harpsichord and the violin at the choir house of St. Stephens and furthered his education. He later made his living as a freelance composer, during which time he met Nicolo Antonio Porpora.

Through Popora, Haydn ended up appointed as Concertmaster to Ferdinand Mazilian, Count von Morzin of Bohemia in 1758. In 1761, the count’s orchestra was disbanded so Haydn took up the post of Assistant Concertmaster offered by Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy.

Haydn remained in the service of the Esterhazy’s for the next thirty years however the orchestra was disbanded when Haydn’s patron died. Returning to Vienna, he later embarked on a trip to London to give concerts, dying at the age of seventy-seven.