Music Of The Great Composers --

Franz Joseph Haydn-Part 8 April 1, 1732 to May 31, 1809 Lessons From Haydn's Life by Henry T. Finck His Last Days The last of his great works, The Creation and The Seasons , were received as they deserved to be, and Haydn was so wealthy in his last years that he was able to liberally repay the families of those who in his early struggles had helped him. He died on May 31, 1809 - the same year in which Mendelssohn and Chopin were born, as if t..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Franz Joseph Haydn-Part 7 April 1, 1732 to May 31, 1809 Lessons From Haydn's Life by Henry T. Finck The London Period Haydn was no exception; he wrote most of his works with an eye on the Count, and with no thought of the world at large, hence so many of them are now obsolete. A change fortunately came in time. In 1790 Prince Nicolaus died and the orchestra was disbanded. Haydn moved to Vienna and at last felt at liberty to accept an engagement to appear in London..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Franz Joseph Haydn-Part 6 April 1, 1732 to May 31, 1809 Lessons From Haydn's Life by Henry T. Finck Here we have the chief lesson from Haydn's life. He might have become a great composer under other conditions, too, but it is not likely that he would have been able to do as much as he did to develop the modern symphony and chamber music had he not had that orchestra laboratory, so to speak, at Esterhaz, for three decades, for making his musical experiments. If we n..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Franz Joseph Haydn-Part 5 April 1, 1732 to May 31, 1809 Lessons From Haydn's Life by Henry T. Finck Period of Development By way of compensation for his conjugal misfit, Haydn was so very fortunate as to secure an engagement as kapellmeister of the private orchestra of Count Paul Anton Esterhazy, who had heard one of his symphonies at Morzin's Palace. The Count lived at Eisenstadt, in Hungary, which thus became Haydn's home from 1761 to 1769, when Prince Nicolaus..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Franz Joseph Haydn-Part 4 April 1, 1732 to May 31, 1809 Lessons From Haydn's Life by Henry T. Finck With Porpora Another lesson. Medieval ballads and romances tell us of the humiliations to which the Knights were willing to subject themselves to win the favor of a fair lady. Just so did Haydn temporarily debase himself for the sake of serving his muse. He cleaned the clothes and blackened the shoes of a famous musician that he might benefit by his company, his ins..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Franz Joseph Haydn-Part 3 April 1, 1732 to May 31, 1809 Lessons From Haydn's Life by Henry T. Finck His voice, at this time, was so beautiful that it aroused the special attention of the Imperial family; but the day came when it began to break and sound more like the crowing of a cock , as the Empress remarked jocosely; and not long afterward young Josef took the opportunity of trying the edge of a new pair of scissors by cutting off the pigtail of one o..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Franz Joseph Haydn-Part 2 April 1, 1732 to May 31, 1809 Lessons From Haydn's Life by Henry T. Finck This trick brought him luck. While at it one day he was observed by a distant relative named Frankh, to whom it naturally suggested the idea that the boy might be a born musician. His home was at Hainburg, where he was a schoolmaster, and he succeeded in persuading Josef's parent to let him take their son along, for regular instruction. He was very strict and kept th..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Franz Joseph Haydn-Part 1 April 1, 1732 to May 31, 1809 Lessons From Haydn's Life by Henry T. Finck The genealogy of genius is one of the puzzles of modern science. Why should three women whose humble occupation was the cooking of meals three times a day have given birth to three of the world's greatest musical geniuses - Beethoven, Schubert, and Haydn? We do not know; we only know that genius, like meteors, appears when and where it chooses. But is there not comf..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Josef Haydn-Part 15 Bland, a London publisher, had been sent over to Vienna by Salomon (7\\1787) to coax Haydn into an engagement. When he was admitted he found the composer in the act of shaving, and complaining of the bluntness of the razor. I would give by best quartet for a good razor! Bland immediately ran back to his lodging and returning with his own razors of good English steel, presented them to Haydn, who gave him in exchange his latest quartet sti..

Music Of The Great Composers --

Josef Haydn-Part 14 The Seasons bears signs of mental effort. Perhaps the subject was not congenial to the author. The Emperor Francis Joseph once asked Haydn which of the two oratorios he himself preferred. The Creation, he answered, because in this work angels speak, and their talk is of God. In the Seasons no one higher speaks than the farmer Simon. Both oratorios, however, added considerable to Haydn's fame and fortune. The effort was too mu..