Events in the life of Joseph Haydn. Vienna Classical School: Haydn

Haydn is rightly considered the father of the symphony and quartet, the great founder of the classical instrumental music, the founder of the modern orchestra.

Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31, 1732 in Lower Austria, in the small town of Rohrau, located on the left bank of the Leita River, between the towns of Bruck and Hainburg, near the Hungarian border. Haydn's ancestors were hereditary Austro-German peasant artisans. The composer's father, Matthias, was engaged in carriage business. Mother - nee Anna Maria Koller - served as a cook.

The father's musicality and love of music were inherited by his children. Little Joseph already attracted the attention of musicians at the age of five. He had excellent hearing, memory, and a sense of rhythm. His ringing silver voice delighted everyone.

Thanks to its outstanding musical abilities the boy first ended up in the church choir of the small town of Gainburg, and then in the choir chapel at the cathedral (main) St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. This was a significant event in Haydn's life. After all, he had no other opportunity to receive a musical education.

Singing in a choir was a very good, but only school for Haydn. The boy's abilities quickly developed, and he began to be assigned difficult tasks. solo parts. The church choir often performed at city festivals, weddings, and funerals. The choir was also invited to participate in court celebrations. How much time did it take to perform in the church itself, for rehearsals? All this was a heavy load for the little singers.

Josef was understanding and quickly accepted everything new. He even found time to play the violin and clavichord and achieved significant success. Only his attempts to compose music did not meet with support. During his nine years in the choir, he received only two lessons from its director!

However, the lessons did not appear immediately. Before that, I had to go through a desperate time of searching for income. Little by little I managed to find some work, which, although it did not provide any support, still allowed me not to die of hunger. Haydn began giving singing and music lessons, playing the violin at festive evenings, and sometimes just on the highways. By order, he composed several of his first works. But all these earnings were random. Haydn understood: to become a composer, you need to study a lot and hard. He began to study theoretical works, in particular the books of I. Matteson and I. Fuchs.

The collaboration with the Viennese comedian Johann Joseph Kurz turned out to be useful. Kurtz was at that time very popular in Vienna as talented actor and the author of a number of farces.

Kurtz, having met Haydn, immediately appreciated his talent and offered to compose music for the libretto of the comic opera “The Crooked Demon” that he compiled. Haydn wrote music that, unfortunately, has not reached us. We only know that “The Crooked Demon” was performed in the winter of 1751-1752 in the theater at the Carinthian Gate and was a success. “Haydn received 25 ducats for it and considered himself very rich.”

A bold debut of a young, still little-known composer on theater stage in 1751 immediately brought him popularity in democratic circles and... very bad reviews from zealots of the old musical traditions. Reproaches of “buffoonery,” “frivolity,” and other sins were later transferred by various zealots of the “sublime” to the rest of Haydn’s work, starting with his symphonies and ending with his masses.

The last stage of Haydn's creative youth - before he embarked on an independent path as a composer - were classes with Nicola Antonio Porpora, Italian composer and conductor, representative of the Neapolitan school.

Porpora reviewed Haydn's compositional experiments and gave him instructions. Haydn, in order to reward the teacher, was an accompanist in his singing lessons and even served him.

Under the roof, in the cold attic where Haydn huddled, on an old broken clavichord, he studied the works of famous composers. And folk songs! He listened to so many of them, wandering day and night through the streets of Vienna. Here and there a variety of folk tunes sounded: Austrian, Hungarian, Czech, Ukrainian, Croatian, Tyrolean. Therefore, Haydn’s works are permeated with these wonderful melodies, most of them cheerful and cheerful.

A turning point was gradually brewing in Haydn’s life and work. His financial situation began to improve little by little and his position in life became stronger. At the same time, his great creative talent bore its first significant fruits.

Around 1750, Haydn wrote a small mass (in F major), showing in it not only a talented assimilation of modern techniques of this genre, but also an obvious inclination to write “cheerful” church music. More important fact is the composer's composition of the first string quartet in 1755.

The impetus was an acquaintance with a music lover, landowner Karl Furnberg. Encouraged by Fürnberg's attention and financial support, Haydn first wrote a series of string trios, and then the first string quartet, which was soon followed by about two dozen others. In 1756, Haydn composed the Concerto in C major. Haydn's patron also took care of strengthening it financial situation. He recommended the composer to the Czech Viennese aristocrat and music lover Count Joseph Franz Morzin. Morcin spent the winter in Vienna, and in the summer he lived on his estate Lukavec near Pilsen. In the service of Morcin, as a composer and conductor, Haydn received free accommodation, food and salary.

This service turned out to be short-lived (1759-1760), but still helped Haydn take further steps in composition. In 1759, Haydn created his first symphony, followed by four others in the coming years.

Both in the field of string quartet and in the field Haydn symphonies had to define and crystallize the genres of the new musical era: composing quartets and creating symphonies, he showed himself to be a brave, decisive innovator.

While in the service of Count Morzin, Haydn fell in love with the youngest daughter of his friend, the Viennese hairdresser Johann Peter Keller, Teresa, and was seriously planning to marry her. However, the girl, for reasons that remained unknown, left her parental home, and her father did not find anything better than to say: “Haydn, you should marry my eldest daughter" It is unknown what prompted Haydn to respond positively. One way or another, Haydn agreed. He was 28 years old, his bride, Maria Anna Aloysia Apollonia Keller, was 32. The marriage took place on November 26, 1760, and Haydn became... an unhappy husband for many decades.

His wife soon proved herself to be an extremely narrow-minded, stupid and quarrelsome woman. She absolutely did not understand or appreciate the great talent of her husband. “She didn’t care,” Haydn once said in his old age, “whether her husband was a shoemaker or an artist.”

Maria Anna mercilessly destroyed a number of Haydn's music manuscripts, using them for curlers and linings for pates. Moreover, she was very wasteful and demanding.

Having married, Haydn violated the terms of service with Count Morcin - the latter accepted only single men into his chapel. However, he did not have to hide the change in his personal life for long. The financial shock forced Count Morcin to abandon musical pleasures and dissolve the chapel. Haydn faced the threat of again being left without a permanent income.

But then he received an offer from a new, more powerful patron of the arts - the richest and very influential Hungarian magnate - Prince Pavel Anton Esterhazy. Paying attention to Haydn in Morcin Castle, Esterhazy appreciated his talent.

Not far from Vienna, in the small Hungarian town of Eisenstadt, and in the summer in the Eszterhaz country palace, Haydn spent thirty years as a conductor. The duties of the bandmaster included directing the orchestra and singers. Haydn also had to compose symphonies, operas, quartets and other works at the prince’s request. Often the capricious prince ordered a new essay to be written by the next day! Haydn’s talent and extraordinary hard work helped him here too. One after another, operas appeared, as well as symphonies, including “The Bear”, “Children’s Room”, “School Teacher”.

While directing the chapel, the composer could listen to live performances of the works he created. This made it possible to correct everything that did not sound good enough, and to remember what turned out to be especially successful.

During his service with Prince Esterhazy, Haydn wrote most of his operas, quartets and symphonies. In total, Haydn created 104 symphonies!

In his symphonies, Haydn did not set himself the task of individualizing the plot. The composer’s programming is most often based on individual associations and visual “sketches.” Even where it is more integral and consistent - purely emotionally, as in the “Farewell Symphony” (1772), or genre-wise, as in “ Military Symphony"(1794) - it still lacks clear plot foundations.

The enormous value of Haydn's symphonic concepts, for all their comparative simplicity and unpretentiousness, is in a very organic reflection and implementation of the unity of the spiritual and physical world of man.

This opinion is expressed, and very poetically, by E.T.A. Hoffman:

“Haydn’s works are dominated by the expression of a childish, joyful soul; his symphonies lead us into vast green groves, into a cheerful, motley crowd happy people, boys and girls rush in front of us in choral dances; Laughing children hide behind trees, behind rose bushes, playfully throwing flowers. A life full of love, full of bliss and eternal youth, as before the Fall; no suffering, no sorrow - only a sweetly elegiac longing for a beloved image, which floats in the distance, in the pink flicker of the evening, neither approaching nor disappearing, and while he is there, night does not come, for he himself - evening dawn burning over the mountain and over the grove.”

Haydn's skill has reached perfection over the years. His music invariably aroused the admiration of Esterhazy's many guests. The composer's name became widely known outside his homeland - in England, France, and Russia. The six symphonies performed in Paris in 1786 were called "Parisian". But Haydn had no right to go anywhere outside the prince’s estate, print his works, or simply give them as a gift without the consent of the prince. And the prince did not like the absences of “his” bandmaster. He was accustomed to Haydn, along with other servants, waiting for his orders in the hallway at a certain time. At such moments, the composer felt his dependence especially acutely. “Am I the bandmaster or the conductor?” - he exclaimed bitterly in letters to friends. One day he managed to escape and visit Vienna, see acquaintances and friends. How much joy it brought him to meet his beloved Mozart! Fascinating conversations were followed by performances of quartets, with Haydn playing the violin and Mozart playing the viola. Mozart took particular pleasure in performing quartets written by Haydn. In this genre, the great composer considered himself his student. But such meetings were extremely rare.

Haydn had a chance to experience other joys - the joys of love. On March 26, 1779, the Polzelli spouses were received into the Esterhazy Chapel. Antonio, the violinist, was no longer young. His wife, singer Luiga, a Moorish woman from Naples, was only nineteen years old. She was very attractive. Luigia lived unhappily with her husband, just like Haydn. Exhausted by the company of his grumpy and quarrelsome wife, he fell in love with Luigia. This passion lasted, gradually weakening and dimming, until the composer’s old age. Apparently, Luigia reciprocated Haydn’s feelings, but still, more self-interest than sincerity was manifested in her attitude. In any case, she steadily and very persistently extorted money from Haydn.

Rumor even called (it is not known whether correctly) Luigi's son Antonio the son of Haydn. Her eldest son Pietro became the composer’s favorite: Haydn took care of him like a father and took an active part in his training and upbringing.

Despite his dependent position, Haydn could not leave the service. At that time, a musician had the opportunity to work only in court chapels or lead a church choir. Before Haydn, no composer had ever dared to exist independently. Didn't dare to part with permanent job and Haydn.

In 1791, when Haydn was already about 60 years old, he died old prince Esterhazy. His heir, who did not feed great love to music, dissolved the chapel. But he was also flattered that the composer, who had become famous, was listed as his bandmaster. This forced the young Esterhazy to grant Haydn a pension sufficient to prevent “his servant” from entering a new service.

Haydn was happy! Finally he is free and independent! He agreed to the offer to go to England for concerts. While traveling on a ship, Haydn saw the sea for the first time. And how many times did he dream about it, trying to imagine the boundless water element, the movement of waves, the beauty and variability of water color. Once in his youth, Haydn even tried to convey in music the picture of a raging sea.

Life in England was also unusual for Haydn. The concerts in which he conducted his works were a triumphant success. This was the first open mass recognition of his music. The University of Oxford elected him as an honorary member.

Haydn visited England twice. Over the years, the composer wrote his famous twelve London Symphonies. " London symphonies"complete the evolution of Haydn's symphony. His talent reached its peak. The music sounded deeper and more expressive, the content became more serious, and the colors of the orchestra became richer and more varied.

Despite being extremely busy, Haydn managed to listen to new music. Especially strong impression He was impressed by the oratorios of the German composer Handel, his senior contemporary. The impression of Handel's music was so great that, returning to Vienna, Haydn wrote two oratorios - “The Creation of the World” and “The Seasons”.

The plot of “The Creation of the World” is extremely simple and naive. The first two parts of the oratorio tell about the emergence of the world according to the will of God. The third and last part is about the heavenly life of Adam and Eve before the Fall.

A number of judgments of contemporaries and immediate descendants about Haydn’s “Creation of the World” are typical. This oratorio was a huge success during the composer’s lifetime and greatly increased his fame. Nevertheless, critical voices were also heard. Naturally, the visual imagery of Haydn’s music shocked philosophers and aestheticians who were in a “sublime” mood. Serov wrote enthusiastically about “The Creation of the World”:

“What a gigantic creation this oratorio is! There is, by the way, one aria depicting the creation of birds - this is absolutely the highest triumph of onomatopoeic music, and, moreover, “what energy, what simplicity, what simple-minded grace!” “This is absolutely beyond any comparison.” The oratorio “The Seasons” should be recognized as an even more significant work of Haydn than “The Creation of the World”. The text of the oratorio “The Seasons,” like the text of “The Creation of the World,” was written by van Swieten. The second of Haydn's great oratorios is more diverse and deeply human not only in content, but also in form. This is a whole philosopheme, an encyclopedia of pictures of nature and Haydn’s patriarchal peasant morality, glorifying work, love of nature, delights village life and the purity of naive souls. In addition, the plot allowed Haydn to create a very harmonious and complete, harmonious musical concept of the whole.

Composing the enormous score of “The Four Seasons” was not easy for the decrepit Haydn, costing him many worries and sleepless nights. Towards the end he was tormented by headaches and the obsession with musical performances.

The London Symphonies and oratorios were the pinnacle of Haydn's work. After the oratorios he wrote almost nothing. Life has been too stressful. His strength was exhausted. The composer spent his last years on the outskirts of Vienna, in a small house. The quiet and secluded home was visited by admirers of the composer's talent. The conversations concerned the past. Haydn especially loved to remember his youth - hard, laborious, but full of bold, persistent searches.

Haydn died in 1809 and was buried in Vienna. Subsequently, his remains were transferred to Eisenstadt, where he spent so many years of his life.

Contents of the article

HAYDN, (FRANZ) JOSEPH(Haydn, Franz Joseph) (1732–1809), Austrian composer, one of the greatest classics of musical art. Born on March 31 or April 1, 1732 (date of birth is contradictory) into a peasant family in Rohrau (Burgenland region in eastern Lower Austria). His father, Matthias Haydn, was a carriage maker, his mother, Maria Koller, served as a cook in the family of Count Harrach, owner of an estate in Rohrau. Joseph was the second child of his parents and their eldest son. Previously, it was believed that Haydn’s ancestors were Croats (who in the 16th century began to move to Burgenland to escape the Turks), but thanks to the research of E. Schmidt, it turned out that the composer’s family was purely Austrian.

Early years.

Recalling his childhood, Haydn wrote in 1776: “My father... was an ardent lover of music and played the harp without knowing the notes at all. As a five-year-old child, I could absolutely sing his simple melodies, and this prompted my father to entrust me to the care of our relative, the rector of the school in Hainburg, so that I could study the fundamental principles of music and other sciences necessary for youth... When I was seven years old, the now deceased Kapellmeister von Reuther [G.K. von Reuther, 1708–1772], passing through Hainburg, accidentally heard my weak but pleasant voice. He took me with him and assigned me to the chapel [of the Cathedral of St. Stefan in Vienna], where, continuing my education, I studied singing, playing the harpsichord and violin, and from very good teachers. Until I was eighteen, I performed soprano roles with great success, not only in the cathedral, but also at court. Then my voice disappeared, and I had to eke out a miserable existence for eight whole years... I composed mostly at night, not knowing whether I had any gift for composition or not, and recorded my music diligently, but not quite correctly. This continued until I had the good fortune to study the true foundations of art from Mr. Porpora [N. Porpora, 1685–1766], who then lived in Vienna.”

In 1757, Haydn accepted the invitation of the Austrian aristocrat Count of Fürnberg to spend the summer at his Weinzierl estate, which was adjacent to the large Benedictine monastery at Melk on the Danube. The string quartet genre was born in Weinzierl (the first 12 quartets, written in the summer of 1757, were opuses 1 and 2). Two years later, Haydn became the bandmaster of Count Ferdinand Maximilian Morcin at his castle Lukavec in the Czech Republic. For Morcin's chapel, the composer wrote his First Symphony (in D major) and several divertimentos for winds (some of them were discovered relatively recently, in 1959, in a hitherto unexplored Prague archive). On November 26, 1760, Haydn married Anna Maria Keller, the daughter of the count's hairdresser. This union turned out to be childless and generally unsuccessful: Haydn himself usually called his wife “a fiend of hell.”

Soon, Count Morcin dissolved the chapel to cut costs. Then Haydn accepted the position of vice-kapellmeister offered to him by Prince Paul Anton Esterházy. The composer arrived at the princely estate of Eisenstadt in May 1761 and remained in the service of the Esterházy family for 45 years.

In 1762, Prince Paul Anton died; his brother Miklos “The Magnificent” became his successor - at this time the Esterhazy family became famous throughout Europe for its patronage of the arts and artists. In 1766 Miklos rebuilt the family hunting lodge in luxurious palace, one of the richest in Europe. Eszterhaza, the prince's new residence, was called the “Hungarian Versailles”; among other things, there was a real opera house with 500 seats and a marionette theater (for which Haydn composed operas). In the presence of the owner, concerts and theatrical performances were given every evening.

Haydn and all the musicians of the chapel had no right to leave Eszterhaza while the prince himself was there, and none of them, with the exception of Haydn and the orchestra conductor, violinist L. Tomasini, were allowed to bring their families to the palace. It so happened that in 1772 the prince stayed in Eszterhaza longer than usual, and the musicians asked Haydn to write a piece that would remind His Highness that it was high time for him to return to Vienna. This is how the famous Farewell Symphony, where in the final movement the orchestra members finish their parts one by one and leave, leaving only two solo violins on stage (these parts were played by Haydn and Tomasini). The prince looked with surprise as his bandmaster and conductor put out the candles and headed for the exit, but he understood the hint, and the next morning everything was ready to leave for the capital.

Years of glory.

Gradually, Haydn's fame began to spread throughout Europe, which was facilitated by the activities of Viennese companies that were engaged in copying notes and selling their products throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austrian monasteries also did a lot to spread Haydn’s music; copies of various of his works are kept in a number of monastic libraries in Austria and the Czech Republic. Parisian publishers published Haydn's works without the author's consent. The composer himself, in most cases, was not at all aware of these pirated publications and, of course, did not receive any profit from them.

In the 1770s, opera performances in Eszterháza gradually developed into permanent opera seasons; their repertoire, which consisted mainly of operas by Italian authors, was learned and performed under the direction of Haydn. From time to time he composed his own operas: one of them, Lunar world based on the play by C. Goldoni ( Il mondo della luna, 1777), was resumed with great success in 1959.

Haydn spent the winter months in Vienna, where he met and became friends with Mozart; they admired each other, and neither of them allowed anyone to speak ill of their friend. In 1785, Mozart dedicated six magnificent string quartets to Haydn, and once at a quartet meeting held in Mozart’s apartment, Haydn told Wolfgang’s father, Leopold Mozart, that his son was “the greatest of composers” whom he, Haydn, knew from reviews or personally. Mozart and Haydn enriched each other creatively in many ways, and their friendship is one of the most fruitful unions in the history of music.

In 1790, Prince Miklos died, and for some time Haydn received freedom of movement. Subsequently, Prince Anton Esterházy, Miklós’ heir and Haydn’s new master, not having any particular love for music, disbanded the orchestra altogether. Having learned about the death of Miklos, I.P. Zalomon, a German by birth, who worked in England and achieved great success there in organizing concerts, hastened to arrive in Vienna and conclude a contract with Haydn.

English publishers and impresarios had long tried to invite the composer to English capital, but Haydn’s duties as Esterházy’s court conductor did not allow for long absences from Austria. Now the composer willingly accepted Zalomon’s offer, especially since he had two lucrative contracts in reserve: to compose an Italian opera for Royal Theater and to compose 12 instrumental compositions for concerts. In fact, Haydn did not begin to compose all 12 plays anew: several nocturnes, previously unknown in England, had been written earlier by order of the Neapolitan king, and the composer also had several new quartets in his portfolio. Thus, for the English concerts of the 1792 season, he wrote only two new symphonies (Nos. 95 and 96) and included several more symphonies in the program that had not yet been performed in London (Nos. 90–92), but were previously composed by order Count d'Ogny from Paris (so-called Paris symphonies).

Haydn and Zalomon arrived in Dover on New Year's Day 1791. In England, Haydn was received with honor everywhere, and the Prince of Wales (the future King George IV) showed him many signs of attention. Zalomon's cycle of Haydn concertos was a huge success; during the premiere of Symphony No. 96 in March, the slow movement had to be repeated - “a rare case,” as the author noted in a letter home. The composer decided to stay in London for the next season. Haydn composed four new symphonies for him. Among them was famous symphony Surprise (№ 104, Symphony with timpani strike: in its slow movement, the gentle music is suddenly interrupted by a deafening timpani beat; Haydn allegedly said that he wanted to “make the ladies jump in their chairs”). The composer also composed a wonderful chorus for England Storm (The Storm) on English text And Symphony Concertante (Sinfonia concertante).

On his way home in the summer of 1792, Haydn, passing through Bonn, met L. van Beethoven and took him on as a student; the aging master immediately recognized the scale of the young man’s talent and in 1793 predicted that “he will someday be recognized as one of best musicians Europe, and I will be proud to call myself his teacher." Until January 1794, Haydn lived in Vienna, then went to England and remained there until the summer of 1795: this trip turned out to be no less triumphant than the previous ones. During this time, the composer created his last - and best - six symphonies (Nos. 99–104) and six magnificent quartets (Ops. 71 and 74).

Recent years.

After returning from England in 1795, Haydn took his former place at the Esterházy court, where Prince Miklós II now became ruler. Main responsibility The composer was composing and learning a new mass every year for the birthday of Princess Maria, Miklos's wife. Thus, the last six Haydn masses were born, including Nelsonovskaya, always and everywhere enjoying special sympathy from the public.

Two large oratorios also belong to the last period of Haydn’s work - Creation of the world (Die Schöpfung) And Seasons (Die Jahreszeiten). During his stay in England, Haydn became acquainted with the work of G.F. Handel, and, apparently, Messiah And Israel in Egypt inspired Haydn to create his own epic choral works. Oratorio Creation of the world was first performed in Vienna in April 1798; Seasons- three years later. Work on the second oratorio seems to have exhausted the master’s strength. Haydn spent his last years in peace and quiet in his cozy home on the outskirts of Vienna, in Gumpendorf (now within the capital). In 1809 Vienna was besieged by Napoleonic troops, and in May they entered the city. Haydn was already very weak; he got out of bed only to play the Austrian national anthem on the clavier, which he himself had composed several years earlier. Haydn died on May 31, 1809.

Formation of style.

Haydn's style is organically connected with the soil on which he grew up - with Vienna, the great Austrian capital, which was for the Old World the same "melting pot" as New York was for the New World: Italian, South German and other traditions were fused here in a single style. Viennese composer of the mid-18th century. had several different styles: one is “strict”, intended for masses and other church music: in it the main role still belonged to polyphonic writing; the second is operatic: in it the Italian style prevailed until the time of Mozart; the third is for “street music,” represented by the cassation genre, often for two horns and strings or for a wind ensemble. Once in this motley world, Haydn quickly created own style, moreover, the same for all genres, be it a mass or a cantata, a street serenade or a keyboard sonata, a quartet or a symphony. According to stories, Haydn claimed that his greatest influence was C. P. E. Bach, the son of Johann Sebastian: indeed, Haydn’s early sonatas very closely follow the models of the “Hamburg Bach.”

As for Haydn's symphonies, they are firmly connected with the Austrian tradition: their prototypes were the works of G. K. Wagenzeil, F. L. Gassmann, d'Ordognier and, to a lesser extent, M. Monne.

Creation.

Among Haydn's most famous works are Creation of the world And Seasons, epic oratorios in the manner of the late Handel. These works made the author famous in Austria and Germany in to a greater extent, rather than his instrumental opuses.

On the contrary, in England and America (as well as in France) the foundation of Haydn's repertoire is orchestral music, and some of the symphonies are at least the same Symphony with timpani strike- enjoy, deservedly or not, special preference. Others remain popular in England and America London symphonies; the last of them, No. 12 in D major ( London), is rightfully considered the pinnacle of Haydn's symphonism.

Unfortunately, works of chamber genres are not so well known and loved in our time - perhaps because the practice of home, amateur quartet and ensemble music-making in general is gradually fading away. Professional quartets performing before the “public” are not an environment in which music is performed only for the sake of music itself, but Haydn’s string quartets and piano trios, containing deeply personal, intimate statements of the musician, his deepest thoughts, are intended primarily for performances in an intimate chamber setting among close people, but not at all for virtuosos in ceremonial, cold concert halls.

The twentieth century brought to life Haydn's masses for soloists, choir and orchestra - monumental masterpieces choral genre with complex accompaniment. Although these works have always been fundamental to the church music repertoire of Vienna, they have never previously spread beyond Austria. Nowadays, however, sound recording has brought these wonderful works, mainly belonging to late period creativity of the composer (1796–1802). Among the 14 Masses, the most perfect and dramatic is Missa in Angustiis (Mass in times of fear, or Nelson's Mass, composed during the days of the historic victory of the English fleet over the French in the battle of Abukir, 1798).

As for keyboard music, we should especially highlight the late sonatas (Nos. 50–52, dedicated to Theresa Jensen in London), the late keyboard trios (almost all created during the composer’s stay in London) and the exceptionally expressive Andante con variazione in F minor (in the autograph kept in the New York Public Library, this work is called a “sonata”), which appeared in 1793, between Haydn’s two trips to England.

In genre instrumental concert Haydn did not become an innovator, and in general did not feel any particular attraction to him; The most interesting example of a concerto in the composer's work is undoubtedly the trumpet concerto in E-flat major (1796), written for an instrument with valves, a distant predecessor of the modern valve trumpet. In addition to this late work, one should mention the Cello Concerto in D major (1784) and a cycle of elegant concertos written for the Neapolitan king Ferdinand IV: in them two soloists hurdy-gurdy with organ pipes (lira organizzata) - rare instruments that sound like a barrel organ.

The meaning of Haydn's work.

In the 20th century It turned out that Haydn cannot be considered, as previously believed, the father of the symphony. Complete symphonic cycles, including a minuet, were created already in the 1740s; that even earlier, between 1725 and 1730, four symphonies by Albinoni appeared, also with minuets (their manuscripts were found in the German city of Darmstadt). I. Stamitz, who died in 1757, i.e. at the time when Haydn began working in orchestral genres, he was the author of 60 symphonies. Thus, Haydn's historical merit is not in creating the symphony genre, but in summing up and improving what was done by his predecessors. But Haydn can be called the father of the string quartet. Apparently, before Haydn there was no genre that had the following typical features: 1) composition - two violins, viola and cello; 2) four-part (allegro in sonata form, slow part, minuet and finale or allegro, minuet, slow part and finale) or five-part (allegro, minuet, slow part, minuet and finale - options that do not essentially change the form). This model grew out of the divertissement genre as it was cultivated in Vienna in the mid-18th century. There are many five-part divertissements written by different authors around 1750 for different compositions, i.e. for a wind ensemble or for winds and strings (a composition of two horns and strings was especially popular), but so far it has not been possible to discover a cycle for two violins, viola and cello.

Now we know that among the many technical innovations previously attributed to Haydn, most, strictly speaking, are not his discoveries; Haydn's greatness lies rather in the fact that he was able to comprehend, elevate and bring to perfection pre-existing simple forms. I would like to note one technical discovery, mainly due to Haydn personally: this is the form of the rondo sonata, in which the principles of the sonata (exposition, development, reprise) merge with the principles of the rondo (A-B-C-A or A-B-A-C –A–B–A). Most finals in late instrumental compositions Haydn (for example, the finale of Symphony No. 97 in C major) represent magnificent samples Rondo sonatas. In this way a clear formal distinction was achieved between the two fast parts sonata cycle– first and final.

Haydn's orchestral writing reveals a gradual weakening of the connection with the old technique of basso continuo, in which a keyboard instrument or organ filled the sound space with chords and formed a “skeleton” on which other lines of the modest orchestra of those times were superimposed. In Haydn's mature works, basso continuo practically disappears, except, of course, for the recitatives in vocal works, where keyboard or organ accompaniment is still needed. In his treatment of woodwinds and brass, Haydn reveals from the very first steps an innate sense of color; Even in very modest scores, the composer demonstrates an unmistakable flair for choosing orchestral timbres. Written with very limited means, Haydn's symphonies are, as Rimsky-Korsakov put it, orchestrated as well as any other music in Western Europe.

A great master, Haydn tirelessly renewed his language; Together with Mozart and Beethoven, Haydn formed and brought to a rare degree of perfection the style of the so-called. Viennese classicism. The beginnings of this style lie in the Baroque era, and its late period leads directly to the era of Romanticism. Fifty years creative life Haydn filled the deepest stylistic gap - between Bach and Beethoven. In the 19th century all attention was focused on Bach and Beethoven, and at the same time they forgot the giant who managed to build a bridge between these two worlds.

Joseph Haydn is famous as an 18th century Austrian composer. He gained worldwide recognition thanks to the discovery of such musical genres as the symphony and string quartet, as well as thanks to the creation of the melody that formed the basis of the German and Autro-Hungarian anthems.

Childhood years.

Joseph was born on March 31, 1732 in a place located near the border with Hungary. This was the village of Rohrau. Already at the age of 5, little Joseph’s parents discovered that he had a penchant for music. Then his uncle took the boy to the city of Hainburg an der Donau. There he studied choral singing and music in general. After 3 years of studying, Joseph was noticed by the director of the St. Stephen's Chapel, who took the student to his place for further music training. Over the next 9 years, he sang in the chapel choir and learned to play the musical instruments.

Youth and young adult years.

The further stage in the life of Joseph Haydn was by no means easy road 10 years long. He had to work in different places to make a living. Joseph did not receive a high-quality musical education, but he succeeded by studying the works of Matteson, Fuchs and other musical performers.

Haynd brought fame to his works written in the 50s of the 18th century. Among his works, “The Lame Demon” and Symphony No. 1 in D major were popular.

Soon Joseph Haydn got married, but the marriage could not be called happy. There were no children in the family, which was the reason for mental anguish composer. The wife did not support her husband in his work as music, as she did not like his activities.

In 1761, Haydn began working for Prince Esterhazy. Over the course of 5 years, he rises in rank from vice-bandmaster to chief bandmaster and begins to organize the orchestra full-time.

The period of work with Esterházy was marked by the flourishing of Haydn’s creative activity. During this time, he created many works, for example the “Farewell” symphony, which gained considerable popularity.

Recent years.

The composers' last works were not completed due to a sharp deterioration in health and well-being. Haydn died at the age of 77, and during the farewell to the body of the deceased, Mozart’s “Requiem” was performed.

Biography more details

Childhood and youth

Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31, 1732 in Austria, in the village of Rohrau. The family did not live well, since Franz's father was a wheelwright and his mother was a cook. The love of music was instilled in young Haydn by his father, who was fond of vocals. As a young man, Franz's father taught himself to play the harp. At the age of 6, the father notices that the boy absolute pitch and ability for music and sends Joseph to the nearby city of Gainburg to a relative, the rector of the school. There, young Haydn studied exact sciences and language, but also played musical instruments, vocals, and sang in the church choir.

His hard work and naturally melodious voice helped him become famous in the local areas. One day, a composer from Vienna, Georg von Reuter, came to Haydn’s native village to find new voices for his chapel. Eight-year-old Haydn made a huge impression on the composer, who took him into the choir of one of the largest cathedrals in Vienna. There Joseph learned the intricacies of singing, the skill of composition, and composed church works.

In 1749, a difficult stage in Haydn's life began. At the age of 17, he is kicked out of the choir due to his difficult character. During this same period, his voice begins to break. At this time, Haydn was left without a livelihood. He has to take on any job. Josef gives music lessons, plays various ensembles on string instruments. He had to be a servant to Nikolai Porpora, a singing teacher from Vienna. But despite this, Haydn does not forget about music. He really wanted to take lessons from Nikolai Porpora, but his classes were worth huge money. Through his love of music, Joseph Haydn found a way out. He agreed with the teacher that he would sit quietly behind the curtain during his lessons. Franz Haydn tried to restore the knowledge that he had lost. He studied the theory of music and composition with interest.

Personal life and further service.

From 1754 to 1756 Joseph Haydn served at the court in Vienna as a creative musician. In 1759 he began to direct music at the court of Count Karl von Morzin. Haydn was given a small orchestra under his own direction and wrote the first classical works for orchestra. But soon the count had problems with money and he stopped the existence of the orchestra.

In 1760, Joseph Haydn married Maria Anne Keller. She did not respect his profession and mocked his work in every possible way, using his sheet music as stands for pate.

Service at the court of Esterhazy

After the collapse of Karl von Morzin's orchestra, Josef was offered a similar position, but with the very rich Esterhazy family. Josef immediately gained access to the management of the family's musical institutions. For long time spent at the court of Esterhazy Haydn composes large number works: quartets, operas, symphonies.

In 1781, Joseph Haydn met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who began to become part of his circle of close friends. In 1792 he met young Beethoven, who became his student.

Last years of life.

In Vienna, Joseph composed his famous works: “The Creation of the World” and “The Seasons”.

The life of Franz Joseph Haydn was too difficult and stressful. Their last days the composer spends in a small house in Vienna.

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN

ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: ARIES

NATIONALITY: AUSTRIAN

MUSICAL STYLE: CLASSICISM

IMPORTANT WORK: “STRING QUARTET IN D MINOR”

WHERE HAVE YOU HEARD THIS MUSIC: IN NUMEROUS WEDDING SCENES ON SCREEN. INCLUDING THE FILM “WEDDING STICKERS.”

WORDS OF WISDOM: “I WAS SEPARATED FROM THE WORLD. THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND TO EMBARRASS OR HURT ME. I WAS DOOMED TO BE ORIGINAL."

For thirty years Joseph Haydn was a servant. Admittedly, a high-ranking servant, and yet, like an ordinary cook, he listened to the orders of his masters every day.

A servant, by definition, is required to constantly bow, shuffle his feet and fawn in every possible way, but the advantages of his position are also obvious. For many years, Haydn had an audience always ready to listen to his works, a quality orchestra at hand and leisure to pursue what most interested him in music.

Of course, Haydn was happy when he was finally left to his own devices, but he never denied the benefits that his years of service brought him. These experiences helped him develop into one of the most original - and influential - composers of his time.

STRONG IN TALENT, RICH IN POVERTY

Haydn was born into a family of wheelwrights in the Austrian village of Rohrau near the Hungarian border. His father Matthias independently learned to play the harp and on long winter evenings amused himself by playing folk melodies. Matthias's second son, Joseph, with early years sang along with my handsome father in a high voice. The parents noted that the boy hit the notes surprisingly accurately. Rohrau had little to offer a musically gifted child, and when Haydn was only six years old, he was sent to the city of Hainburg to live with an elderly relative, a schoolteacher.

Haydn spent two years in Hainburg, comprehending various wisdom, but truly tempting horizons opened up before him when the director of the chapel of Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral was passing through the city. Hearing young Haydn sing, Viennese musician assigned him to the cathedral boys' choir.

Alas, boy sopranos are destined for a short life. As a teenager, Haydn, worried about his future, seriously considered saving his voice by joining the ranks of castrati, but his father somehow found out about his plans and urgently went to Vienna to prevent his son from carrying them out. When Haydn's voice broke, the choir director immediately fired him. A sixteen-year-old boy found himself on the street with three shirts, a shabby coat and extensive musical knowledge.

FRAU HAYDN'S CULINARY SECRET

By luck, Haydn met a sympathetic acquaintance who did not allow him to sleep on the street. After some time, Haydn “got rich” so much that he was able to rent a place for himself in Vienna - a miserable room on the sixth floor without a stove and even without a window; but he managed to scrape together the piano, and he didn’t need anything else.

Playing in Viennese orchestras, which occasionally performed his own compositions, Haydn gradually attracted the attention of noble music lovers, and in 1759 he received the position of bandmaster at the court of Count Karl von Morzin. Thus, young man I had enough money to get married. He fell in love with Teresa Keller, the daughter of a postmaster, but his parents decided to give Teresa a nun. However, the Kellers, with a trained eye, saw a good groom in Haydn, and persuaded him to marry Teresa’s sister, Maria Anna.

If this union inspired anyone with trembling hopes, they were very soon dispelled into dust. Maria Anna, being older than her husband, had a grumpy character, but her most unforgivable flaw - from her husband's point of view - was that she was not at all interested in music. “She doesn’t care who to marry - a shoemaker or an artist,” Haydn complained. They had no children, and a few years later family life reduced to scenes of jealousy and mutual insults. Rumor has it that Frau Haydn used her husband's scores as baking paper.

FROM RAGS TO RICHES

Despite family difficulties, Haydn was doing well. In 1761, he was taken as assistant bandmaster to Prince Pal Antal Esterházy, a wealthy and influential Hungarian nobleman, imperial field marshal and, incidentally, patron of musicians. Haydn was required to conduct the well-trained Esterhazy orchestra and choir and compose music for both daily use and special occasions, and in return the composer was entitled to an enviable salary, comfortable housing and a generous subsidy for the purchase of clothing. The Esterházy family was so pleased with Haydn that they did not want to part with him when Prince Pal Esterházy died and the title passed to his younger brother Miklas, who later appointed Haydn as chief bandmaster.

The high position did not negate the fact that Haydn remained in the position of a servant - his contract contained an unambiguous requirement to appear to the prince every day for orders. Haydn spent a lot of time and effort pleasing the proud prince and courtiers; his letters are full of flattering phrases (“I kiss the hem of your robe”!), without which a servant’s appeal to a noble nobleman would be unthinkable. One of Haydn's most difficult responsibilities was mediating between the orchestra members and the court; For his kindness and generosity towards musicians, he was nicknamed Pope Haydn.

THE CLEAVAGE OF THE FLIRTATING COUNTESS SO AMAZED THE YOUNG AND UNMARRIED HAYDN, SITTING AT THE HARPIRDSIAN, THAT THE POOR GUY THROWED IN A FIRE.

Every spring, the princely court went to the country estate of Esterhazy, where he remained until late autumn. The winters in Vienna were pitifully short, and Haydn ended up spending thirty years away from musical life. In isolation, he was forced to experiment at his own risk. Possessing neither Mozart's brilliant intuition nor Bach's selfless interest in music theory, Haydn moved forward in unimpressive leaps, but slowly, step by step. Over time, he became a remarkable composer and musical reformer. He transformed the symphonic form, making it what we know it today. In fact, he created the string quartet, once and for all defining its structure, within which composers have been creating ever since. Although many of Haydn's works appeared only with sole purpose to please the tastes of his patrons (he wrote countless trio with the participation of a loved one string instrument Prince Miklash - a baritone, now out of use - and many comic operas for the court theater on the Esterhazy estate), but Joseph Haydn also created other works, those that won the recognition of listeners for their harmony, grace and life-affirming intonation.

FINALLY FREE

Almost thirty years of forced seclusion ended in 1790 with the death of Prince Miklash. Miklash was succeeded by his son Anton, who was not inclined towards music. As a result, Haydn gained freedom in his professional life. (In his personal life, he also felt free from obligations; for some time now he and Maria Anna lived separately, and Haydn started affairs on the side, invariably decent.) He toured England and Italy on triumphant tours, conducting his own writings, and performed several times in Vienna.

Prince Anton died in 1795 and was succeeded by Miklash II, who decided to revive musical fame Esterhazy's house. Since this Miklash Esterházy, unlike his predecessors, did not intend to live in the wilderness of the countryside, Haydn returned to service - more out of courtesy than out of sincere zeal. During these years, Haydn worked on the oratorios “The Creation of the World” and “The Seasons,” which are now considered his best works: the composer’s ingenuity and the beauty of the works are truly undeniable. With the advent of the new, nineteenth century, Haydn lost both strength and health. His recent years were marred by the atrocities of the war between Austria and Napoleonic France. On May 12, 1809, the French began a powerful bombardment of Vienna, cannonballs falling a few meters from Haydn's house. The Austrian capital soon capitulated, but the French placed a guard of honor at Haydn's doorstep. He died on May 31, just after midnight.

STRANGE MISADVENTIONS OF HAYDN'S HEAD

Since the war was raging around, Haydn was buried in a hurry. However, in 1814, Prince Miklash II asked permission to transport the composer’s ashes to the Esterházy estate in Eisenstadt. The body was exhumed, but when official representatives When they opened the coffin, they discovered to their horror that the body was missing a head.

The hunt for Haydn's head began immediately. And it turned out that two passionate enthusiasts of phrenology - a science now defunct, but very popular in the nineteenth century (phrenology claimed to determine personality traits by lumps on the skull) - bribed a gravedigger in order to get the composer's head. These two would-be phrenologists, Rosenbaum and Peters, kept Haydn's skull in a custom-made black box.

When the headless body was brought to Eisenstadt, Prince Esterhazy felt deeply insulted. He ordered police to search Peters' home, but later learned that Rosenbaum's wife had hidden the skull in a straw mattress and was lying on the bed during the search, pretending to be asleep. As a result, the prince paid the Rosenbaums, and in exchange for an impressive check, they gave him a skull - according to their assurances, an authentic one.

In the end, Haydn's skull ended up in one of the Vienna museums, where it lay until 1954, when Prince Pal Esterhazy reunited the composer's body with his head in a burial place located in the Austrian city of Eisenstadt (Burgenland). So, 131 years later, Haydn regained integrity.

LITTLE DRUMMER

Johann Matthias Frank, a relative and guardian of the young Haydn in Hainburg, led a local orchestra that played at city celebrations and funerals. The sudden death of the drummer put Frank in a very difficult position, and he had no choice but to quickly teach the seven-year-old Haydn, who had discovered early musical talent, to play the drum. But the trouble was that the drum turned out to be too heavy for little boy. The quick-witted Frank found a hunchback who agreed to tie a drum on his back, and young Haydn marched cheerfully and lightly through the streets of Hainburg, beating out the rhythm on the hunchback walking in front of him.

FRIENDS FOREVER

Haydn met Mozart in Vienna in 1781, and they became immediate friends, despite their 24-year age difference. Each recognized the other as genuine musical talent. Mozart claimed that he learned the art of string quartets from Haydn, and Haydn once declared to Mozart’s father: “I will tell you on honor and call God to witness, your son is the greatest composer I know.”

Mozart died while Haydn was on a long absence from London. At first, Haydn refused to believe in his friend’s death, hoping that these were just false rumors. But the sad news was confirmed, and Haydn fell into deep sorrow. Many years later, in 1807, when one of his friends started talking about Mozart, Haydn burst into tears. “Sorry,” he said, “every time I hear the name Mozart, I must, must mourn him.”

STOP THE MUSIC!

In 1759, having received his first lucrative position as a house musician for Count Karl von Morzin, Haydn was a fairly young man whose professional employment and high moral standards had until then protected him from acquaintance with the joys of the flesh.

One day, while Haydn was sitting at the harpsichord, the pretty Countess von Morzin leaned over to look at the notes he was playing from, and the virgin Haydn had a magnificent view of the Countess's cleavage. The musician felt feverish and stopped playing. The Countess inquired what was the matter, and Haydn exclaimed: “But, Your Excellency, such a spectacle would make anyone give up!”

Haydn had an extraordinary sense of humor as a composer. The musicians of the Esterhazy court orchestra, missing their relatives, were upset every time the move to the city from the village estate was again postponed, and Haydn figured out how to unobtrusively express their feelings in the next symphony that he was composing. His Farewell Symphony lacks the usual grand finale, instead the musicians complete their parts one by one and, when finished, each blows out the candle and leaves. At the very end, only the first violins remain on stage. The prince took the hint: the next day after the performance of the “Farewell” symphony, he gave the command to prepare for departure.

Another symphony was intended specifically for the London public, who, as Haydn noted, had the unpleasant habit of dozing off during the slow movements. For his next symphony, Haydn composed an incredibly gentle, calm Andante: at the end of this slow movement the sounds completely died away, and then in the ensuing silence the orchestra exploded with music and the thunder of the timpani. At the premiere, the audience almost jumped out of their seats - and thus the “Surprise” symphony was born.

SWEN ENEMIES

Although Haydn's friends knew full well that the composer had not lived with his wife for a long time, the level of mutual hostility between the spouses never ceased to surprise them. One day, a certain friend noticed a large stack of unopened letters on Haydn’s desk. “Oh, this is from my wife,” the composer explained. - She writes to me once a month, and I answer her once a month. But I don’t open her letters and I’m almost sure that she doesn’t read mine.”