Haydn’s career with the Royal Family of Esterházy
Many view Franz Joseph Haydn’s life as a story of rags to riches. Coming from a family whose both parents could not read music — his father was a wheelwright and his mother was a cook — and simply appreciative of not classical, but rather, folk music. Upon noticing the potential of their child at the age of 6, Haydn’s parents sent him to a close relative who was working as a choirmaster and a school teacher in a nearby town to provide him with the opportunities he needed for his abnormal music talent, and also because they do not have the financial means to support him a proper education for his skill. He never lived with his parents since then.
In 1761, in his late twenties, he was offered a job for the royal Esterházy family, where he worked for 30 years. It’s unlikely for an extremely talented musician to stay in one position that long, but Haydn did. In his stay with the family of Esterházy, he was expected to write music which the prince would demand, and to conduct and train other musicians as well. The family would often host weekly concerts and daily chamber recitals, all of which are facilitated by him as the kapellmeister.
All throughout his stay in the palace, Haydn was forced to be creative and original. Unlike other composers during his era, he was not exposed to the rest of the world along the current development of music. He took isolation as a huge advantage for his career to make experiments and take risks. As a famous quote by Haydn says:
“I was isolated from the world; no one in my vicinity could make me lose confidence in myself or bother me, and so I had to become original”
– Franz Joseph Haydn
Being in the prince’s retinue, Haydn would occasionally visit Vienna where, in one of those visits, a close friendship between himself and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would begin. Mozart even declared that he had learned a lot from Haydn especially how to write chamber music, and even dedicated a set of six works, now famously known as the Haydn Quartets, dedicated to his “beloved friend.”
Haydn spent a large portion of his career working with the royal family, and enjoyed the luxury of doing so. Coming from a simple background, he became the third most highly paid official, after the property manager and the physician of the prince. Haydn’s financial ranking showed how important the position he had and the high esteem he was held.
Haydn was liked by many musicians who worked for the same family. His patron following the death of Prince Nikolaus I. Esterházy, also known as Prince Miklós, showed his generous side in providing huge amount of money for musicians and to host extravagant entertainment and celebrations. Because of this, Haydn would purposely compose works where instrumentalists would have the chance to show off their virtuosity in their own instruments, and get paid higher than they usually did.
He moved to London where he premiered many of his works and gained so much fame when his contract ended. The end of his career primarily took place in Vienna, where he died at the age of 77. A memorial service was held in Schottenkirche at which Mozart’s Requiem was performed.