Joseph Haydn: music with a smile
Joseph Haydn wrote music for orchestras and string quartets, and his pieces are often cheerful and full of surprises. He even hid little jokes in them, so listening to his music can feel like a game.
In this lesson
From a small village to Vienna
Haydn was born in 1732 in Rohrau, a village in Austria. He had a lovely singing voice, and as a young boy he joined the boys' choir of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. He kept learning music there until his voice changed as a teenager.
As a grown-up, he worked for many years for a rich family, the Esterházys, who lived in a grand palace. Later he travelled to London twice, in 1791–1792 and 1794–1795, and the crowds there loved his music.
Haydn died peacefully at home in Vienna in 1809, when he was 77 years old.
Friends and students
Haydn met the younger composer Mozart in Vienna in the 1780s. They became friends, and a friend of theirs remembered a party where Haydn and Mozart played string quartets together.
In the 1790s, a young Beethoven came to Vienna and studied with Haydn for a while. Beethoven's first symphony was first played in 1800, a few years after those lessons.
There is also a famous story about the "Farewell" symphony. According to tradition, the musicians wanted to go home from the prince's summer palace, so Haydn ended the piece with players leaving the stage one by one.
Music with surprises
Haydn's music is clear, lively and full of good humour. He liked to play with what listeners expect, and then do something different. At the palace he led his own orchestra, so he could try out new ideas again and again to hear what worked.
He wrote so many symphonies and string quartets that people often call him the "father" of both. Many young composers learned from him.
Try listening for
These four pieces show Haydn's playful side and his love of storytelling.
- Symphony No. 94 ("Surprise")
- Listen for a quiet, gentle tune in the slow movement that is suddenly interrupted by one loud chord.
- Symphony No. 45 ("Farewell")
- Listen for the very end, where the players stop one by one until only two violins are left.
- The Creation
- Listen for the moment of "Let there be light", where the music goes from soft to a bright, loud chord.
- Trumpet Concerto
- Listen for the trumpet playing a real tune with many different notes, written in 1796 for a new kind of trumpet with keys.
Clap very softly along with a quiet piece, and then clap once, as loudly as you can, at the moment you hear the big surprise.
Some pieces to know
Haydn wrote a great deal of music. Here are some kinds of pieces to look for.
- Symphonies
- Long pieces for a full orchestra. Haydn wrote more than 100 of them, some with nicknames like "Surprise" and "Farewell".
- String quartets
- Music for four string players, like two violins, a viola and a cello, talking to each other like friends.
- Oratorios
- Big pieces for singers and orchestra that tell a story, such as "The Creation" (first performed in 1798) and "The Seasons" (1801).
- Emperor's Hymn
- A calm, dignified tune he wrote in 1797. He liked it so much that he used it again in the slow movement of one of his string quartets, which is nicknamed "Emperor".
Meanwhile, around the world
- 1742Messiah is first heard
In Dublin, Handel's Messiah was performed for the first time, when Haydn was about ten.
- 1750Bach's last year
The great composer Johann Sebastian Bach died in Leipzig, Germany.
- 1756Mozart is born
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.
- 1791A magic flute on stage
In Vienna, Mozart's opera The Magic Flute was first performed.
- 1800Beethoven's first symphony
Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 was first played in Vienna.
Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0).