Music Appreciation Part IV, Chapter 10

Haydn was a master at developing themes.

He could build a whole movement out of a single main theme, creating contrasts of mood through changes in texture, key, rhythm, dynamics, and orchestration

In his late sixties, he composed six masses and two oratorios

The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801). They were so popular that choruses and orchestras were formed for the sole purpose of performing them.

As a highly skilled servant, Haydn was to compose

all the music requested by his patron, conduct the orchestra, coach singers, and oversee the instruments and the music library

Word spread about the Esterházys' composer

and Haydn's music became immensely popular all over Europe

ix, his musical background consisted of folksongs and peasant dances (which later had an influence on his style).

and he was given training

For almost thirty years, most of his music was composed for performance in the palaces of the family

especially Eszterháza, which contained an opera house, a theater, two concert halls, and 126 guest rooms

In 1761, when he was twenty-nine, his life changed for the better, permanently

he entered the service of the Esterházys, the richest and most powerful of the Hungarian noble families

Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E Flat Major has a remarkable

history

Haydn's music, like his personality

is robust and direct; it radiates a healthy optimism

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was born in a

tiny Austrian village called Rohrau