Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn is one of the most influential composers of the Classical era and is widely regarded as a “father” of the symphony and the string quartet. Over the course of several decades, his inventiveness and sense of formal clarity shaped the development of instrumental music in a decisive way. His works combine wit and surprise with compositional precision and an exceptional instinct for musical drama.

Haydn spent most of his career in the service of the Esterházy family, where, as Kapellmeister, he enjoyed ideal conditions for continuous composition and experimentation. During this period he produced a vast number of symphonies, operas, chamber works and sacred compositions. His reputation soon spread throughout Europe, and his journeys to London brought him major success and inspired some of his most celebrated symphonies.

Haydn’s music became a crucial point of reference for both Mozart and Beethoven. His ability to build large scale structures from the smallest motifs, his unmistakable humour and his imagination in sound have secured his place as a central figure in the history of Western music.