Franz Joseph Haydn

Haydn was born in Roharu, Austria on March 31, 1732, the same year in which George Washington was born. Haydn had 11 brothers and sisters. His parents were a wheelwright and a female cook.

Haydn soon learned how to do the jobs of his mother and father. He studied music with an older relative, Johann Franck. When Haydn was very young, he rubbed a stick against a piece of wood. He said that he was playing a violin. Haydn liked music, and he was to become the first great master of the symphony and string quartet.

Although Haydn's parents didn't want to, they sent young Haydn to school at Cantorei when he was not yet six. There, he learned to play the violin and the clavier. Of course, he sang.

One day, a man named Reutter came to visit. When he heard Haydn's singing, Reutter was delighted and took Haydn with him to Vienna. So Haydn lived next to St. Stephens Cathedral for nine years.

During choir, Haydn looked at the pigtail of the boy in front of him. Desperate for something to use his new scissors on, Haydn cut off the pigtail. It was only a wig, but Reutter beat Haydn anyway. Then Haydn was kicked out of the choir, leaving Haydn's brother, Michael to take his place. At this point, Haydn was 17.

Haydn started the job of conducting a small orchestra in the court of Count von Morzin. From the two years he kept this position, Haydn's overall salary was $200, a meager amount.

Now Haydn was 27. He fell in love with a girl named Theresa, who became a nun. Therefore, Haydn was forced to marry Theresa's sister, Maria. That was a mistake. They didn't love each other, but Haydn was a good man and saw to it that his ex-wife lived happily for the rest of her life.

Then Haydn met Mozart, who Haydn called "The greatest composer I know". They formed an unbreakable life-long relationship with each other, friends to the end.

When Haydn was 58, Solomon proposed to take Haydn to London. All the rest of Haydn's friends said no, because he was too old. But Haydn didn't think so, so he went anyway.

After staying for around 18 months, Haydn returned to Vienna for two and a half years to teach a moody young man called Beethoven. Then he went to London again in 1794 for another one and a half years. There, he bought a talking parrot and got ideas for more music. Haydn returned to Vienna when the one and a half years were up. He began his work on The Creation, considered by most people one of his best pieces.

Haydn was in his 60s when his wife died, and he wasn't as strong as he was before. In this way, he couldn't work on music very much. Austria and France were fighting a war, and The Creation was very famous now. Haydn was watching through his window. A French soldier stopped by and sang a small part of The Creation. They embraced each other and each knew that music was much more important than winning a war. Apparently, this soldier had a great interest in music.

Haydn was getting weaker and weaker each day. Then, it happened. In Vienna, on May 31, 1809, Franz Joseph Haydn died in bed, his godson, Essler standing at his side. Haydn was buried in a churchyard.

No one knows exactly how many pieces Haydn composed, but here are the names of some of the pieces.

• The Creation

Bibliography: Mr. Helgerman's cards and posters, Franz Joseph Haydn (A rookie biography), http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/2499/Haydn.html (website)