thumb|250px|Portrait of Haydn by [[Thomas Hardy (English painter)|Thomas Hardy, 1792]] Franz Joseph Haydn (; ; 31 MarchThe date is uncertain. Haydn himself told others he was born on this day (Geiringer (1982, 9); Jones (1810, 8)), but some of his family members reported 1 April instead (Geiringer). The difficulty arises from the fact that in Haydn's day official records recorded not the birth date but rather the date of baptism, which in Haydn's case was 1 April (Wyn Jones 2009, 2–3). 173231 May 1809), known as Joseph Haydn,Although he is sometimes called "Franz Joseph Haydn", the name "Franz" was not used in the composer's lifetime and is avoided by scholars today. (Webster, James: "Haydn, Joseph", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 18 January 2007), http://www.grovemusic.com). See also Haydn's name.
was an AustrianWebster and Feder, 2001 composer, one of the most prolific and prominent of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms. He was also instrumental in the development of the piano trio and in the evolution of sonata form.
thumb|250px|Portrait of Haydn by [[Thomas Hardy (English painter)|Thomas Hardy, 1792]] Franz Joseph Haydn (; ; 31 MarchThe date is uncertain. Haydn himself told others he was born on this day (Geiringer (1982, 9); Jones (1810, 8)), but some of his family members reported 1 April instead (Geiringer). The difficulty arises from the fact that in Haydn's day official records recorded not the birth date but rather the date of baptism, which in Haydn's case was 1 April (Wyn Jones 2009, 2–3). 173231 May 1809), known as Joseph Haydn,Although he is sometimes called "Franz Joseph Haydn", the name "Franz" was not used in the composer's lifetime and is avoided by scholars today. (Webster, James: "Haydn, Joseph", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 18 January 2007), http://www.grovemusic.com). See also Haydn's name.
was an AustrianWebster and Feder, 2001 composer, one of the most prolific and prominent of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms. He was also instrumental in the development of the piano trio and in the evolution of sonata form.
A lifelong resident of Austria, Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family on their remote estate. Isolated from other composers and trends in music until the later part of his long life, he was, as he put it, "forced to become original".Haydn made the remark to his friend and biographer Georg August Griesinger; cited from English version by Vernon Gotwals (Griesinger 1963:17) At the time of his death, he was one of the most celebrated composers in Europe.
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