Born: March 31, 1732; Rohrau, Austria
Died: May 31, 1809; Vienna, Austria
Nationality: Austria
Franz Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer
of the Classical period who was born on March 31, 1732 and died on May 31,
1809. He played an important role in the development of chamber music, such as
the piano trio. He is called "Father of the Symphony" or "Father
of the String Quartet".
Haydn was a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy
family and the most famous composer in Europe for much of his career. He was also Mozart's friend and mentor,
Beethoven's tutor and composer Michael Haydn’s older brother.
Haydn, John Hoppner (1791)
On the evening of May 26, 1809, he collapsed
and was moved to his bed that died a few days later. He died peacefully at
12:40 am on May 31, 1809 at the age of 77. On June 15, a funeral was held in the
Schottenkirche in Vienna, while Mozart's Requiem was performed. Haydn’s remains
were buried in the Hundsturm cemetery, and then in 1820, they were transferred
to Eisenstadt by Prince Nikolaus.
Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, Haydn's most important patron
A famous incident related to Haydn is that
his grave was dug up and his head disappeared shortly after the burial of his
remains. His bereaved families fell into great shock and were desperately
trying to find his head, but no progress was made.
Portrait of Haydn, Ludwig Guttenbrunn
Then it turns out that an Austrian noble
asked Peter and Rosenbaum to bring his head to investigate Haydn's brain, who
had a genius talent for music. However, in order to sell Haydn's head at a more
expensive price, they cheated the noble and handed him over the head of other
dead old man at similar age as Haydn. Then they sold his head to other person,
and for more than 100 years, Haydn's head was continuously being traded across
Europe.
Joseph Haydn Playing Quartets
Then succeeding in finding Haydn's head, his
descendants and the Austrian government requested a return lawsuit for his head,
but the owner of the head rejected over the lawsuit. In this situation, due to
the outbreaks of World War I and World War II, the lawsuit was temporarily
suspended. Subsequently, in June 1954, they won the lawsuit,
and Haydn's head was able to return to his homeland in 145 years after
stealing.
Haydn wax sculpture, Franz Thaler (c. 1800)
Haydn's tomb, Bergkirche, Eisenstadt
Thank you.
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