Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn, (March 31 or April 1 1732 – May 31 1809) was a leading composer of the Classical period, called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet". Although he has come to be popularly known as "Franz Joseph Haydn" (with many published scores and recordings using this full name), Haydn used his second name much of his life, spelling it in German as "Josef" and signing letters and documents as "Josef Haydn".

Character and appearance

Haydn was known among his contemporaries for his kindly, optimistic, and congenial personality. He had a robust sense of humor, evident in his love of practical jokes and often apparent in his music. He was particularly respected by the Eszterházy court musicians whom he supervised, as he maintained a cordial working atmosphere and effectively represented the musicians' interests with their employer; see Papa Haydn.

Related Topics:
Optimistic - Practical joke - Papa Haydn

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Haydn was a devout Catholic who often turned to his rosary when he had trouble composing, a practice that he usually found to be effective. When he finished a composition, he would write "Laus deo" ("praise be to God") or some similar expression at the end of the manuscript. His favorite hobbies were hunting and fishing.

Related Topics:
Catholic - Rosary - Hunting - Fishing

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Haydn was short in stature, perhaps as a result of having been underfed throughout most of his youth. Like many in his day, he was a survivor of smallpox, and his face was pitted with the scars of this disease. He was not handsome, and was quite surprised when women flocked to him during his London visits.

Related Topics:
Smallpox - Scars

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About a dozen portraits of Haydn exist, and they disagree sufficiently that, other than what is noted above, we have rather little idea what Haydn looked like. All but one of the portraits show Haydn wearing the gray powdered wig fashionable for men in the 18th century, and from the one exception we learn that Haydn was bald in adulthood.

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