Franz Joseph Haydn (Austria, 1732-1809)

Because he was considered the father of the mature classical forms of both the symphony and the string quartet, Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn (b. Rohrau, 31 March 1732; d. Vienna, 31 May 1809) was dubbed "Papa Haydn" by his 19th-century inheritors.

One of the most masterful and inventive musicians of his era, he wrote over 100 symphonies, 68 string quartets, many piano trios and divertimenti, 45 piano sonatas, 14 Masses, numerous concertos for violin, cello, harpsichord and

The son of a wheelwright and a cook, Haydn astounded his teachers at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna with a phenomenal musical memory as a choirboy. Upon leaving the cathedral when his voice changed, he made his living hand-to-mouth as a street musician and occasional teacher, living in a unheated ga