Joseph Haydn Accomplishments

Joseph Haydn is widely regarded as one of the most significant composers of the Classical Era. He was born in 1732 and died in 1809 in Austria. In 1761, Haydn accepted the position of Vice-Capellmeister (Assistant Musical Director) at the Esterhazy Palace in Vienna. His three “Time of Day symphonies” were composed the same year, beginning with No. 6 that spring . The three symphonies were among some of his earliest commissions from the new patron, who seemed to have had a strong liking for program music . The idea for the symphonies is said to have been suggested by Prince Anton Esterhazy himself . The Prince loved Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” piece, and wanted something similar depicting the times of day. Although four quartets were requested
One example is the minuet. Although the minuet had already existed as a dance piece, incorporating it into the concerto was somewhat of a new trend. Haydn did this for the first time with these three particular symphonies . Haydn also drew a lot from the recently developed style of divertimento, a musical form he excelled in . For instance, he broke away from Pre-Classical limitations on woodwind instruments, and as in divertimento, gave them the chance to perform alone. This is exemplified in the last movement of No. 8, where as mentioned earlier, the flutes are used to evoke lightning. On the other hand, this also could have resulted from Haydn wanting to show off his new performers through solos . Either way, Haydn’s use of divertimento helps to synthesize his personal style by integrating relatively newer musical
For instance, the slow introductions of No. 6 and No. 7 “establish a precedent which was to become one of the features most closely associated with Haydn” . Furthermore, as stated earlier, Haydn included minuets in the third movements of his symphonies for the first time in No. 6 – 8. From then on, nearly all of his symphonies incorporated them . Another device that became representative of Haydn’s new style was the fermata (a musical notation that indicates to hold the note longer). He used the fermata for the first time in these symphonies, as shown in the first movement of No. 8, over a deceptive cadence to increase the surprise effect (See Fig. 1) . This was another inclination revealed through the “Time of Day” symphonies, as Haydn enjoyed presenting surprise and novelty into his compositions . Overall, these three works were an elemental milestone in Haydn’s career in terms of finding his own compositional