From the ARCHIVE

In his early life, Franz Joseph Haydn supported himself as a violinist. T. Lamb Phipson gives an account of the composer’s formative years

FROM THE STRAD

SEPTEMBER 1903

VOL.14 NO.161

NIKOLAJ LUND

Whilst Haydn was a little boy, about eight years of age, it happened that Herr Reutter, the choir-master of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, accidentally made his acquaintance. This choir-master induced his father to allow Haydn to go to Vienna, for Haydn was endowed by nature with a very sweet quality of voice.

At first, Reutter treated him well, and soon found that he had acquired a perfect jewel; but when, towards fifteen years of age, his voice broke, the hardhearted choir-master most cruelly turned him into the streets. It appears that, some time previously, this wretched man proposed to the boy that he should go to Italy for a certain surgical operation which would enable him to sing all his life in the soprano key. Mathias Haydn, the father, when he learnt the real nature of this infamous proposal, refused to allow his son to accept it.

The first night the poor lad did not know where to go, but was found asleep under the doorway of the Cathedral by the watchmen who were on duty. Hearing what had occurred, they kindly took him to their house, where he slept before a good fire, and next morning two of them proceeded to conduct him back to Reutter to make enquiries. But on the way, a poor violinist named Spangler met them. Spangler was surprised at his young friend’s musical talent, and at the rapid progress he made in composition. For, as he could no longer sing, and it was found difficult to get him into any orchestra as a violinist, he devoted his time to composition, whilst Spangler went to fulfil his own engagements.

Down below in the same house, was a wig maker named Keller, who was very fond of music. He often came to the little lodging in the fourth floor, where there was an old clavecin, to listen to a sonata for violin, the first of Haydn’s compositions. Finally, Keller got Haydn appointed as first violin in the orchestra of the Reverend Fathers of Pity, and he also called the attention of his friends to some new compositions for clavecin, and got Haydn a few pupils.

One day, as Haydn was tuning the clavecin of the Countess de Thun, the lady herself came unawares into the room, attracted by and astonished at his improvisations on her splendid instrument. She ended by giving him an order to write a sonata for her, for which she paid him in advance the sum of twenty-five ducats.

This was, indeed, a stroke of fortune for the young musician; but it did not end there. The Countess afterwards introduced Haydn to Prince Esterhazy, who engaged him as his Master of the Music, and at whose Court he remained for the rest of his life.

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