The first of the great composers of the Classical period, Franz Josef Haydn is often given credit for inventing the String Quartet and the Symphony as we know them today. Although he was undoubtedly a genius, he never had the rebellious spirit of Mozart (his friend) and Beethoven (briefly his student). Haydn spent most of his career as the “Kapellmeister” (sort of an in-house musical director) for the wealthy Esterhazy family in Austria.

 

Despite coming from a poor and difficult childhood, Haydn was a cheerful and optimistic person. He was well-liked and respected by the other musicians he knew and worked with, who often took to calling him “Papa”.

 

In addition to Quartets and Symphonies, each of which he wrote hundreds, Haydn wrote operas, concertos and every other form of music that was popular at his time. One of the oratorios he wrote near the end of his life, called The Creation, features a musical representation of chaos that is so dissonant and ahead of it’s time that it could almost be mistaken for music from the twentieth century!