Born: 1732, Rohrau, Austria
Died: 1809, Vienna, Austria

“The free arts and the beautiful science of composition will not tolerate technical chains. The mind and the soul must be free.”

Few composers come close to Haydn in terms of both the quantity and the quality of their production, and of its historical importance. In a lifetime that ran from the high Baroque of Bach and Handel, across the whole Classical era and the short life of Mozart, up to the dawn of Romanticism and Beethoven’s first six symphonies, Haydn not only lived through a period of enormous cultural change, he helped impel it. Writing prolifically in all genres, he virtually created the string quartet and did much to establish the symphony.

Further listening:
Six String Quartets, Op. 33 (1781)
Kodály Quartet (Naxos)

Mass in C, “Missa in tempore belli” (1796)
Soloists, Collegium Musicum 90,
Richard Hickox (Chandos)

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