The mature composer was by no means set in his ways; he was flexible and receptive to new ideas. By the 1780s, Haydn’s contract permitted him outside commissions. The Esterházy connection meant that conductors such as Antal Dorati with the Philharmonia Hungarica and, more recently, Adam Fischer with the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, made it their business to record the complete symphonies, all 104 of the numbered ones – a treasure trove. Haydn, not yet six years old, left home, never to return to the parental cottage except for rare brief visits. Thanks to the burgeoning music publishing industry, Haydn’s music became popular across Europe. Even if that’s not strictly true, his creativity shaped western classical music, Wed 14 Oct 2020 12.00 BST ibid, 201. In 1766 Haydn became musical director at the Esterházy court. Go to the Florestan for the piano trios, and Cecilia Bartoli is a richly expressive Haydn singer. Haydn was hired by Prince Paul Anton in 1761, and from 1762 to 1790 served under Paul Anton's successor Nikolaus. The most important seat of the Esterházys was Eisenstadt (Hungarian: Kismarton), since the heads of the family chose to make a castle in this tiny village their primary residence. His Corps participated in various actions between July and October, 1792, after which he received the Commanders Cross of the Order of St. Stephen. In 1740, Maria Theresa’s accession as empress of the Holy Roman empire had triggered the war of Austrian succession, followed by the seven years’ war. Working briefly as valet-accompanist to the composer Nicola Porpora (singing teacher of the famous castrato Farinelli), he was introduced to many of Vienna’s cultural movers and shakers, among them imperial court poet Metastasio and composers Hasse and Gluck. Beethoven’s anniversary year is a good moment to recognise that, without Joseph Haydn, there would not have been Beethoven. The musical director of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna had observed the boy on a visit to Hainburg and invited him to serve as chorister at the Austrian capital’s most important church. He is remembered as the principal employer of the composer Joseph Haydn. In the discussion that follows, Hungarian names are given in brackets. Their practical reason for choosing to create and maintain the princely court at Eisenstadt may have been that while the region was in Hungary, it had been mainly settled by Germans, and was situated rather close to the Habsburgs' Imperial residence, Vienna. His ambitious plans were supported by Prince Miklós, who, on the death of his brother in 1762, had become head of the Esterházy family. There is great clarity in performances by the Quatuor Mosaïques, while both the Kodály Quartet and Takács Quartet bring Hungarian sensibilities to their authoritative playing. Galanta, Slovakia (from 1421 owned by the House of Esterházy), Forchtenstein Castle, Austria (since 1622 until today owned by the family), Schloss Esterházy, Eisenstadt, Austria (since 1649 until today), Former monastery at Edelstetten (in Neuburg an der Kammel, Bavaria) (since 1804 until today), Lackenbach estate, Austria (since 1618 until today), Želiezovce estate, Slovakia (where the composer Franz Schubert taught music to the Count's daughters), Prince Joseph [József Simon Antal] (1688–1721), Prince Paul Anton [Pál Antal] (1711–1762), Prince Nikolaus "the Magnificent" [Miklós József] (1714–1790), Prince Nikolaus II [Miklós Ferdinánd] (1765–1833), Prince Paul Anton III [Pál Antal] (1786–1866), Prince Nikolaus III [Miklós Pál] (1817–1894), Prince Nikolaus IV [Miklós Pál] (1869–1920), Prince Paul [Pál Maria Alois Antal Miklós Victor] (1901–1989), Prince Anton Rudolf Marie Georg Christoph Hubertus Johannes Karl Aglaë (born 1936), Encyclopædia Britannica, 1988 edition, article "Eszterházy". Created Count by the Emperor in 1626, he achieved great wealth in part by marrying (twice) into money. When Haydn was a child, he received a basic music education from his cousin. With persistence and energy, Haydn made progress. War was an almost constant background in 18th-century Europe. Their generous patronage of the art amply demonstrated that Prince Esterházy and the King of Naples were connoisseurs of fine music. Like several of his predecessors Nikolaus II pursued a military career. As well as The Creation, and The Seasons, the ageing Haydn – a devout Catholic, who habitually wrote “In nomine Domini” at the beginning of every piece and “Laus Deo” at the end – returned to settings of the mass, now on a larger scale. Soon Haydn was invited to enter the service of Prince Pál Antal Esterházy. Our latest podcast episode features popular TED speaker Mara Mintzer. Many of these, even Gluck, advised him to travel to Italy and France, but his timidity and his limited circumstances held him back; and if he spoke a word about it in the hearing of his Prince, the latter pressed a dozen ducats into his hand, and so he abandoned all such projects again.1, My Prince was content with all my works, I received approval, I could, as head of an orchestra, make experiments, observe what enhanced an effect, and what weakened it, thus improving, adding to, cutting away, and running risks.