The Life of Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer of the early Classical period. ​He was
born on ​March 31st 1732 and died on May 31st 1809​. He helped establish the forms
and styles for the string quartet and the symphony. He also composed masses and
oratorios. His important works during the period (1768-1774) where he was marked as a
composer were the string quartets of Opus 20, the Piano Sonata in C Minor, the
symphonies in minor keys especially the so-called Trauersymphonie in E Minor No. 44
(Mourning Symphony), and the “Farewell” Symphony, No. 45.

When Haydn was young, he sang in a church choir, learned to play various instruments,
and obtained a good basic knowledge of music. His life changed significantly at the time
he was 8. His parents decided to move to live in Vienna at that time. With no money and
few possessions, Haydn at 17 was left to his own devices. He found refuge for a while
in the garret of a fellow musician and supported himself “miserably” with odd musical
jobs. However with the motivation, he made progress and was eventually introduced to
the music-loving Austrian nobleman Karl Joseph von Fürnberg, in whose home he
played chamber music.

Reference Link: ​https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Haydn

The Life of Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a middle classical composer, who was born​ in Austria
on ​January 27th 1756 ​and died on ​December 5th 1791​. He showed ​prodigious ability
from his earliest childhood and ​was very entrenched in Classical tradition. His famous
compositions were the “Sonata in C Major K 545”, “Turkish March” (which I both play on
the piano) and the “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”. There were 7 children in his family and
Mozart was the youngest of all. He created his first musical compositions when he was
either 4 or 5 years old. In his early years, he started to learn music by his father.

When Mozart was young, he ​made several European journeys with his family where he
and his elder sister performed as child prodigies. After returning with his father from the
trip, Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg. He had many
friends and admirers in Salzburg and had the opportunity to work in many genres,
including symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, masses, serenades, and a few minor
operas. In 1775, he developed an interest for violin concertos, and in 1776, he turned
his efforts into piano concertos. In August 1777, Mozart resigned his position at
Salzburg and this might be due to his low salaries and the shutdown of the court
theatre. He became well with his new career in Vienna. He completed the opera Die
Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), which premiered on 16th
July 1782 and achieved considerable success.

Reference Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart#Life_and_career
The Life of Beethoven

Ludwig Van Beethoven was a ​German composer and pianist of the​ late Classical
period. He was born on December 1770 in Bonn, Germany and died on ​March 26th
1827 in Austria. He is considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time, and
during his life, he composed 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32
piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, 2 masses, and the opera ​Fidelio.​ He even composed
the Fur Elise song which was one of the most famous.

Beethoven had his father as his first music teacher and later had other local teachers.
He received a harsh treatment during the 5th year of tuition. Some time after 1779, he
started to have lessons with his most important teacher, Neefe, where he taught him
composition. Neefe helped him to write his first composition by March 1783, which is a
set of keyboard variations. In December 1786, Beethoven travelled to Vienna to study
with Mozart. As Beethoven found out that his mother was ill, he returned quickly back to
Bonn in May 1787 and his mother died shortly thereafter. His father was the one in
charge to take care of the 2 children, and spent the next 5 years in Bonn. Beethoven
moved to Vienna in 1792 and immediately found out that his father died, so did Mozart.

In 1798, Beethoven had a loss in hearing and became deaf from the rage causing
disruption to his work. It was very difficult to recover his hearing, that it only partially
recovered. As early in 1801, he wrote to his friends about his symptoms and the
difficulties they caused in both professional and social settings. Suggested by his
doctor, Beethoven had to live in the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt, just outside
Vienna, from April to October 1802 in an attempt to come to terms with his condition.
Over time, his hearing loss got more serious but did not prevent him from composing
music. After his failed attempt in 1811 to perform his own Piano Concerto No. 5 (the
"Emperor"), which was premiered by his student Carl Czerny, he never performed in
public again until he directed the premiere performance of the Ninth Symphony in 1824.
Beethoven had a large collection of hearing aids such as air horns, in order for him to
hear.

Beethoven had other difficulties in his life where his love life was disrupted by class
issues and that he became seriously ill, suffering headaches and high fever. Per his
doctor’s advice, he spent six weeks in the Bohemian spa town of Teplitz. Again in
winter, he was still ill during the premiere of his work on the 7th Symphony and thus
advised by his doctor to spend the summer of 1812 at the spa Teplitz. In early 1813, he
apparently went through a difficult emotional period, causing a decline in his
compositional output and the quality of his personal appearance, but the good thing was
that he showed his manners in public. He was finally motivated to do an important
composition in June 1813. From 1815 to 1817, there was a decline in his output which
was the inflammatory fever he had for more than a year since October 1816. By early
1818, his health has improved and he started composing more songs over the years.
Beethoven died on 26th March 1827 at the age of 56 during a thunderstorm.

​ ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven
Reference Link: h