Esterházy

The comet here appeared to his parents a good omen of his future.

The father, belonging to a not very wealthy family of the old nobility, was, in his prime, accountant at Eisenstadt with that Prince Nicholas Esterhazy for whom Joseph Haydn was Kapellmeister.

As he enjoyed the personal acquaintance of the honored master of the quartet, mostly at card-playing, which he practiced as a recreation in the midst of his always severe labor, he was brought into a sphere which was peculiarly musical in its character, and which furnished his own nature with the richest food.

For Father Liszt was on terms of personal friendship also with that best scholar of Mozart's, the distinguished pianist Hummel, born at Pressburg in seventeen seventy-eight, who officiated many years as the prince's Kapellmeister at Eisenstadt and Esterhazy.

No one esteemed him more highly as a pianist.

His playing had made an indelible impression upon him.

He had long manifested a desire to play in public and exhibited much ease and courage.

We interrupt the narrative at this point to inquire what was the active source of this inner consecration to art, as well as of the passionate impulse to exhibit it in public.

1754-1781.

At Prince Esterhazy's.

part a his hours were occupied with lesson-giving and studies music so far monopolized his time that at this period no other than musical books came into his hands the only exceptions were the works of metastasio and these can hardly be called an exception as metastasio always wrote for music and therefore a kapellmeister who had determined to try his powers in opera ought to have been acquainted with his writings as these we know from haydn himself that an italian singer and opera composer was his last instructor in thorough bass and that he had composed much but was not firmly grounded that is was not correct and strong until he had the good fortune to study the fundamental principles of composition with the famous porpora the neapolitan niccolo porpora was in vienna from seventeen fifty three to seventeen fifty seven he belonged to that early school of italian opera which dominated nearly all europe the charm of melody predominated at this time and with it the art of singing they had reached their highest point smoothly flowing melody however was considered the main essential and above all things clearness and very simple harmonic structure characterized this school haydn played the accompaniments when porpora gave singing lessons to the ten-year-old martinez and to the mistress of an ambassador and was paid with lessons in composition from the impetuous and supercilious old master ass vagabond blockhead alternating with blows greeted this not very accomplished didesco german for three months he filled the position of servant and blacked his master's shoes but i improved in singing in composition and in italian very much says the modest mechanic's son who plain and simple himself loved his art above all else in fact compared with the german music before him or even with philip emanuel bach's sonatas haydn's style at once shows not only that he had abandoned the tuddesk german of which the italians complained but that he had obtained a more refined phrasing of melody and a greater clearness of harmony whereas the art of bach had not advanced beyond the intellectual and characteristic he also gave up embellishments and manifested a strong desire for the pure lines and above all recognized that symmetry of construction which was rare among the germans themselves and yet constitutes an essential feature of modern german instrumental music the first larger works of haydn were also italian operas he apprised them very much himself and they were also very pleasing to others and it was only a deep inward feeling for the calling he had chosen and a happy chance which gave him the opportunity of satisfying that feeling that saved him from a course which certainly might have secured him speedy fame and fortune but not that immortal halo of glory which crowns the father of the symphony he even declined an invitation from gluck at that time the most celebrated of the italian opera composers to go to italy apart from this it may be said incidentally we learn of no nearer relations between these two artists temperament character and the objects of their ambition kept them widely apart haydn now devoted himself still more earnestly to studies of a theoretical nature from sixteen to eighteen hours daily work was his rule two-thirds of the time

being devoted to the necessities of life

There was no one to distract or torment me, and I was compelled to become original.

Such a statement as this, which is made to Griesinger, shows what an important influence his life at this period had upon his artistic development.

There are many other interesting details of this Esterhazy life, Griesinger says.

Fishing and hunting were Haydn's favorite pleasures during his stay in Hungary.

That's E-S-T-E-R-H-A-Z-Y-S.

One of the great aristocratic families of the Habsburg world.

The Esterházyrs controlled enormous estates in the Kingdom of Hungary.

One of their important centers was Galata, today in Slovakia.

And at Galatia, we find Jews and Gypsies living under the authority of the same castle family.

The Esterházyrs had established relationships with particular Gypsy families by the 17th century.

Surviving documents show Roma leaders receiving protection connected with the Escherbaugh family.

Their relatives and descendants appear in the records, demonstrating that these relationships could continue across a generation.