"Who wrote the music?"
"I did, sir."
The old gentleman came down, saying, "Come with me." He led the way to a
large room where a fine piano stood. He explained to young Haydn that he
wanted him to compose the music for an opera which he had written. Haydn
agreed to do the work, for which he was to receive a hundred and thirty
pieces of money.
After this, Haydn was no longer poor. He rented a better room, but he
never forgot the barber's kindness. Some years later he married the
barber's daughter, Anne.
Haydn was fond of a joke. One time, as he and a friend were walking
together, they passed an inn. The sound of music came from within. "Did
you not write that music, Haydn?" said his friend. "Yes," answered the
composer. "Let us enter and have some fun with the players."
Once inside the inn, Haydn demanded, "Who wrote that music which you are
playing?"
"Joseph Haydn," was the reply.
"Well, it is not fit to be heard," said Haydn.
That made the musicians angry. They became still more angry when they
saw how the two strangers were laughing. The players could not see the
joke, until, as the two friends left the rooms, one of them said, "You
need not mind, for I am Joseph Haydn, myself."
THE CHAPEL MASTER
In olden times a prince often kept an orchestra in his own palace. It
was necessary to have a leader for the orchestra. The leader, who
trained the musicians and wrote music for them to play, was called the
chapel master. In 1761 Joseph Haydn was given a fine position. He became
chapel master in the household of a noble prince.
This prince lived in a magnificent palace. His friends were the kings
and queens of Europe. When these royal visitors came to the palace, he
entertained them with concerts and operas.
To furnish such music, the prince needed a large orchestra, and singers
as well. He paid his musicians large sums of money, and treated them
with great care. He required them to dress in white stockings and
powdered wigs.
It was a part of Haydn's work to train all the musicians in the palace
and to compose music for them. He was also expected to have a new piece
of music ready for the prince each morning. The prince was a musician
himself, and Haydn worked hard to please him.
For almost thirty years, Joseph Haydn lived in the palace of the prince.
During that time he wrote hundreds of pieces of music. He is best known
for his symphonies and quartets. Every line that he wrote was bright and
cheerful and full of sweet melody. His fame spread throughout Europe.
Visitors who came to the palace went home and spoke of the beautiful
music that Joseph Haydn composed.
Haydn received invitations from France, Italy, and England, asking him
to visit those countries. He loved the prince so much that he did not
accept these invitations. He felt, too, that no one could take his place
as the prince's chapel master.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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