As the final movement progresses we see the musicians, one by one, arise from their seats, blow out their candles and leave the stage. The ‘Farewell Symphony’ is, perhaps, one of the more subtle of his pranks. Haydn has been a bit of a prankster is well-known, and many of his compositions have an element of surprise. Someone calculated that there are over 340 hours of music. The fact that lived until he was 77 helped, but his 106 symphonies, 90+ string quartets, 62 piano sonatas and 32 piano trios is larger than any of the other great composers. Haydn’s musical output was prodigious.The name of the melody is simply ‘Austria’. The tune for the German and Austrian national anthems written by Haydn is frequently sung in English and American churches to the words ‘Glorious things of thee are spoken’ (written in 1779 by Englishman John Newton).Haydn and Mozart were not only good friends, but they also played in string quartets together in Vienna during the 1780’s.The Austrian national anthem was written in 1797 and was said to be inspired by Haydn’s two stays in England where he was inspired by how the English National Anthem united the British at the time, in 1797, Austria was under the threat of invasion from the French so Haydn composed the tune for them.The tune became the basis for both the German and Austrian national anthems. One of Haydn’s most enduring tunes was the one originally written for his String Quartet No.However, recent research suggests that the chandelier incident occurred during the premiere of a later work, Symphony No. It was always believed that Haydn’s Symphony No.96 in D Major was nicknamed the ‘Miracle Symphony’ on account of a chandelier crashing to the ground during its premiere and no one being hurt – seems they had all rushed to the front of the auditorium to cheer at the end of the performance, so missed it.Sadly, the two didn’t get on and Beethoven is famously quoted as later saying, ‘I learned nothing from Haydn’. Haydn briefly taught Ludwig van Beethoven when the young upstart went to Vienna in 1792 Haydn had seen his work and heard him play a few years previously and had offered to teach him there.He spent many years away from home and, apparently, neither of them ever opened each others’ letters. There is no suggestion that she knew, but they were never happy together and she bore him no children. The lady in question joined a convent and he married her sister instead. Like his friend, Mozart, and his one-time pupil, Beethoven, Haydn didn’t marry the woman he loved.In his own words, Joseph Haydn wasn’t a good-looking fellow, but he could never understand why beautiful women found him attractive.Mozart died aged only 35 whereas Haydn lived until he was 77. Unlike Mozart, who was a close friend of his, Haydn made a lot of money from his work and also unlike Mozart, he lived for a very long time. His efforts were rewarded when his talent was spotted and he was offered a position with the Italian composer Nicola Popora.
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