Haydn biography video on michael

Austrian composer (1737–1806)

For other people with similar names, see Michael Hayden (disambiguation).

Johann Michael Haydn (German:[ˈhaɪdn̩]^ⓘ; 14 September 1737 – 10 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn.

Haydn biography video on michael

Life

Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau, near the Hungarian border. His father was Mathias Haydn, a wheelwright who also served as "Marktrichter", an office akin to village mayor.

Haydn's mother Maria, née Koller, had previously worked as a cook in the palace of Count Harrach, the presiding aristocrat of Rohrau. Mathias was an enthusiastic folk musician, who during the journeyman period of his career had taught himself to play the harp, and he also made sure that his children learned to sing.

Michael went to Vienna at the age of eight, his early professional career path being paved by his older brother Joseph, whose skillful singing had landed him a p