Joseph Haydn

Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809).
He was one of the most prominent composers of the classical period, and is called by some the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet". A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent most of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Hungarian Esterházy family on their remote estate. Isolated from other composers and trends in music until the later part of his long life, he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". Although Haydn is still often called "Franz Joseph Haydn", the composer did not use the name "Franz" during his lifetime and this misnomer is avoided by modern scholars and historians.