Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, in 1732, the child of working people in a rural village. He began as a chorister at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, went through an arduous period as a freelance musician, and then spent much of his working life as music director for the wealthy Esterházy family.
He was pivotal in shaping the string quartet and the piano trio, and is often called the “Father of the Symphony”. After his patron Nikolaus Esterházy died in 1790, Haydn was free to travel and added to his fame in London and Vienna. He died in Vienna on 31 May 1809.