This site was created to showcase the compositions of Franz Joseph Haydn as played by one of the 20th century's great unknown pianists, John Rinehart.
F ranz Joseph Haydn, eldest of the First Great Viennese School of musicians, was born in 1732 in the Austrian village of Rohrau and soon took to his musical studies in nearby Vienna. As an adult, after various positions as a music teacher (his most famous pupil being Ludvig Van Beethoven), Haydn accepted the position of court composer for the aristocratic Hungarian Esterhazy family, based in Austria. This position would last him the rest of his life. Due to his patron Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy's high social ambitions to entertain and therefore enormous expectations as an employer, Haydn gained a reputation as one of the most prolific composers of all time. Regarded as the chief creator of the modern forms of symphony, concerto, sonata and string quartet, he wrote an unmatched 104 symphonies in his day. These included such famous works as the Surprise Symphony and Paris Symphonies, as well as 15 operas and 12 masses to name but a few. Due to the strict contract drawn with his employer he wasn't able to travel Europe with his music and reap the benefits of increasing international fame until late in life. Haydn eventually returned to Vienna though, living out his final years until his death in 1809.
J OHN RINEHART has a MAIN page and SECOND page on the friends list below for anyone interested in knowing more about his life and hearing his compositions as well as other performances. Also visit his BACH MySpace , MOZART MySpace , BEETHOVEN MySpace , CHOPIN MySpace and BRAHMS MySpace pages showcasing 4 performances each and a DEBUSSY MySpace account featuring one performance (En Blanc et Noir).
This site was written/constructed, maintained and monitored by John Rinehart Jr. All recordings displayed here are the sole property of John Rinehart, copyright 2006.