Beethoven and His Contemporaries - Beethoven and Joseph Haydn

Beethoven and Joseph Haydn

Perhaps the most important relationship in Beethoven's early life, and certainly the most famous, was the young pianist's tutorship under the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. Beethoven studied with a number of composers and teachers in the period 1792–1795, including Antonio Salieri and Johann Georg Albrechtsberger. However, of all Beethoven's teachers, Haydn enjoyed the greatest reputation, having just returned from his first successful voyage to London. Possibly as early as his first trip to London in 1790, Haydn agreed to take on Beethoven as a student.

There is evidence that Haydn assigned his student composition exercises based on the Fux text Gradus ad Parnassum. During the course of the year, however, the relationship between the two men soured. According to contemporary accounts, the issue surfaced most notably upon the publication of Beethoven's first compositions, the Opus 1 piano trios. Wishing to assist the young composer, Haydn suggested that Beethoven include the phrase 'pupil of Haydn' underneath his name in order to garner advantage from Haydn's considerable fame. There is generally strong evidence of Haydn's goodwill toward Beethoven, including an interest in taking his pupil with him on his second London voyage, and the personal missives Haydn sent to Beethoven's early patron, Maximilian Francis of Austria, Elector of Cologne.

Beethoven, however, seems to have harbored ill-will toward Haydn during some of his life. At the suggestion that he include the phrase pupil of Haydn, Beethoven bristled. According to the account left by Ferdinand Ries, "Beethoven was unwilling to because, as he said, although he had some instruction from Haydn he had never learned anything from him." The bad feelings produced by the Opus 1 Trios were compounded upon their first performance. Haydn, present in the audience, is reported to have recommended against the publication of the C minor Trio (Opus 1, no. 3) since he suspected the music would not gain public acceptance. Beethoven interpreted this as an indication of Haydn's envy and jealousy.

Despite this, however, Beethoven and Haydn remained on generally good terms until Haydn's death in 1809. Beethoven attended the concert in honor of Haydn's 76th birthday, and it is said that he "knelt down before Haydn and fervently kissed the hands and forehead of his old teacher".

Haydn's towering reputation in Vienna made it hard for Beethoven to be openly antagonistic. However, Haydn was also genuinely admiring of Beethoven's compositions, a trait that usually succeeded in earning Beethoven's goodwill.

In his renowned biography of Beethoven, Maynard Solomon notes that, in his later years, "Beethoven unfailingly referred to his old master in terms of reverence, regarding him as the equal" of Mozart and Bach.