Haydn and Mozart - Freemasonry

Freemasonry

It may have been Mozart who attempted to bring Haydn into Freemasonry. Mozart joined the lodge called "Zur Wohltätigkeit" ("Beneficence") on 14 December 1784, and Haydn applied to the lodge "Zur wahren Eintracht" ("True Concord") on 29 December 1784. Lodge records show that Mozart frequently attended "Zur wahren Eintracht" as a visitor. Haydn's admission ceremony was held on 11 February 1785; Mozart could not attend due to a concert that night.

Although Mozart remained an enthusiastic Mason (see Mozart and Freemasonry), Haydn did not; in fact, there is no evidence that he ever attended a meeting after his admittance ceremony, and he was dropped from the lodge's rolls in 1787. Yet in strange and poignant irony, Mozart the enthusiastic Mason was far less successful at gaining actually remunerated Masonic patronage, than Haydn who was far less interested ultimately in Freemasonry itself. Indeed, it was Haydn who received a hefty commission from the Loge Olimpique in Paris for what became his famous Paris symphonies. Thus, the result was that Haydn, not Mozart, produced the greatest musical masterpieces as the direct result of paid Masonic commission, which has meaning related to both composers and their attitude towards the Masonic Craft.