Mathias Haydn facts for kids

Mathias Haydn (born January 31, 1699, died September 12, 1763) was the father of two very famous music composers: Joseph and Michael Haydn. Mathias worked as a wheelwright in the Austrian village of Rohrau. A wheelwright is someone who builds and repairs wheels. He also served as Marktrichter, which was like being the mayor of the village.

Mathias Haydn's Life Story

Mathias was born in Hainburg. This small town was not far from Rohrau. His family had lived in Hainburg for a long time. Sadly, his grandparents died during a Turkish attack on the town in 1683.

His father, Thomas Haydn, was also a wheelwright. The family became more successful over time. Mathias himself became the Marktrichter in Rohrau. He owned farmland and a house. His son Joseph, the famous composer, later owned a very large house in Vienna. Joseph also became very wealthy.

Becoming a Master Wheelwright

When Mathias was young, he trained as a wheelwright in Hainburg. In 1717, he began traveling as a journeyman. This means he traveled to different places to learn more about his trade. He spent ten years traveling. During this time, he visited cities like Frankfurt am Main. He returned to Hainburg in 1722 to get a copy of his birth certificate.

In 1727, Mathias returned for good. He became a master wheelwright. He joined the wheelwrights' guild in Hainburg. A guild was a group of people who did the same job. However, he decided to live in nearby Rohrau. There, he built his own house.

His Family and Children

In 1728, Mathias married Maria Koller. She was 21 years old. Maria had worked as a cook in the palace of Count Harrach. The Count was an important person in Rohrau.

Mathias and Maria had twelve children together. Sadly, six of them died when they were babies. The six children who grew up were:

• (Anna Maria) Franziska Haydn (born 1730, died 1781)
• (Franz) Joseph Haydn (born 1732, died 1809)
• (Johann) Michael Haydn (born 1737, died 1806)
• Anna Maria Haydn (born 1739, died 1802)
• Anna Katherina Haydn (born 1739, died before 1801)
• Johann Evangelist Haydn (born 1743, died 1805)

Maria Koller Haydn died in 1754 when she was 47. The next year, Mathias married again. He married Maria Anna Seeder, who was 19. They had five children, but none of them lived to be adults.

Seeing His Sons Succeed

Mathias lived until 1763. He was able to see his two composer sons become successful. Michael was a Kapellmeister (music director) in Grosswardein. Joseph had become Vice-Kapellmeister for the very rich Esterházy family. This family lived in Eisenstadt. Joseph was basically the main music director.

A writer named Georg August Griesinger wrote about Mathias in 1810. He said that Mathias was happy to see Joseph in his Esterházy uniform. The uniform was blue with gold trim. Prince Nikolaus Esterházy also praised Joseph's talent to his father.

Griesinger also wrote about how Mathias died. He said that a pile of wood fell on Mathias while he was working. Mathias broke his ribs and died soon after.

Mathias Haydn's Love for Music

Mathias really enjoyed music. Joseph Haydn told Griesinger about his father's love for music.

Playing the Harp and Singing

Joseph said that his father had traveled a lot for his job. While in Frankfurt am Main, Mathias learned to play the harp. When he became a master craftsman in Rohrau, he kept playing the harp for fun after work. He also had a good singing voice. His wife, Maria, would sing along with him as he played the harp. Joseph remembered these songs even when he was very old.

Albert Christoph Dies, another writer who interviewed Joseph, told a similar story. He added that Mathias taught his children music as best he could. Dies said that Mathias kept singing for fun after he got married. All the children had to join in. They learned the songs and practiced their singing. When his father sang, young Joseph, at age five, would pretend to play a violin. He used a stick on a piece of wood.

For more information, see Haydn and folk music.

Helping His Sons Start Their Careers

Mathias and his wife Maria helped their sons become professional musicians. The stories about how Joseph's career started are told a bit differently by Griesinger and Dies.

Joseph's First Steps in Music

Here is Griesinger's story: One day, a school headmaster from Hainburg visited Rohrau. He was a distant relative of the Haydn family. Mathias and his wife were having their usual small concert. Five-year-old Joseph sat nearby. He pretended to play a violin with a stick on his arm. The headmaster was amazed that Joseph kept time so perfectly. He thought Joseph had a natural talent for music. He told the parents to send Joseph to Hainburg. There, Joseph could learn music. The headmaster said this would help Joseph become a clergyman (a church leader). The parents loved the idea of Joseph becoming a clergyman. So, when Joseph was six, he went to live with the headmaster in Hainburg.

Hainburg is about eleven kilometers (seven miles) from Rohrau. Three years later, Joseph moved to Vienna. He became a professional choir singer for Georg Reutter. Joseph never lived with his parents again after that.

Biographer Dies tells a similar story, also from Joseph Haydn. Dies said that Joseph's father's love for singing was the first step. The father could have made Joseph a wheelwright. Or he could have pushed him to become a priest, which both parents wanted. But Joseph's singing in neighborhood concerts made him famous. Even the schoolmaster knew about his fine voice.

Since the father and schoolmaster were good friends, they talked about Joseph's future in music. They discussed it for a long time. The father still hoped Joseph would become a priest. But finally, they decided. Joseph would stay with music. He would earn an honest living as a music director (Regens chori) or even a Kapellmeister.

Joseph was just over six years old when he left home for Hainburg. He was cared for by the Regens chori. This person helped guide the young boy in his musical journey.

The biographers disagree on some points. They differ on who advised Joseph's parents. They also differ on whether the parents wanted Joseph to be a priest or if they gave up that hope for music. When there are such differences, writers who study Haydn usually trust Griesinger's account more.

Dies also said that after Joseph's singing career ended (when his voice changed), his parents wanted him to become a priest. Joseph was struggling to make a living as a musician in Vienna. But Joseph eventually got his way and continued with music.

Michael's Musical Path

Michael's career started more easily. Joseph's success as a singer helped Michael. According to Dies: Reutter was so impressed by Joseph's talent. He told Mathias that he would take care of all twelve of his sons if he had them. Mathias was very relieved by this offer. He agreed. About five years later, he sent Joseph's brother Michael to study music. Even later, he sent Johann. Both were taken on as choirboys. Joseph was very happy that both his brothers were given to him to train.

Unlike Joseph or Michael, Johann did not become a composer. He worked as a tenor singer for the Esterházy family. Joseph might have paid for his support.

Mathias Haydn's Social Standing

Some stories about the Haydn family say they were very poor or were peasants. But this might not be true. Karl Geiringer wrote about Mathias's social standing.

Geiringer said that Mathias lived in a house he built himself in Rohrau. He was quite successful from the start. Many writers have said that Joseph's father was extremely poor. The small, low-roofed, thatched cottage where the Haydns lived seems to support this idea. It makes people feel sorry for them. Beethoven himself, when shown a picture of the Haydn house, said, "Strange that so great a man should have been born in so poor a house!"

However, Geiringer disagreed with the idea of poverty. He found proof in the bills Mathias sent to Count Harrach for his work. He also looked at Mathias's tax records. It seems Mathias had his own wine cellar, farmland, and some cattle. This shows he was not poor at all.

Mathias as Marktrichter

From 1741 to 1761, Mathias was the Marktrichter (which means "market judge") of Rohrau. He had important duties. He had to make sure people went to church. He also made sure they did not work on Sundays. It was his job to divide up the work that the Count Harrach needed done among the people of Rohrau. He was also in charge of keeping the local roads in good condition.

Every Sunday morning at six, he had to report to the Count's manager. He would tell him about all these matters. Every two years, there was a big meeting for the whole community. At this meeting, the Marktrichter had to give a detailed report of all the work done.

Visits to Joseph in Vienna

Even though Mathias sent his sons away from home when they were young, he still cared about them. A few years later, Joseph was working as a musician in Vienna. He lived in very simple rooms. His home was robbed. Mathias came to Vienna to help his son.