Enjoying the Culture 153style is the imperial summer residence, Schönbrunn Palace,
commissioned by Maria Theresa.
Paintings from the Baroque Era
The effervescent frescoes of Johann Michael Rottmayr are
found at the monastery in Melk, and again at Karlskirche
and Peterskirche, in Vienna. Daniel Gran’s ceiling frescoes at
the Annakirche and the Prunksall at the National Library are
magnificent in their colour and detail.Music
Haydn, Franz Joseph (1732–1809)
Haydn is known the world over for laying the foundation
of the classical style. After leaving his home in Rohrau,
Burgenland, he started his career in Vienna as a choirboy
at Saint Stephen’s Cathedral. Besides spending 29 years of
his life working for the Esterházy royal family in Eisenstadt,
Burgenland, he was known throughout Europe and even in
North America. London, especially, loved him. He wrote to
a friend after arriving in London, ‘My arrival caused a great
sensation throughout the whole city and I was mentioned in
all the newspapers for three successive weeks.’
Haydn was a slow worker but a consummate artist,
who worked tirelessly in many different realms of musical
composition. He was often affectionately called ‘Papa
Haydn’, as he was a fair conductor compared to his
dictatorial contemporaries. His masses included the Missa
in honourem Beata Maria Virgine, Nelson Mass and Maria
Theresa, and his most famous oratorios were The Seasons
and The Creation. He loved opera and composed and
directed about 20 of them, generally Italian comedies and
classical tragedies, among them Lo Speziale, Il Mondo della
Luna, La Vera Constanza and Armida. Haydn lost interest
in composing operas after recognising Mozart’s superiority
in this field. Of his 100 symphonies, the most popular are La
Passione, Trauer, Farewell, Toy Symphony, The Surprise and
the Paris Symphonies. He also wrote numerous concertos,
marionette operas, string quartets, piano trios, keyboard