Joseph Haydn was without a doubt one of the greatest composers of his day. He was loved very much as both a man and a musician, and unlike many other composers when he died in 1809. he was one of the most celebrated composers in the world. Haydn once said, "Young people can see fro...

Europe in the early and mid 18th century was marking time, trying to catch its breath after the bloody excesses of the previous century. Religious conflicts had almost wiped out the population of Germany and had split it politically. While larger nation-states were forming elsewhere, the mid...