Franz Joseph Haydn is widely imitated due to his excellent technique which makes his music so rich in quality and quantity that he has one of the most fertile musical minds. Haydn is one of the most prolific and important composers of the classical period. He is also known as one of the pivotal figures in the entire history of Western music. Here I will try to show and highlight some of Haydn's brilliance by talking about the life he led growing up, his work and career, a little introduction to his music, touching on some of his compositions, his contributions to music and finally the influence by Haydn. .Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31, 1732, in the city of Rohrau, in what is now Austria. His parents were Matthias Haydn and Maria Koller. Joseph's father worked as a wheelwright, making and repairing wheels and carts while his mother was a cook in Earl Harrach's palace. Matthias and Maria had twelve children of whom only Haydn and his other two brothers survived. In 1754 Joseph's mother died forcing his father to remarry and have five more children who did not make it. Music entered the family when Matthias, during one of his travels, bought a harp and learned to play it a little without knowing how to read music. Mattia playing the harp leads the father to encourage his children to sing while he plays. These family concerts stimulated all three Haydn boys to pursue musical careers. This led Haydn's parents to discover Joseph's musical talent and they sent Joseph, at the tender age of six, to live in Hainburg with his relative Johann Mathias Franck, who was the local schoolmaster and choir director of the church. For the next two years Haydn trained as a soprano, soloist and to sing in church... middle of paper... only through her music, but through the teaching of music. One of his most important students was Beethoven. Furthermore, Haydn and Mozart were dear friends. Mozart always said that he learned to write string quartets from Haydn. After Haydn's death his music was largely forgotten. The twentieth century brought Haydn back to life. Although Haydn did not know that he had a profound influence on Beethoven. Beethoven had a deep love and respect for Haydn as a person and as a musical composer. He had such a deep love and respect for Haydn that he hung a portrait of Haydn in his apartment. Ultimately we see that during Franz Joseph Haydn's lifetime he made many contributions not only to classical music, but to music as a whole. Today Joseph Haydn is the basis of every orchestral and symphonic performance, with or without us realizing it. What would classical music have been without Joseph?