Del.icio.usJoseph Haydn
(Franz) Joseph Haydn (in German, Josef; he never used the Franz) was a leading composer of the classical period. He was the brother of Michael Haydn, a composer, and Johann Evangelist Haydn, a tenor singer.
A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent most of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Eszterházy family, on their remote estate. Being isolated from other composers and trends in music, he was, as he put it, "forced to become original".