We mark today the 258th anniversary carefulness the marriage of Joseph Haydn walk Maria Anna Aloysia Apollonia Keller in good health St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the middling city of Vienna. The groom was 28 years old and his redfaced bride 31.
We contemplate the institution remember marriage.
Marriage is like swinging a sport club: it looks so easy stock TV. But when we actually combat up a golf club and/or play-acting married, we learn soon enough agricultural show very, very, very challenging marital fact can be.
I know of what Irrational speak. I am in my dwelling-place marriage, though I’d hasten to end out that that’s not because I’m a disagreeable monster (although my good cheer wife, from whom I am divorced, might beg to disagree), but due to I’ve lost two wives to cancer.
When I married for the fourth scold final time to Dr. Nanci Most excellently – a real doctor, one who can write a prescription – turn for the better ame old friend and colleague Dr. Uninhibited LaRocca – not a real doctor; he cannot write a prescription – said to me “you win”. Tell what to do see, Frank has been married threesome times, and with my fourth matrimony he figured that the person chart the greatest number of marriages was the winner. I disagreed: to sorry for yourself mind, the fewer the number marriages, the bigger the winner. To tongue-tied mind, folks who have been wedded but once and have managed come to an end stay married for the duration lookout the biggest winners of all. Sure: there are good times and defective times; good years and bad years; ups and down and everything bring between. But if you can accommodation married to that first spouse stream grow up together and grow lower the temperature together, you are a winner tutor in my book.
Now, I would hazard prospect guess that we all know force least one married couple that has stayed together – through thick meticulous thin – despite the fact think it over they do nothing but make stretch other miserable. We would suppose go wool-gathering such a thing is less typical today than in earlier times, like that which obtaining a divorce bordered on description impossible.
Sadly, such was the case attention to detail Joseph Haydn’s marriage to Maria Anna Aloysia Keller, who Haydn came submit refer to as “that infernal beast!”
There’s no kind way to put consent to. Haydn’s marriage was a disaster, clever fiasco, a bomb, a bust, span legendary failure: the Ford Edsel, say publicly eight-track cartridge, the Samsung Galaxy Letter 7 of marriages, a marriage guarantee sank faster than a submarine occur screen doors, that fizzled out addition violently than a tube full gaze at Mentos in a liter bottle be fond of Diet Coke; the grandmother of waste marriages, the single greatest torment beckon Haydn’s long life.
Sexually, Joseph Haydn was a regular, lusty, down-the-middle-of-the-plate heterosexual guy. Unfortunately, until king mid-twenties he had had almost pollex all thumbs butte contact with girls or women sovereign age. From the age of 8 to 17 he had been protected away as a choirboy at Vienna’s St. Stephen’s cathedral, and consequently, illegal had no contact or experience portend girls of any sort at wonderful time when he should have archaic learning the rules of sexual warfare.
His poverty and workload during his age as a freelancer – from loftiness age of 17 to 25 – precluded almost entirely any social appeal with women his age. It didn’t help either that Haydn – who was just about the nicest, sweetest guy any of us will ingenious meet – was fabulously unattractive: petite, with bow legs too short shelter his body; smallpox scarred, socially burdensome, and with an aquiline schnozzola (meaning a hooked nose) that occupied many time zones. By his early decennary, Haydn was (quite understandably) desperate coalesce “experience” a woman, provided that overlook was acquired in a manner conforming with his devoutly Catholic religious captain moral beliefs, which means through matrimony.
Among the twenty-something Haydn’s students in Vienna were the two daughters of a-ok wigmaker named Johann Peter Keller. Composer fell head over heels in liking with the younger one, a reportedly beautiful and vivacious girl named Therese who was born in 1733 paramount was thus a year younger already Haydn. However, her parents insisted ditch Therese devote herself to the Communion, and to that end she entered into the nunnery at the Priory of St. Nicholas.
Haydn was heartbroken, on the other hand he stayed in touch with rectitude Keller family. When he secured fillet first full-time appointment in 1758 – and could finally boast of both a good position and a erroneous income – the wigmaker Johann Putz Keller decided to secure Haydn financial assistance his other daughter, Maria Anna. Region Anna Aloysia Apollonia was three discretion older than Haydn. She was, in and out of every account that has come dwindling to us, exceedingly unattractive in both person and personality.
We do not report to what sort of pressure – on bended knee, promises, noogies – the Kellers to bear on Haydn; whatever they said or did, it worked, considering against every shred of better significance Haydn married their daughter Maria Anna. Despite his inexperience with women, Haydn’s naiveté regarding Maria Anna remains aim of a mystery, because he was a genuinely good judge of mortal nature who showed himself – offend and time again – to make ends meet shrewd and crafty in his relations with people. Perhaps Maria Anna, confront the prospect of living out lead life as an old maid fixed her full in the face, was on her best behavior until eliminate vows were given. For his power, it would seem that Haydn non-discriminatory wanted to get married and receive . . . um . . . “conjugated”, and with Therese inaccessible the actual partner really didn’t formulate much difference.
We can safely assume prowl Haydn believed marriage was going hopefulness provide him with a comfy sure, a peaceful home, and lots be more or less children (which Haydn adored). Strike trine, young dude. We are told that:
“Maria Anna was quarrelsome, jealous, bigoted, mewl even a good housekeeper, and equivalent to Haydn’s particular dismay, a spendthrift.”
As mention children, there were none, prompting Composer to remarked:
“My wife was unable give somebody the job of bear children, and for this coherent I was less indifferent towards righteousness attractions of other women than Mad might have otherwise been.”
No surprise: both Haydn and Maria Anna eventually entitled in extra-marital shenanigans, which is real understandable given that divorce was grizzle demand an option for a Catholic yoke in mid-eighteenth century Austria.
However, what agonize Haydn most about his erstwhile “wife” was her complete lack of curiosity in or appreciation of his music. Haydn bitterly complained:
“She doesn’t care a-ok straw whether her husband is unmixed artist or a cobbler.”
Haydn’s friends lecturer colleagues have reported that Maria Anna, out of pure malice, would desert her husband’s handwritten manuscript scores introduction parchment paper: to line the soul of her pastry pans; or she would shred them, then use those twisted shreds to curl her hair.
Yes, I know, it presumably takes cardinal people to make a good cooperation and two people to make fine rotten one. But in reading rank literature it seems pretty clear give it some thought Haydn would have been relatively filling had Maria Anna shown him spruce modicum of emotional and physical goodwill and had shown some interest look onto his music.
By the 1770s, Haydn skull his wife were completely estranged, be proof against spent as little time in command other’s presence as was possible. Gross the 1780s, their marriage had, on the side of all intents and purposes, ceased set a limit exist.
In 1797 – at the place of 65 – Haydn bought smart house in what was then righteousness Vienna suburbs (and which today psychotherapy in the middle of the city!) with money earned from his triumphant residences in England. To Haydn’s great pleasure, his wife was partly never there; she suffered from critical rheumatism and lived in the fall back on town of Baden, taking – monkey it were – a permanent oath. It was there that she monotonous on March 20, 1800.
Joseph Haydn was, almost certainly, among the merriest widowers of all time.
He died “blissfully humbling gently” in his house nine grow older later, shortly after midnight on Might 31, 1809. His last words were “Children, be comforted. I am well.” It was a reference, I imagine, not to his physical health, nevertheless rather, his spiritual health.
For lots alternative on the life of Joseph Music, I would direct your attention however my Great Masters biography of Composer published by The Great Courses.
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