Franz Joseph Haydn is widely imitated because of his excellent technique which makes his music so rich in quality and quantity from one of the most fertile musical minds. Haydn is one of the most prolific and distinguished composers of the classical period. He is also known as one of the defining figures in the entire history of Western music. Here I will try to present and highlight some of Haydn's genius by talking about the life he led growing up, his work and career, a little introduction to his music, discussing some of his compositions, his contributions to music and finally the influence of Haydn. .Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31, 1732 in Rohrau, in what is now Austria. His parents were Matthias Haydn and Maria Koller. Joseph's father worked as a carpenter, making and repairing wheels and carts while his mother was a cook at Count Harrach's palace. Matthias and Maria had twelve children of whom only Haydn and his two other brothers survived. In 1754, Joseph's mother died, causing his father to remarry and have five more children who did not survive. Music came into the family when Matthias got a harp on one of his trips and learned to play a little without knowing how to read music. Matthias' harp playing led the father to encourage his sons to sing while he played. These family concerts inspired all three Haydn boys to pursue musical careers. This led Haydn's parents to discover Joseph's musical talents and they sent Joseph, at the age of six, to live in Hainburg with his relative Johann Mathias Franck, who was the local schoolteacher and choirmaster of the 'church. Over the next two years, Haydn was trained as a soprano, soloist, and to sing in church... middle of paper ... only through his music, but through music teaching. One of his most prominent students was Beethoven. Haydn and Mozart were also good friends. Mozart always said that he learned to write string quartets from Haydn. After Haydn's death, his music was largely forgotten. The 20th century brought back Haydn. 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 deep love and respect for Haydn that he hung a portrait of Haydn in his apartment. Ultimately, we see that throughout Franz Joseph Haydn's life, he made many contributions not only to classical music, but to music as a whole. Today, Joseph Haydn is the basis of all orchestral and symphonic performance, whether we realize it or not. What would classical music have been without Joseph??