Baada ya kubalehe na kubadilika kwasauti yake aliondoka katika kwaya hiyo mnamo1749 na kuanza kujitegemea kamamwanamuziki. Hakuwa naajira ya kudumu bali alipatakazi kama mwimbaji au mwanamuziki kwa nafasi mbalimbali.Makazi nachakula alijipatia kamamwalimu wa muziki katikanyumba yatajiri mmoja alipofundisha kila siku kwa masaa machache. Wakati huo alifaidika sana na maelekezo yaNicola Porpora, mwanamuzikimzee kutokaNapoli,Italia.
Kuanzia mwaka1761 Haydn alipata ajira kwenyeikulu yafamilia Esterhazy waliokuwa kati ya makabaila matajiri zaidi nchiniHungaria iliyokuwa sehemu ya milki ya Austria. Alianza kamamakamu wamkurugenzi wa muziki na tangu1766 kama mkurugenzi wa muziki wa akina Esterhazy. Hapo alihamia pamoja na familia yamwajiri wake baina ya ikulu tatu walipoishi kulingana namajira ya mwaka.
Aliwajibika kuongozaokestra, kuandaatafrija, kutunga muziki kwa nafasi maalum, kupiga muziki wakati wa chakula aujioni kwaburudani ya bwana wake.
Kutokana na maisha ya kuhamahama baina ya ikulu za familia hiyo aliishi muda mrefu mashambani. Aliandika mwenyewe kuhusu maisha haya yaliyokuwa mbali na wanamuziki wengine: "Nilitengwa na dunia, bila mtu aliyeweza kunishawishi au kunivuruga na kwa hiyo nilipaswa kuwa mimi mwenyewe".
Katika kipindi cha karibu miaka 30 alipokuwa mkurugenzi wa muziki kwa Esterhazy, Haydn alitunga miziki mingi iliyochapishwa na kusambazwa. Kazi zake zilianza kuwa maarufu ilhali wengine walipiga muziki aliotunga yeye mahali pengine.
Tangu 1781 Haydn na Mozart walikuwa marafiki. Mozart aliyekuwakijana wake aliwahi kupenda muziki ya Haydn tangu miaka kadhaa. Hao watungaji wawili walipenda kupiga fidla pamoja na kushauriana juu ya kazi yao.
Tangu1790mtemi Esterhazy aliaga dunia namrithi wake hakujali muziki, hivyo aliachisha wanamuziki wote.
Haydn alitumiauhuru wake mpya akifuatamwaliko wa mtoaji wa muziki MjerumaniJohann Peter Salomon kwendaUingereza na kuendesha simfonia zake kwa okestra kubwa. Maonyesho yake yalileta mafanikio makubwa: watu wengi walitaka kumsikia akawa tajiri.
Mara mbili Haydn alisafiri hadi Uingereza (1791–1792 na1794–1795) akafanikiwa kila mara. Alitumia miezi yake huko kwa kutunga idadi ya kazi zake zilizokuwa mashuhuri hasa baadaye kama vile "Simfonia na pigo la ngoma", "simfonia yajeshi" na "simfonia za London".
Kwa muda alitafakari kubaki Uingereza na kuombauraia wa kule lakini hatimaye alirudi Vienna.
Aliporudi Vienna 1795 kulikuwa tena na mabadiliko katika nyumba ya Esterhazy, na mtemi mpya alimwomba arudi kama mkurugenzi wa muziki kwenye ikulu zake. Haydn alikubali lakini kwa miezi kadhaa ya kilamwaka pekee. Hapo kwenye ikulu ya Eisenstadt aliandika muziki kwamisa 6 lakini sehemu kubwa ya mwaka alikaa katika nyumba yake huko Vienna alipoendelea kutunga muziki.
Pamoja namshairiGottfried van Swieten aliyeandika maneno kwauimbaji alitungaoratori kubwa mbili (yaani muziki inayosimulia habari za kidini na nyingine kwa kutumia mitindo inayofanana naopera), ambazo ni "Uumbaji" (1798) na "Majira ya mwaka" (1801). Akatunga pia muziki zaidi yakwateti (kwa wapigaji wanne).
Hapo alianza kusikiaumri umekwenda, akapaswa kupambana na magonjwa akajitahidi sana kukamilisha kazi zake. Tangu1802 alishindwa kutunga muziki tena.
Mwaka1808 alitoka tena katika nyumba kwa maonyesho ya oratori "Uumbaji" yaliyoendeshwa naBeethoven naSalieri kwa heshima yake. Alishindwa kukaa hadi mwisho kwa sababu alikosanguvu.
Aliaga dunia mwisho wa Mei 1809 wakati jeshi laNapoleon Bonaparte liliposhambulia Vienna. Kati ya maneno yake ya mwisho ni jaribio la kutuliza wafyanyakazi wa nyumbani waliokuwa nahofu wakisikiangurumo wa mizinga ya jeshi laWafaransa.
Haydn alizikwa makaburini na ibada ya kumbukumbu yake ilifanywa baada yauvamizi kwisha, tarehe15 Juni 1809.
Mwaka1820 familia ya Esterhazy ilimkumbuka mtumishi wake wa zamani wakamwandalia kaburi katika kanisa laEisenstadt alipowahi kufanya kazi miaka mingi. Wakati wa kuhamishamaiti yake,jeneza lilifunguliwa, kumbekichwa chake hakikuwepo.
Iligunduliwa kwamba wakati wa kumzika mara ya kwanzagavana wagereza la Vienna, Johann Peter, pamoja nakatibu wa zamani wa nyumba ya Esterhazy, Rosenbaum waliwahonga maafisa wamanispaa ya Vienna ili wafungue kaburi kwasiri siku nane baada yamazishi na kumpatia kichwa. Maana hawa watu wawili walikuwa wafuasi waimani kuwaumbo lafuvu linaonyeshatabia zamtu, hivi walikusanya mafuvu wakataka kuwa na fuvu la huyu mtu mashuhuri pia.
Wakati wa mazishi ya pili fuvu halikupatikana tena, hivyo Haydn alizikwa mara ya pili bila kichwa.
Peter na Rosenbaum waliamua kuficha fuvu wakafaulu hata wakatipolisi ilipopekua nyumba zao. Baadaye walimkabidhi mtemi Esterhazy fuvu tofauti lisilokuwa la kweli.
Kabla ya kufa Rosenbaum aliacha fuvu kwa Peter katikawasia wake, kwa ombi la kukipatia fuvu hilo chuo cha muziki Vienna. Lakini Peter namjane wa Rosenbaum waliogopa kuonyesha kuwa fuvu lilikuwa badomikononi mwao. Hivyo fuvu la Haydn lilifichwa hadi Peter kabla yakifo chake alilikabidhi kwa shirika la marafiki wa muziki wa Vienna lilipotunzwa kuanzia mwaka1895.
Mwishoni fuvu lilipelekwa Eisenstadt mwaka1954 na kuunganishwa na mabaki mengine yamwili wa Haydin katika ibada ya kumkumbuka. Isipokuwa katika jeneza lake lilikuwepo fuvu lauongo lililopelekwa huko mwaka 1820 na fuvu hilo halikutolewa. Hivyo jeneza la Haydn lina mafuvu mawili.
Maisha yake yote Haydin alikuwaMkatoliki safi na ni imani yadini iliyomuongoza sana katika utunzi. Hata alipojisikia kukosaubunifu alikuwa akikimbiliasala. Maandishi yake mengi yanaishia na maneno yaKilatini, "Laus Deo", yaani, "Sifa kwaMungu".
Dies, Albert Christoph (1963). "Biographical Accounts of Joseph Haydn". Katika Gotwals, Vernon, translator and editor (mhr.).Haydn: Two Contemporary Portraits. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin Press.ISBN0-299-02791-0.{{cite book}}:|editor-first= has generic name (help);Invalid|ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) A translation from the original German: "Biographische Nachrichten von Joseph Haydn nach mündlichen Erzählungen desselben entworfen und herausgegeben" ("Biographical accounts of Joseph Haydn, written and edited from his own spoken narratives") (1810). Camesinaische Buchhandlung, Vienna. One of the first biographies of Haydn, written on the basis of 30 interviews carried out during the composer's old age.
Finscher, Ludwig (2000).Joseph Haydn und seine Zeit. Laaber: Laaber-Verlag.ISBN3-921518-94-6.{{cite book}}:Invalid|ref=harv (help) Highly detailed discussion of life and work; in German.
Griesinger, Georg August (1963). "Biographical Notes Concerning Joseph Haydn". Katika Gotwals, Vernon, translator and editor (mhr.).Haydn: Two Contemporary Portraits. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin Press.ISBN0-299-02791-0.{{cite book}}:|editor-first= has generic name (help);Invalid|ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) A translation from the original German: "Biographische Notizen über Joseph Haydn" (1810). Leipzig. Like Dies's, a biography produced from interviews with the elderly Haydn.
Hadden, James Cuthbert (2010).Haydn (tol. la Reissue). London: Cambridge University Press.ISBN1-108-01987-0.{{cite book}}:Invalid|ref=harv (help)
Hughes, Rosemary (1970).Haydn (tol. la Revised). New York:Farrar, Straus and Giroux.ISBN0-460-02281-4.{{cite book}}:Invalid|ref=harv (help) Originally published in 1950. Gives a sympathetic and witty account of Haydn's life, along with a survey of the music.
Jones, David Wyn (2009a)The Life of Haydn. Oxford University Press. Focuses on biography rather than musical works; an up-to-date study benefiting from recent scholarly research on Haydn's life and times.
Jones, David Wyn (2009b)Oxford Composer Companions: Haydn. Oxford University Press. A one-volume encyclopedia with detailed contributions from many Haydn scholars.
Landon, H.C. Robbins (1976–1980).Haydn: Chronicle and Works. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.ISBN0-253-37003-5. An extensive compilation of original sources in five volumes.
Landon, H. C. Robbins; Jones, David Wyn (1988).Haydn: His Life and Music. Indiana University Press.ISBN978-0-253-37265-9.{{cite book}}:Invalid|ref=harv (help) Biography chapters by Robbins Landon, excerpted from Robbins Landon (1976–1980) and rich in original source documents. Analysis and appreciation of the works by Jones.
Webster, James; Feder, Georg (2001). "Joseph Haydn".The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Published separately as a book:The New Grove Haydn. New York: Macmillan. 2002.ISBN0-19-516904-2. Careful scholarship with little subjective interpretation; covers both life and music, and includes a very detailed list of works.
Geiringer, Karl; Irene Geiringer (1982). Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (3rd ed. ed.). University ofCalifornia Press. pp. xii, 403.ISBN 0-520-04316-2.
Kuhusu kazi zake
Brendel, Alfred (2001). "Does classical music have to be entirely serious?". Katika Margalit, Edna; Margalit, Avishai (whr.).Isaiah Berlin: A Celebration. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ku. 193–204.ISBN0-226-84096-4.{{cite book}}:Invalid|ref=harv (help) On jokes in Haydn and Beethoven.
Celestini, Federico (2010). "Aspekte des Erhabenen in Haydns Spätwerk". Katika Celestini, Federico; Dorschel, Andreas (whr.).Arbeit am Kanon. Vienna: Universal Edition. ku. 16–41.ISBN978-3-7024-6967-2.{{cite book}}:Invalid|ref=harv (help) On the sublime in Haydn's later works; in German.
Clark, Caryl, mhr. (2005).The Cambridge Companion to Haydn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-83347-7. Covers each of the genres Haydn composed in as well as stylistic and interpretive contexts and performance and reception.
Hughes, Rosemary (1966).Haydn String Quartets. London: BBC. A brief (55 page) introduction to Haydn's string quartets.
Rosen, Charles (1997).The classical style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (tol. la 2nd). New York: Norton.ISBN0-393-31712-9.{{cite book}}:Invalid|ref=harv (help) First edition published in 1971. Covers much of Haydn's output and seeks to explicate Haydn's central role in the creation of the classical style. The work has been influential, provoking both positive citation and work (e.g., Webster 1991) written in reaction.
Sisman, Elaine (1993)Haydn and the classical variation. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.ISBN 0-674-38315-X.
Sutcliffe, W. Dean (1992).Haydn, string quartets, op. 50. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-39103-2. Covers not just Op. 50 but also its relevance to Haydn's other output as well as his earlier quartets.
Webster, James (1991).Haydn's "Farewell" symphony and the idea of classical style: through-composition and cyclic integration in his instrumental music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-38520-2.{{cite book}}:Invalid|ref=harv (help) This book focuses on a single work, but contains many observations and opinions about Haydn in general.
Full text of the biographyHaydn by J. Cuthbert Hadden, 1902, fromProject Gutenberg. The end of book contains documentary material including a number of Haydn's letters. Alternatively scanned copyHaydn at archive.org.
