From 1740 to 1760, Haydn worked hard and he came to know the leading Viennese musical figures along the way. (Geiringer, 1982) In those times, it was necessary to have sponsorship of nobility for support. In 1761, Hungarian Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, contracted Haydn and asked him to be assistant kapellmeister, or composer for the Prince. The contract included an exclusivity clause that required the Prince’s permission for any outside compositions. When Prince Paul died in 1762, his brother Nikolaus inherited Haydn’s servanthood for the next thirty years. During this time, Haydn learned to experiment and to take risks with his compositions. Conducting at the Esterházy’s court, he was segregated from society. This proved to be an advantage for this composer, he was sheltered from the scrutiny and pressures of pleasing anyone but the Prince.
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His private service to the noble family, was a record length of time. None of the other major 18th Century composers worked for as long at a single noble court. In 1766, Haydn was named head Kapellmeister and governed a 12 piece orchestra and a assembly of singers. He had the obligation to provide a Sunday Mass, two operas and two concerts per week and other music as required by the Prince. Haydn was extremely productive and innovative during this time. As he described it in a famous statement: "As head of an orchestra I could experiment, observe what heightened the effect and what weakened it, and so could improve, expand, cut, take risks; I was cut off from the world, there was no one near me to torment me or make me doubt myself, and so I had to become original." (Dolan,
His private service to the noble family, was a record length of time. None of the other major 18th Century composers worked for as long at a single noble court. In 1766, Haydn was named head Kapellmeister and governed a 12 piece orchestra and a assembly of singers. He had the obligation to provide a Sunday Mass, two operas and two concerts per week and other music as required by the Prince. Haydn was extremely productive and innovative during this time. As he described it in a famous statement: "As head of an orchestra I could experiment, observe what heightened the effect and what weakened it, and so could improve, expand, cut, take risks; I was cut off from the world, there was no one near me to torment me or make me doubt myself, and so I had to become original." (Dolan,