Joseph Haydn was a composer born in Rohrau, Austria, in 1732. He was the son of a wheel manufacturer, who taught himself to play the harp amateurly and recreational. His family was musically inclined, and Haydn was immersed in music from early childhood, as for them it was a family affair to sing together and, sometimes, even together with neighbors. His father appreciated Haydn's refined vocal ability and recognized that Rohrau was not the ideal place for Haydn to develop his musical abilities. He was placed in the care of relative Johann Matthias Frankh at his request around the age of six, never to return home. Frankh was a schoolmaster and choirmaster in Hainburg. It was under Frankh's care that he learned the rudiments of music and was able to learn to play the violin and harpsichord. Karl Georg Reutter, choirmaster of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, also appreciated his singing. Reutter discovered Haydn as an altar boy and brought him to Vienna, where he stayed for the next nine years and earned lessons in violin, harpsichord and singing. Haydn's voice naturally "broke" around 1749 and he was consequently dismissed from St. Stephens, leaving him penniless and homeless on the streets of Vienna. As a broke musician, he could have found himself nowhere better in the world than in Vienna, where aristocratic families required excellent musicians for their courts. He worked as a freelancer taking on various odd jobs to survive; he mentored children, played the violin for street groups and took the time to teach himself composition. He made a name for himself and in 1759 first attracted the attention of Count Ferdinand Maximillian von Morzin, thus obtaining stable employment at his court. His stay there was short-lived and the Count's orchestra disbanded... midway through the paper... and he saw in him the potential to become the greatest composer of his time. His last period of productivity was spent writing oratorios. The most famous are "The Creation" and "The Seasons", first performed from 1798 to 1801. Franz Joseph Haydn died at the age of 77 in May 1809 after a history of declining health. His legacy includes being considered the father of the string quartet, or at least promoting it to prominence after the obsolete trio sonata of the Baroque era; composed of two violins, a viola and a cello. The ensemble was created by chance after being invited by a Baron to his home near Vienna to listen to informal music, at which time only the Baron's pastor and manager Haydn and another amateur player (playing the parts of two violins, a viola, cello). Haydn is considered today one of the best musicians of the classical period.