Anton (Antal), Fürst Esterházy de Galántha
Encyclopedia
Life
At the time of Anton's birth his father Nikolaus EsterházyNikolaus Esterházy
Nikolaus Esterházy was a Hungarian prince, a member of the famous Esterházy family. His building of palaces, extravagant clothing, and taste for opera and other grand musical productions led to his being given the title "the Magnificent"...
bore the title Graf (Count) Esterházy de Galántha. Nikolaus was a successful general and lieutenant field marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
in Austrian service who would later achieve distinction at the Battle of Kolin
Battle of Kolin
-Results:The battle was Frederick's first defeat in this war. This disaster forced him to abandon his intended march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice...
(1757) in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
leading his cavalry in a battle-winning charge. When Nikolaus's brother
Paul II Anton Esterházy
Prince Paul II Anton Esterházy de Galantha was a prince of the Esterházy family. He had a distinguished career as a soldier and patron of music.-Life:...
died without heirs, Nikolaus acquired the family patrimony, becoming the fifth prince in the Esterházy line. As such, he inherited considerable wealth, with which he built the magnificent palace of Esterháza in Hungary and patronized the arts. In particular he paid an entire orchestra, later a full-scale opera company, both directed by the composer Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
.
Anton's mother, Marie Elisabeth, was the daughter of Ferdinand Ungnadin, Reichsgraf (Imperial Count) von Weissenwolf.
On 13 January 1763 Anton married Maria Theresia, Gräfin (Countess) Erdödy de Monyorokerek et Monoszlo (1745–1782) in Vienna. She bore him four children: Nikolaus (who succeeded him as prince), Anton (who died of wounds from the Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)
Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)
The Austro-Turkish War of 1787 was an inconclusive struggle between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires. It took place concomitantly with the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792.-History:...
), Therese, and Leopoldine. Maria Theresa died in 1782. Anton married his second wife 9 July 1785 in Vienna: she was Maria Anna, Gräfin von Hohenfeld (1768–1848).
Anton was elevated to the status of prince (German: Fürst ) in 1783, and became the reigning prince on the death of his father in 1790. He reigned as prince for only four years, dying unexpectedly of a sudden illness in 1794.
Military career
During the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, Anton served in his father's regiment and was at one point taken prisoner by the enemy. He was promoted to Captain in 1763 and in 1780 to Fieldmarshal Lieutenant, eventually becoming head of the regiment.
He was Captain of the Hungarian Noble Life Guard from September 1791 until his death in 1794, and commanded an autonomous corps on the Upper Rhine at the beginning of the War of the First Coalition. His Corps participated in various actions between July and October 1792, after which he received the Commanders Cross of the Order of St. Stephen
Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
The Royal Hungarian Order of Saint StephenThe Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, the royal Hungarian order, founded in 1764 by the empress Maria Theresa of Austria, consisted of the grand master , 20 knights grand cross, 30 knights commanders and 50 knights...
in 1792; he had already received the Grand Cross of the Order in 1777. His corps was later absorbed into other military formations.
He was Colonel and Proprietor (Inhaber)
Proprietor (Inhaber)
A Proprietor, or Inhaber, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a wealthy noble, called the Inhaber who also acted as...
of the 31st Infantry Regiment, from November 1777 to October 1780, and then Colonel and Proprietor of the 34th Infantry Regiment from September 1780 until his death. He was initiated to the Order of the Golden Fleece
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
in 1790, and also became an imperial and royal Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
.
Anton and Joseph Haydn
Anton is perhaps best remembered to history as the third in the succession of four Esterházy princes who employed the composer Joseph HaydnJoseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
as the director of their court music. By a wide margin, he was the least enthusiastic of the four in this respect.
Anton had known Haydn long before becoming the reiging prince. Thus, for Anton's marriage in 1763 the Esterházy musical ensemble performed Haydn's opera Acide as part of a lavish three-day celebration.
Before Anton became reigning prince in 1790, his father had spent a great deal on music, particular the opera company. Anton, not particularly interested in music, and wanted to cut back on expenditures. Thus when he became prince he dismissed most of the Esterházy musical establishment. He retained a small Harmonie
Harmonie
Harmonie is a German word that, in the context of the history of music, designates a band of wind instruments employed by an aristocratic patron, particularly during the Classical era of the 18th century...
(wind band), a few musicians for church music, and also allocated small salaries (400 florins) to retain the services of Haydn and of the first violinist Luigi Tomasini; neither was expected to work on a regular basis. The laid-off musicians, some of who had worked for the Esterházys for years, were given six weeks' severance pay. Anton was not alone in cutting back his musical establishment; this was a period of general decline in the musical forces sponsored by the empire's aristocracy.
Jones offers an account of one motivation for Anton's cutbacks: prior to his accession, Anton himself had been a spendthrift, and his father Nikolaus was worried about the long-term solvency of the family. When Anton inherited, the family's financial affairs were placed in the hands of a curator, who was to control the funds until it could be established that the finances were stable. Thus Anton had strong incentives to cut back, and moreover (Jones suggests) "a desire to demonstrate where a good deal of Esterházy expenditure had always been incurred."
Anton's cutbacks had an inadvertent though important influence on the history of music: Haydn took advantage of his new freedom to visit London, where he premiered many new works (such as the London Symphonies
London symphonies
The London symphonies, sometimes called the Salomon symphonies after the man who introduced London to Joseph Haydn, were composed by Joseph Haydn between 1791 and 1795...
) in highly successful public concerts, thus helping to establish the role of composer as public figure, independent of aristocratic patronage.
Personal relations between Anton and Haydn appear to have been friendly. The prince lent Haydn 450 gulden to cover his travel expenses on the first London journey.
When in 1791 Anton wrote Haydn asking him to return to compose and direct an opera celebrating Anton's installation as Lord Lieutenant of Oedenberg
Sopron
In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...
, Haydn refused, as he had entered into contractual obligations. The composer in fact feared for his job, but Anton did not fire him.