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Who was Count Ferdinand Maximilian von Morzin?
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Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn, detail of a portrait by Thomas Hardy, 1791; in the collection of the Royal College of Music, London.
Count Ferdinand Maximilian von Morzin was a Bohemian nobleman who played a pivotal role in the early career of Joseph Haydn. In 1758, acting on a recommendation from Karl Joseph von FĂŒrnberg, the Count engaged Haydn to serve as his musical director and chamber composer.1
Under the Count's patronage, Haydn was placed in charge of an orchestra consisting of approximately 16 musicians. During this period, Haydn composed his first symphony and various divertimenti for wind instruments and strings, works that began to showcase the melodic invention and creative spark that would later define his career as a master composer.1