Franz Joseph Haydn (March 31, 1732 - May 31, 1809) was a prominent and prolific Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet". He was also instrumental in the development of the piano trio and in the evolution of sonata form. Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterh獺zy family at their remote estate. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". A central characteristic of Haydn's music is the development of larger structures out of very short, simple musical motifs, often derived from standard accompanying figures. Much of his music was written to please and delight a prince, and its emotional tone is correspondingly upbeat. He died peacefully in 1809 at the age of 77. At the time of his death he was one of the most celebrated composers in Europe.