Esterházy, Miklós József
Esterházy, Eszterházy Miklós, *12 December 1765, †25 November 1833, Hungarian patron of the arts, grandson of Miklós József, son of Pál Antal (1738–1794). He took over Eisenstadt Castle in 1794 and reorganised the ensemble, which was disbanded in 1790. He entrusted the musical direction of the events to J. Haydn, who resided in Eisenstadt during the summers and autumns until 1803. J.N. Hummel was the Kapellmeister at the Esterházy court from 1804 to 1811. Beethoven met the Esterházy family through Haydn, who was a frequent visitor to the Esterházy palace in Vienna. At the request of Fr. Miklós, he composed the Mass in C major Op. 86, which was performed in 1807 at Eisenstadt on the occasion of Princess Maria’s name day. Beethoven also dedicated her Trois grandes marches pour le pianoforte à quatre mains Op. 45. F. Liszt performed in Eisenstadt in 1820.
Literature: C. von Horvath, E. von Hajnik Das fürstliche Haus Esterházy, “Österreichische Revue” III, Vol. 4, Vienna 1863; I. Bartalus Adalékok a magyar zene tőrténelméhez (“Additional Material to the History of Hungarian Music”), “Sztázadok” 1892 No. 21–22;
M. Horányi Esterházy vigasságok, Budapest 1959, translation into German Das Esterházysche Feenreich, Budapest 1959, translation into English, Philadelphia 1962; J. Hárich Esterházy – Musikgeschichte im Spiegel der zeitgenössischen Textbücher, Eisenstadt 1959; D. Bartha, L. Somfai Haydn als Opernkapellmeister, Budapest 1960; J. Hárich Das Repertoire des Opernkapellmeisters Joseph Haydn in Esterháza 1780–90, Haydn-Jahrbuch I, 1962; D. Bartha, L. Somfai Haydn’s Italian Opera Repertory at Eszterháza Palace, published in New Looks at Italian Opera, Essays in Honor of Donald J. Grout, Ithaca (New York) 1968.