H

Summary

Habsburg monarchy. See Austria, Austrian, Austrian Monarchy

Haffner family. Salzburg family of factors, whose business encompassed banking, haulage and the import and export of goods for merchants. Under Siegmund Haffner the elder (b. 1699; d. 12 Jan. 1772) the firm reached its zenith, and was known throughout Germany, Austria and Italy. Siegmund was mayor from 1768 to 1772 and left enormous wealth. He was married twice – from 3 February 1733 to Anna Elisabeth Kaltenhauser (b. 1712; d. 25 Dec. 1744), and from 3 August 1745 to Eleonore Mezger (b. 1716; d. 2 June 1764). From these marriages five daughters and a son reached adulthood, the daughters marrying into mercantile families. Mozart wrote music for two of the children: Maria Elisabeth (b. 24 Oct. 1753; d. 1 Nov. 1781) and Siegmund the younger (b. 30 Sept. 1756; d. 24 June 1787).

When Maria Elisabeth married Franz Xaver Späth on 22 July 1776, Mozart wrote the ‘Haffner’ serenade, K250 (plus the march K249), in celebration. It was performed on the eve of the wedding at the Haffners’ summer residence by Salzburg's Loreto convent. On 9 July 1782 Siegmund the younger was ennobled, and Mozart wrote what became the ‘Haffner’ symphony, K385, to mark the event. By now living in Vienna, he completed it in two weeks. It had a march (possibly K408, No. 2), and may originally have had two minuets, though only one survives. Later Mozart added flutes and clarinets, and dropped the march, leaving the four movements that now comprise the ‘Haffner’ symphony.