Anton I , Prince Esterházy Anton ( Antal ) , Prince Esterházy de Galántha ( 11 April 1738 – 22 January 1794 ) was a prince of Hungary , a member of the wealthy Esterházy family . Life . At the time of Anton ' s birth his father Nikolaus Esterházy bore the title " Graf " ( Count ) Esterházy de Galántha . Nikolaus was a successful general and lieutenant field marshal in Austrian service who would later achieve distinction at the Battle of Kolin ( 1757 ) in the Seven Years ' War leading his cavalry in a battle - winning charge . When Nikolaus ' s brother 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 . 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 ) ) , 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 ' War , 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 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 ) 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 in 1790 , and also became an imperial and royal . 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 Haydn 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 ( 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 ) in highly successful public concerts , thus helping to establish the role of composer as a 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 , Haydn refused , as he had entered into contractual obligations . The composer in fact feared for his job , but Anton did not fire him . Personal interests . According to Jones , Anton ' s principal hobbies were the collection of minerals and fossils .