Prince Paul II Anton Esterházy de Galántha ( Hungarian: galánthai Esterházy II. Anton Pál herceg; 22 April 1711 – 18 March 1762) was a Hungarian

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of music from the

Esterházy The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, durin ...

family.

Life

Early life

Paul Anton

de Galántha was born in

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; ; ; or ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Austria, Austrian state of Burgenland. With a population of 15,074 (as of 2023), it is the smallest state capital and the 38th-largest city in Austria overall. It lies at the foot o ...

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

on 22 April 1711 as the son of Prince Joseph Anton Esterházy de Galántha (1688–1721) and his wife, born

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight ...

Maria Octavia von Gilleis zu Theras und Sonnenberg (1688–1762). He had three siblings, younger brother Nikolaus Joseph (1714–1790) and sisters Maria Josepha and Anne Maria. Prince Paul Anton studied in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

and was very interested in culture. His father died when he was young, and the stewardship of the Esterházy was taken on by regents. In August 1733, in London, he became a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

On Tuesday last Prince Anthony Esterházy, lately arrived here, and another german Nobleman, a Relative to the Elector of Mentz, were admitted Free and Accepted Masons, at the French Lodge, held the first and third Tuesday of every Month, at the Duke of Lorraine's head in Suffolk Street. (''Daily Advertiser'', (London), 9 August 1733).

Paul Anton formally assumed the duties of office in 1734.New Grove, cited below As prince Paul Anton continued the historical policy of his family, namely that of supporting the Habsburg monarchy; in particular he supported the Habsburg Empress

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

. In this war (1741–1748), he led a regiment of

hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

s which he had raised himself.Fürst Paul II. Anton
at the Esterházy family website Because of his many successes on the battlefield, he was appointed Fieldmarshal-Lieutenant (German: :de:Feldmarschall-Leutnant) in 1747 and was sent after the war as imperial envoy to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, where he stayed between 1750 and 1753. At the outbreak of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

in 1756, he fought as a General of the Cavalry and was promoted to

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

in 1758. He retired from military service that year. From then on he was involved in

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

and cultural activities. According to the New Grove, Paul Anton could speak French and German, and "oversaw the Europeanization of the court at

. He also remodeled the gardens there, developed a large library, sponsored theatrical productions. A cultural project of particular interest was his 1761 project of reorganizing the musical staff at his court. He brought in new players, reassigned his aging

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

Gregor Werner to cover just church music, and appointed the young

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

as Vice-Kapellmeister, in charge of the orchestra. Since this provided Haydn with his own orchestra, with ample opportunities to compose symphonies for it to perform, the appointment was of great consequence for the growing status of the

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

and thus for the history of music. When Paul Anton died in Vienna in 1762 without children, he was succeeded by his brother Nikolaus.

Notes

References

*Geiringer, Karl. (1986) ''Haydn: A Creative Life in Music''. *New Grove = ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', article "Esterházy". Cited from online edition:

The article is written by Wendy Thompson and Caryl Clark.

External links

Fürst Paul II. Anton
, - ! colspan="3" style="background: #ACE777; color: #000000" , Nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian nobility {{DEFAULTSORT:Esterhazy, Paul 02 Anton Field marshals of Austria Austrian military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Paul 02 Anton Esterhazy Patrons of Joseph Haydn People from Eisenstadt 1711 births 1762 deaths Paul 02 Anton Esterhazy 18th-century composers 18th-century male musicians Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England 18th-century philanthropists Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria