HAYDN’S RECEPTION BY PRINCE ESTERHAZY

At a party hosted by Count Morzin, Prince Esterházy heard a symphony by Joseph Haydn and liked it so much he decided to hire the composer on the spot. When Haydn arrived at the palace, the prince reportedly greeted him with a class-obsessed—and racist—crack about his complexion, then switched straight into business: better pay, a formal appointment, and a makeover so he’d look “respectable.” The punchline is history itself: today Haydn’s name is everywhere, while the prince is mostly a footnote.