Early years Landon was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, the son of William Grinnell Landon, a writer of
Huguenot descent, and his wife Dorothea LeBaron
née Robbins, a musician. He was educated at
Aiken Preparatory School,
Lenox School for Boys and
Asheville School. At the end of the century,
Hubert Parry said that musicians need not be ashamed of knowing only a few of Haydn's symphonies "for Haydn is scarcely himself in this most important branch of composition till this very late period of his life." Of Haydn's output of more than 750 works, only a tenth was available in print in the mid-twentieth century. From 1943 to 1945 he was a student at
Swarthmore College, studying music theory with Alfred Swan, composition with
Harl McDonald and English literature with
W. H. Auden. His studies at Swarthmore ended when its
Quaker administrators expelled him for an affair with a female student. From 1945 to 1947 Landon was at
Boston University, studying music with Hugo Norton and
Karl Geiringer, who was described by
The Times as "the great Haydn scholar". Landon graduated with a
Bachelor of Music degree in 1947. Recognizing that he would shortly be conscripted for two years' military service, Landon sought out the U.S. Army of Occupation in Vienna and volunteered as a military historian, researching and documenting the role of the
Fifth Army in liberating Italy. Landon travelled through central and eastern Europe in search of Haydn manuscripts. His first book,
The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn, appeared in 1955. Between 1976 and 1980, Landon produced his five volume
magnum opus,
Haydn: Chronicle and Works. Landon did not confine his scholarship to the study of Haydn. His five books on the life and music of Mozart were aimed at a wider public than his works about Haydn, and sold in large numbers in many languages, making his name internationally known. In Europe and America, Landon was sought after as a lecturer. In the 1960s, '70s and '80s he held professorial posts at
Queens College, New York; the
University of California; University College,
Cardiff University; and
Middlebury College, Vermont. ==Reputation and honors==