Written by one of the country's foremost specialists in the classical repertoire and an internationally renowned conductor, this book recounts the circumstances surrounding the genesis of some of Haydn's most famous works, including the London Symphonies.

Britain has attracted many musical visitors to its shores. A varied and often eccentric collection of individuals, some were invited by royalty with musical tastes, some were refugees from religious or political oppression, some were spies, and others came to escape debt or even charges of murder. This book paints a broad picture of the changing nature of musical life in Britain over the centuries, through the eyes and ears of foreign musicians. After considering three of the eighteenth century’s greatest musical figures, the authors consider the rise of the celebrity composer in the nineteenth century, and go on to consider the influence of new forms of transport which allowed travel more freely from the Continent and the USA. Musical Visitors to Britain also charts the new opportunities presented by the opening of public halls, the growth of music festivals, and the regular influx of composers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, ending with the impact of new musical forms such as jazz. As much a social as a musical history of Britain, this book will be of interest to anyone studying or working in these fields, as well as to general readers who want to discover more about our musical heritage.

Presenting a fresh perspective on the life and work of Joseph Haydn, this biography probes the darker side of Haydn's personality, his commercial opportunism and double dealing, his penny-pinching and his troubled marriage.

A Choral Worship Cantata in SATB voicing composed by Franz Joseph Haydn, edited by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker.

On more than one occasion the great composer Joseph Haydn remarked taht he became well known in his own country only after he had made two visits to London in the 1790s. Although he was connected with the Esterházy court for over 40 years and his music was performed in many of Europe's major cities, London was to be the only European city, apart from Vienna, to welcome the composer in person. The essays in this volume examine the relationship between the composer and the commercial, political and social world and help explain the unparalleled popularity Hadyn and his music have enjoyed ever since.

For well over two hundred years, Joseph Haydn has been by turns lionized and misrepresented - held up as celebrity, and disparaged as mere forerunner or point of comparison. And yet, unlike many other canonic composers, his music has remained a fixture in the repertoire from his day until ours. What do we need to know now in order to understand Haydn and his music? With over eighty entries focused on ideas and seven longer thematic essays to bring these together, this distinctive and richly illustrated encyclopedia offers a new perspective on Haydn and the many cultural contexts in which he worked and left his indelible mark during the Enlightenment and beyond. Contributions from sixty-seven scholars and performers in Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, capture the vitality of Haydn studies today - its variety of perspectives and methods - and ultimately inspire further exploration of one of western music's most innovative and influential composers.