- Haydn composed his Symphony no. 92 in 1789 for the first London season in which Haydn collaborated with J.P. Salomon.
- Salomon and Haydn had had been collaborators since 1790, the year Prince Nicolaus Esterházy died. Prince Anton, the Esterházy heir, still retained Haydn as an employee, but provided him with new freedom to travel and perform elsewhere.
- Haydn & Salomon’s collaboration marked the beginning of Haydn’s “English Period,” with Haydn composing and conducting symphonies for Salomon’s concert series.
- Salomon gave Haydn the idea of writing a “Creation” oratorio. In 1797 Salomon gave Haydn a libretto on the creation story which was (supposedly) written for Handel, but never used. This became the basis for Haydn’s Creation.
- Haydn also conducted a performance of Symphony no. 92 in late 1790 in Wallerstein while he and Salomon were traveling en route from Vienna to London.
- Haydn was greeted like a celebrity when he arrived in London in 1790 for his concert series.
“My arrival caused a great sensation … I went the rounds of all the newspapers for three successive days. Everyone wants to know me … If I wanted, I could dine out every day; but first I must consider my health, and second my work. Except for the nobility, I admit no callers until 2 o’clock.”
Joseph Haydn
- This is called the “Oxford” Symphony because it was one of several Haydn symphonies performed when Haydn received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford in July 1791. 12
Sources
- Georg Feder and James Webster, “Haydn, (Franz) Joseph,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 22, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000044593.
- Karl Geiringer et al, “Joseph Haydn,” Encyclopædia Brittanica (May 27, 2019), accessed October 23, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Haydn.
Cut IDs
19766