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There Haydn was occupied directing the orchestra, writing chamber music for the Prince himself, composing symphonies for the entertainment of the court, and increasingly conducting and composing operas. Opera indeed became so important that it overflowed into his concert music: for example, the Overture to his 1777 comic opera Il mondo della luna, which includes a large-scale, 'symphonic' central development section, later became (with the revised ending recorded here) the opening movement of his Symphony no. 63.
Haydn's situation changed dramatically in September 1790, when the Prince died, and his successor Prince Anton Esterhazy disbanded the court musical establishment, leaving him with an essentially honorary position. Before the end of the year Johann Peter Salomon, a German-born violinist and impresario who had been in London for nearly two decades, arrived to offer him a lucrative engagement as resident composer and conductor (from the keyboard) for two seasons of his concert series. The pair set off almost immediately, and arrived in England on New Year's Day 1791. Haydn suddenly found himself at the centre of musical life in the world's liveliest city, feted by musicians and music-lovers, welcomed into the houses of the rich and famous and even royalty itself, generously rewarded for performances, publications and teaching, and even honoured with an Oxford degree.
Apart from an opera, which bureaucracy prevented from reaching the stage, Haydn was required during his first season to provide regular 'Grand Overtures', or symphonies, for Salomon's concert series at the Hanover Square Rooms. Initially he drew on some earlier works, but he did write two new ones, of which the first was probably the Symphony no. 96 in D major. This is typical of Haydn's London symphonies, with its intricately worked first Allegro preceded by an imposing slow introduction, colourful slow movement (in this case including, towards the end, solo writing for two violins and all the woodwind), more rustic minuet and trio, and brilliant finale. If, as seems likely, this was the Haydn symphony performed at the Fourth Concert on 1 April, it thoroughly justifies the comment in the Diary, or Woodfall's Register the following day that it 'exhibited all the fire and perfection of his genius'.
For his second season in the first half of 1792, Haydn composed four more symphonies. The Symphony no. 93 in D major was first performed at the opening concert of the season, on 17 February. It was wildly praised in the press, The Times for example commenting on its 'novelty of idea, agreeable caprice, and whim',qualities exemplified in a 'bassoon joke' in the coda of the otherwise serious slow movement. The Symphony no. 98 in B flat major, first performed on 2 March 1792, may have been composed in reaction to the news of Mozart's death in December. Its sombre slow introduction and serenely beautiful Adagio seem appropriate memorials to Haydn's much-loved friend. But the finale is full of humorous moments, including a short passage for the keyboard, which Haydn himself played, the composer Samuel Wesley recalled, 'with the utmost Accuracy and Precision'.
In 1792, another London concert organization, the Professional Concerts, signed up Haydn's former pupil Ignaz Pleyel as a rival attraction, though the two men remained personally on good terms. On 27 February the Professionals presented a work by Pleyel in the fashionable genre of the symphonie concertante, or concerto with several soloists; and Haydn riposted on 9 March with his genial Concertante in B flat major for oboe, bassoon, violin and cello. In the first two movements, the four solo instruments are treated more or less equally; but in the finale the violin comes to the fore, not least in some passages of instrumental recitative. The Morning Herald reviewer noted that 'SALOMON particularly exerted himself on this occasion, in doing justice to the music of his friend HAYDN.'
Haydn returned to Vienna in June 1792, and remained there for 18 months, delayed by the uncertainty created by the war now raging in Europe, and by his need to undergo an operation. But he was back in London in February 1794, for another Salomon season including three new symphonies. The Symphony no. 101 in D major, first performed on 3 March, is known as the 'Clock' because of the 'tick-tock' accompaniment figure in its slow movement, but is equally notable for its magnificently constructed finale. 'The character that pervaded the whole composition', said the Morning Chronicle, 'was heartfelt joy'. The Symphony no. 100 in G major, first performed on 31 March and soon known as the 'Military', was an even greater success, its slow movement catching the wartime mood with some noisy 'Turkish' percussion, a trumpet call and (the Morning Chronicle again) 'a climax of horrid sublimity!'/p>
In 1795, in the straitened circumstances of wartime, Salomon's series and the Professional Concerts combined for a season of Opera Concerts at the King's Theatre. The first, on 2 February, included the premiere of the Symphony no. 102 in B flat major: its outstanding slow movement, with solo cello and muted trumpets and timpani, is said to have been a favourite of Rebecca Schroeter, the English widow who was Haydn's last love. The Symphony no. 103 in E flat major, first performed on 2 March, begins with the 'Drum Roll' that gives it its nickname. The next day, the Sun called the piece 'a fine mixture of grandeur and fancy', and considered the very large audience 'another proof of the improving taste of the Town'. One final symphony was to follow, in a hugely successful benefit concert, before on 15 August Haydn departed for Austria once more, to reenter the service of the Esterhazy family under another new prince, Nicolaus II. Ever afterwards, according to an early biographer, he 'considered the days spent in England the happiest of his life'.
Anthony Burton
