Haydn's "London Symphony" (conducted by Colin Davis)

Record title: Haydn's "London Symphony"

Conductor: Colin Davis Davis

Performed by: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam

Recording years: 1976-1982

Release date: 1994

< p>Number of records: 4CD At the end of 1790, Haydn and Solomon, who were nearly sixty years old, set off for England. This was the first time that the composer was far away from his homeland.

They arrived in London after New Year's Day 1791. In fact, Haydn was already quite famous in Europe at that time, so the arrival of this famous composer brought a sensation to the local area! Haydn also experienced a completely different working atmosphere here than when he was a court musician. He no longer faced a few royal relatives and nobles, but a large number of concertgoers who came here to admire him; at the same time, the scale of Solomon's orchestra was much larger than the original court orchestra in Esterhasa. ; In addition, the huge public opinion of music evaluation in London was unique in Europe at that time; all of these made Haydn face new challenges and opportunities! However, he succeeded in the end, because here Haydn no longer had too many creative constraints and restrictions, and was able to fully develop his musical ideas and express his feelings. In the several years before and after his stay in London, General Haydn composed 12 large-scale symphonies, which were also the last symphonies in his music career and can be called the pinnacle of his work. The first to come out was the 96th Symphony. This work premiered at the Hannover Square Concert Hall on March 11, 1791. This was also the first concert between Haydn and Solomon. The performance was a great success, both in terms of the atmosphere at the venue and the press reviews. This gave Haydn great confidence. New works came out one after another, and the 95th Symphony was quickly completed. This work and the previously completed No. 96 became the two most frequently performed works by the composer during his first performance season in the UK. In the summer of 1791, Haydn stayed in the countryside of Hadfordshire for two months. The pleasant climate and elegant scenery made Haydn feel peaceful and peaceful. Here the composer wrote two new works - No. 1 93 and 94, and Symphony No. 98 was written with them. No. 93 was the first to make a wonderful debut in the new performance season of 1792. This outstanding work moved the famous "The Times" and published a praiseworthy review. In fact, the public opinion circles in London at this time were completely impressed by Haydn's musical talent, and every concert could only bring enthusiastic praise and praise. The entire 1792 performance season ended with Symphony No. 97, a successful conclusion. Looking back, during these two years, President Haydn composed and performed six new symphonies (No. 93-No. 98), which was the first set of "London Symphony".

Two successful performance seasons have brought Haydn a lot of profits, and his popularity has been rising steadily. It can be said that he has gained both fame and fortune. The wealthy life and comfortable mood here made him determined to settle down in England permanently. But there were still many matters to be resolved in his native Austria, so Haydn returned to Vienna after the music season ended in July 1792. However, after returning to Austria, Haydn felt unhappy. The sharp contrast between the noisy life in London and the harsh contrast between it and the noisy life in London made him feel uncomfortable. Therefore, the composer would miss the happy experience in England from time to time. Finally in January 1794, he visited England again. The British were naturally extremely happy about his return. But Haydn did not settle in London, or even stay for a long time. The reasons are naturally various and the opinions are different. But one thing is certain, Haydn brought a second set of newly created symphonies to London - No. 99-No. 104. When he arrived in London, Haydn had already completed Symphony No. 99, and Symphony No. 101 and No. 100 were also completed shortly thereafter. These three works premiered in London on February 10, March 3, and March 31, 1794 respectively. Among them, Symphony No. 100 "Army" achieved unprecedented sensation.

At the beginning of 1795, the agent Solomon organized a series of opera concerts, but because the singers were unable to come to London to perform as guest performers, they had to be replaced by large orchestras.

Solomon, who had always had a close relationship and good cooperation with Haydn, invited Haydn to compose new symphonies for these concerts. The composer naturally agreed happily and wrote two new works, No. 103 and 104. Together with No. 102 completed the previous year, these three symphonies formed a whole. And these became the last three symphonies Haydn wrote in his life. In August 1795, Haydn left London and England, never to return. Although the composer did not die until 1809, he never wrote a symphony since 1795... Colin Davis, the longest-serving chief conductor in the history of the London Symphony Orchestra, died in April due to sudden illness Passed away in the UK on the 14th at the age of 85. A statement posted on the official website of the London Symphony Orchestra said: "The London Symphony Orchestra will remember and cherish his memory and mourn with his family."