Haydn visited London twice; from 1791 to 1792, and then returned to the city from 1794 to 1795. He was very well received on both occasions and, temporarily freed from his service to the Esterházy family, the composer was delighted by the profits that he and the impresario, Johann Salomon, made by mounting public concerts.
There were twelve symphonies written for London performance: six (Nos. 93-98) dating from his stay in 1791, and six (Nos. 99-104) dating from 1794; all twelve are, undoubtedly, among his finest works.
Two symphonies (one from each group of six) :
No. 94 in G, better known (in English, at least) as ‘The Surprise’…
Adagio cantabile-Vivace assai: 00:00
Andante: 06:23
Menuetto: 13:29
Allegro di molto: 17:49
…and No. 104 in D (the composer’s last symphonic essay), generally known as ‘The London’ :
1. Adagio: 0:00–2:14
1. Allegro: 2:15–9:15
2. Andante: 9:40–16:45
3. Menuetto: 16:55– 21:55 (18:40 for trio)
4. Finale: 21:56–28:45
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as “fair use”, for the purpose of study, and critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of the copyright owner(s).
The Art of Listening 