Haydn: The 'Paris' Symphonies

Bernard Harrison author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:24th Sep '98

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Haydn: The 'Paris' Symphonies cover

An examination of Haydn's symphonies Nos. 82-7.

This handbook examines the work from a number of cultural and technical perspectives.Haydn's Symphonies Nos. 82-7 are seminal works in Haydn's output and mark a new level of compositional attainment, launching the important cycle of mature Haydn symphonies written for an international audience. Three chapters of the book deal with the reception of Haydn's symphonies in Paris, documenting the extent to which they dominated the repertoire of important public concert series. The aesthetic basis of Haydn's reception in Paris in the 1780s is considered in discussions of the notions of 'popular' and 'learned' taste and such notions inform the commentaries on the symphonies themselves. Thus as well as discussing technical features of Symphonies Nos. 82-7, broader concerns include the relationship between orchestral splendour and eighteenth-century notions of beauty; the relationship between genius, originality and convention; irony and humour; and the updating of popular orchestral taste.

'This is an excellent introduction to a wonderful set of symphonies, and a popular vindication of the new direction of Haydn scholarship.' The Times Literary Supplement

ISBN: 9780521477437

Dimensions: 216mm x 139mm x 8mm

Weight: 160g

136 pages