Bill H wrote:

>I believe that if one looks at the circumstances involving their
>commission, symphonies Nos.  88-92 could also be considered "Paris"
>symphonies.  And yes, that includes the "Oxford", which FJH didn't compose
>for the occasion of receiving his doctorate from that institution--rather,
>it was something he had "at hand".

There are doubts too, as to whether the first few London Symphonies were
actually composed for English performance as such.

This is important because we have a line here that leads to the early
Beethoven symphonies and hence Romanticism.  And, it has been argued that
Haydn was greatly influenced by the need to produce music for the English
audience.

Of equal if not greater importance, I feel, is the death of Nicholas
Esterhazy in 1790 and the subsequent softening of Haydn's terms of
employment.  This gave him greater freedom to write what he wanted rather
than what his employer wanted.

Bob Draper
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