Classical Instrumental Works for Orchestra

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

Haydn arrived in London at the beginning of February 1794 for his second stay in England. At this point in time, the Symphony in E-flat major Hob. I:99 had already been completed and was premiered on...

Haydn arrived in London at the beginning of February 1794 for his second stay in England. Two movements of the Symphony in G major Hob. I:100 had already been completed by then, and the finished work...

Haydn arrived in London at the beginning of February 1794 for his second stay in England. By this time, he had completed three movements of the Symphony in D major Hob. I:101, and the finished work wa...

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

The twelve 'London Symphonies' comprise the sublime final statement of Haydn's symphonic œuvre. They were written for the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, and Haydn himself conducted their prem...

Beethoven's nine symphonies, composed over a period of around 25 years between 1799 and 1824, were already regarded as his musical legacy soon after his death. The composer explores the entire spectru...

Robert Schumann once said that 'when a German speaks of symphonies, he is speaking of Beethoven'. With his nine symphonies, Beethoven set a standard against which subsequent composers measured themsel...

Robert Schumann once said that 'when a German speaks of symphonies, he is speaking of Beethoven'. With his nine symphonies, Beethoven set a standard against which all subsequent composers measured the...

In 1803 Beethoven wrote his Third Symphony and, as is widely known, it was originally in honour of Napoleon Bonaparte. Yet it was published three years later with a dedication to Beethoven's patron Pr...

Beethoven composed his Symphony in Bb major in 1806, a very productive year in which he wrote numerous other great works - such as the 4th Piano Concerto and the Violin Concerto. Today it is unjustly...

Beethoven probably completed his 5th Symphony in early 1808. Today, it is one of the most famous works of classical music ever written. Beethoven's biographer Anton Schindler posthumously gave it the...

Beethoven probably completed the 6th Symphony in the early summer of 1808. Titled the 'Pastoral Symphony' by the composer himself, this orchestral work was premiered together with the 5th Symphony in...

The premiere of this work in December 1813 ranks among the greatest successes Beethoven ever celebrated in public as a composer. One reviewer wrote at the time that in its themes the new symphony was...

Sandwiched between the popular Symphonies Nos. 7 and 9, the relatively short Eighth Symphony finds itself in a difficult position even now. Right after the premiere in February 1814, one critic opined...

Brahms struggled for years with composition of his First Symphony -- the feeling of impotence in the face of Beethoven's works seemed overwhelming. He wrote to his friend, the conductor Hermann Levi:...

During composition of his First Symphony, Brahms was still very much under Beethoven's influence; in his Second Symphony he loosened the ties considerably. The principle of motivic embellishment now i...

On the premiere of the 3rd Symphony in the Musikvereinssaal in Vienna in 1883, the Wagnerites, who disliked Brahms, hissed after every movement. Yet Brahms' biographer Max Kalbeck said, 'The audience...

The genesis of the Fourth Symphony possibly goes back to the 1870s when Brahms was studying the Bach Cantata 'Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich', whose chaconne theme forms the nucleus of the finale. Aro...