The Land of Opportunity: Joseph Haydn and Britain

On more than one occasion, the great composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) remarked that he became well known in his native Austria only after he had made two visits to London in the 1790s. Although he was connected with the Esterházy court for over forty years, and his music was performed in many of Europe’s major cities, London was to be the only European city, apart from Vienna, to welcome the composer in person. He engaged fully with London’s musical life during his two visits and responded readily to the city’s commercial vitality. He later told his biographer, Albert Christoph Dies, that London was his “land of opportunity.” The essays in this volume examine the relationship between the composer and the commercial, political, and social spheres of London during the eighteenth century and help explain the unparalleled popularity Haydn and his music have enjoyed ever since.