Haydn's Drum Roll Symphony No 103
Frances Fyfield is in the British Library to look at the handwritten manuscript of one of Josef Haydn's London Symphonies, the Drum Roll.
Josef Haydn's two visits to London produced the final flourish of his symphonic writing. His fame, established in the Esterhazy Court in the Austro-Hungarian Empire had travelled before him and once in the UK he was something of a celebrity. But on his final departure in 1795 he took most of his music with him. The fact that the handwritten manuscript of the Drumroll Symphony, his 103rd and penultimate, is in the hands of the British Library is due to its journey by way of the French composer Luigi Cherubini.
Frances is joined by the British Library's Richard Chesser, Percussionist Mick Doran, Co-leader of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Maggie Faultless and music scholar David Wynn Jones to tell the story of that journey. They're also inspired by the careful and clear penmanship of the composer, the small but telling instructions to players and the brilliance of his creativity under the pressure of the London celebrity spotlight.
Producer: Tom Alban.
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- Tue 21 Jun 2016 11:30大象传媒 Radio 4
- Sat 25 Jun 2016 15:30大象传媒 Radio 4
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