Haydn Seasons Winter

From: a Senior Recital given by the accompanist at Hartt College, University of Hartford Dec. 9, 1984. Soloist “assisted“ accompanist and would have preferred to have sung in the original German but this decision was up to the accompanist. It was his recital. Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809), Austrian composer. A major exponent of the classical style, he was musical director to the household of Hungary’s Prince Esterházy 1761-90. His work includes 104 symphonies, chamber and keyboard music, and the oratorio The Creation (1796-98). The Seasons premiered in Vienna on April 24, 1801 and was considered a clear success, but not a success comparable to that of The Creation. In fact, this has been the critical verdict on The Seasons ever since, and to this day it is performed considerably less often than the earlier oratorio.