MOZART'S INFLUENCE ON ENGLISH MUSIC

Abstract

BY the end of the eighteenth century the galant style of J. C. Bach, strengthened and enriched by Haydn, had become the everyday idiom for all instrumental music in England. The effect of Haydn's symphonies had been immense. Probably it was their orchestration which above all astonished an audience accustomed to the lightweight scoring of J. C. Bach, Abel, and the Italian operas popular in the 1780's. Haydn's popularity had been established partly as a result of two highly successful visits to London. It was vastly increased, in the eyes of the English, by the flattering facts that he first wrote twelve important symphonies specially for London, and later composed an oratorio on what was regarded as the English model. 'The Creation' was, indeed, the only work for over a century that was conceded a place beside Handel's oratorios, though it is an odd fact that after the first few performances it became the regular practice to perform only the first part. Several English oratorios were written in imitation of 'The Creation' and 'The Seasons'.' The few symphonies of the early I8oo's, notably those by S. Wesley2 and Crotch, imitate the plans and dimensions of Haydn's London symphonies, their tonality, and above all their orchestration. His piano sonatas were also a good deal imitated around the turn of the century. His chamber music had less direct influence, for English string quartets and piano trios were a rarity at this time. Haydn has remained a popular composer in England ever since. His music has never been difficult to listen to, and the attitude to it has not, on the whole, changed a great deal since I8oo. Naturally there was a decline in popularity as other composers became more fashionable, but his symphonies held their own all through the nineteenth century, while his chamber music increased in popularity with the advent of the chamber concert in 1835. He was thought of as the father of the modem school of instrumental music, and the senior member of that great trio of symphonists with whom all other composers were compared.