The Faber Pocket Guide to Haydn

Joseph Haydn is one of the greatest and most innovative of all composers, yet in some ways he is still curiously misunderstood. This engaging new Pocket Guide assesses what Haydn's music means to us today, and challenges some of the myths that have grown up around the composer. With suggestions for further reading and recommended CD recordings, Richard Wigmore's crisp and concise guide presents you with all you need to listen to and enjoy Haydn's music. It explores each of his key works, from his symphonies to his quartets, from his choral works to his sonatas, and invites a new generation of listeners to discover the depth and dazzling ingenuity of this most humane and life-affirming of composers.

Richard Wigmore is a distinguished musicologist, specialising in the Viennese Classical period and Lieder, and he has written many CD notes, concert programme notes, newspaper and magazine articles on Haydn. He writes regularly for Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine and the Daily Telegraph, and is a frequent broadcaster on BBC Radio 3. His previous publications include Schubert: The Complete Song Texts.