3 Review(s)

An original study of the history of the symphony in Vienna during Beethoven's lifetime, this 2006 book explores the context in which the composer worked. Based on an extensive study of the wider symphonic repertoire of the period and of the characteristics of musical life that shaped the changing fortunes of the genre, from manuscript and printed dissemination to concert life, David Wyn Jones provides a multi-faceted account of the development of the symphony in one of the most crucial periods in its history. The volume offers a wide perspective on musical development in the period, and will be of interest to musicologists and cultural historians. As well as dealing with unfamiliar works by Czerny, Eberl, Krommer, Reicha, Anton Wranitzky, Paul Wranitzky and others, it charts the changing reception of the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart, and offers insights into the symphonic careers of Beethoven and Schubert.