It was in his monumental 12 "London" symphonies, composed between 1791 and 1795, that Haydn shaped the early form of the symphony and set the standard for later composers. According to the New Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the appeal of these works stems from their stature as "grand" symphonies, embodying a "broader presentation of musical ideas" and "themes and motifs of a basic simplicity and immediate appeal."
The present...