On more than one occasion the great composer Joseph Haydn remarked that he became well known in his own country only after he had made two visits to London in the 1790s. Although he was connected with the Esterhazy court for over forty years and his music was performed in many of Europe's major cities, London was to be the only European city, apart from Vienna, to welcome the composer in person. He engaged fully with its musical life during his two visits in the 1790s and responded readily to its commercial vitality, later telling his biographer Albert Christoph Dies that it was his 'land of opportunity'. The essays in this volume examine the relationship between the composer and the commercial, political and social world and help explain the unparalleled popularity Haydn and his music have enjoyed ever since. Contributors: David Wyn Jones, Thomas Tolley, Alan Davison, Caroline Grigson, David Rowland, Balazs Mikusi, Otto Biba, Ingrid Fuchs, Rupert Ridgewell, Christopher Wiley, Arthur Searle