Composer of the Week

Donald Macleod introduces Joseph Haydn, a composer who was more famous in his lifetime than Mozart or Beethoven, and who has since become known as the first great master of the string quartet and the so-called 'father of the symphony'. Donald investigates many aspects of Haydn's turbulent personality, including commercial opportunism, double dealing, penny pinching and matrimonial misery. Each programme also features an important Haydn symphony, beginning today with the Symphony No. 101, 'Clock', the work of a great composer on top form, written for a rapturous reception in late 18th-century London.