Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras: Haydn in London

The present church of St Martin-in-the-Fields – Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras’ London home – celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2026.

The English Baroque Soloists with Peter Whelan, and renowned cellist Christophe Coin, mark this milestone with a programme of music written and first performed within a stone’s throw of this wondrous building, by the “Father of the Symphony”, Franz Joseph Haydn and his contemporary Johann Christian Bach.

With the death of his patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, in 1790 Haydn became a free agent, and Johann Peter Salomon seized the opportunity to bring Europe’s most famous composer to Soho. Haydn’s music already dominated the fashionable Hanover Square Rooms – especially after the death of the London-based Johann Christian Bach (youngest son of J.S.), whose Symphony in G minor opens the second half. Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 was premiered at Hanover Square 1784, and a decade later he embarked on his second trip to London. From this come two of his best-known symphonies, earning nicknames through their popularity: the “Military” (No. 100), and the “London” (No. 104).

The English Baroque Soloists have this music in their blood, and the period instruments of the orchestra cast these works in an entirely fresh light. Historically-informed performance specialist Peter Whelan returns to the helm after a “thrilling” (The Times), “dazzling” (The Observer) and “unbeatable” (Scherzo) debut in 2024.