No Innocent Victim - No Compromise

Before his second English journey, Haydn seemed to be a character of the time, not even of Emperor Joseph, but of Maria Theresa. Outwardly, he looked like that - with his addiction to wigs and camisoles. His music was often presented the same, which was liked by absolutely everyone, from maidservants to empresses, but at the same time never sought to go beyond the decent. Haydn seemed to have voluntarily committed himself in the spirit of the ancient Greek Stoics: "nothing is beyond measure." But those whose hearts longed for shocks preferred to turn to Gluck and Mozart, and lovers of sensual sound delights revel in the tunes of Italians - Sarti, Cimarosa, Galuppi, Paisiello, Paera. New trends came from France along with the operas of Gretry, Megul, Cherubini, in which the dramatic got along with piquant and funny.