Acclaimed music director Ton Koopman, renowned for his interpretation of the early music repertoire, embarks on a series of recordings which will cover all twelve “London” symphonies of Joseph Haydn. They will be performed on instruments of the period. Koopman is joined on this venture by his orchestra Amsterdam Baroque, the group with which he has produced many of his finest performances.

Ton Koopman is one of the world’s foremost early music specialists and directors. His recording of the complete Bach Cantatas received worldwide acclaim, and his on-going cycle of the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude has also been highly praised by the critics. Volume 5 was an “Editor’s Choice” in the September 2009 edition of “The Gramophone.”

Symphony No.97 in C Major is the fifth of the so-called “London” symphonies which were composed at the time of his first trip to the capital. It was first performed in early May 1792 at the city’s Hanover Square Rooms. During the same year he wrote the 98th Symphony in B Flat Major, a work which is unique among Haydn’s later symphonies in that it features an obligato part for harpsichord.