Symphony No. 92 in G Major

How did a symphony composed in rural Hungary for a Parisian count come to bear the name of an English university city? In July 1791 Haydn’s concerts had been wowing London audiences for a little over six months, and he had been recommended for an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. Three festive concerts at the Sheldonian Theatre accompanied the ceremony but the local orchestra found Haydn’s latest symphonies too challenging and fell back on one composed a couple of years earlier, which subsequently came to bear the city’s name. After a noble slow introduction, the spirited “Allegro” only just finds G major in time to build a compelling argument from its off-key opening theme and the ideas that spin off from it. The mellifluous slow movement is characterised by some of Haydn’s most sublime wind-writing, while the “Minuet” and “Trio” wrongfoot any potential dancers with misplaced accents and surprise silences, before the insolent theme of the freewheeling finale skids and skates to an irresistibly giddy conclusion.