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Haydn rounded his life with "The Creation" and "The Seasons."
They were the summit of his achievement, as little to be expected
from him, considering his years, as "Falstaff" was to be expected
from the octogenarian Verdi. Some geniuses flower late. It was
only now, by his London symphonies and his "Creation," that
Haydn's genius blossomed so luxuriantly as to place him with
almost amazing suddenness among the very first of composers.
There is hardly anything more certain than this, that if he had
not come to London he would not have stood where he stands to-day.
The best of his symphonies were written for London; and it was
London, in effect, that set him to work in what was for him
practically a new direction, leading to the production of an
oratorio which at once took its place by the side of Handel's
master-pieces, and rose to a popularity second only to that of
"The Messiah" itself.
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