The Seasons (Haydn) Heartz, writing near the end of a massive three-volume account of the Classical era, writes "The Hunting and Drinking choruses first led me to study Haydn's music more extensively beginning some forty years ago ... no music has elated me more in old age than "The Seasons"." Michael Steinberg writes that the work "ensure[s] Haydn's premiere place with Titian, Michelangelo and Turner, Mann and Goethe, Verdi and Stravinsky, as one of the rare artists to whom old age brings the gift of ever bolder invention." Opinions vary as to the nature of the relationship between "The Creation" and "The Seasons"
The Seasons (Tchaikovsky) to order, and they were a way of supplementing his income. He saw the writing of music to a commission as just as valid as writing music from his own inner inspiration; however, for the former he needed a definite plot or text, a time limit, and the promise of payment at the end. Most of the pieces were in simple ABA form, but each contains a minor melodic masterpiece. The 12 pieces with their subtitles are: A number of musicians have orchestrated Tchaikovsky's pieces. Aleksandr Gauk arranged "The Seasons" for symphony orchestra in 1942. In 2011 Sergei Abir created