The Seven Last Words of Christ (Haydn) were not the original Latin but pietist poetry, written in German. Haydn was impressed with the new work and decided to improve on it, preparing his own choral version. He had the assistance of Baron Gottfried van Swieten, who revised the lyrics used by Friebert. This was the first work in a serial collaboration with van Swieten as librettist that continued with the later oratorios "The Creation" and "The Seasons". The choral version was privately premiered in Vienna on 26 March 1796 before an audience of the nobility, under the sponsorship of the Gesellschaft der Associierten. The public premiere was
A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who birthday. The Who's music was arranged for orchestra by Michael Kamen, who directed The Juilliard Orchestra for the event. Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Eddie Vedder, Sinéad O'Connor, Lou Reed, David Sanborn, Alice Cooper, Linda Perry, The Chieftains and others performed as special guests. The event was followed by a major tour of the same name including John Entwistle on bass, Zak Starkey on drums and Simon Townshend on guitar. Although the tour was considered an artistic success, it didn't earn enough profit in several cities to cover high expenses, so it was concluded early. However, it did serve the purpose