The Seasons (Haydn) France or French people; Haydn in fact had friendly relationships with French musicians (see, e.g. Paris symphonies). Rather, Haydn was probably referring to an earlier attempt by van Swieten to persuade him to set the croaking of the frogs by showing him a work by the French composer André Grétry that likewise included frog-croaking. Although the work has always attracted far less attention than "The Creation", it nonetheless has been strongly appreciated by critics. Charles Rosen calls both oratorios "among the greatest works of the century", but judges "The Seasons" to be the musically more successful of the two. Daniel
The Creation of the Violin The Creation of the Violin "The Creation of the Violin" is a Transylvanian Roma fairy tale. It was first written down by in 1890 and included in his German book, "About the Travelling Gypsy People: Scenes of the Life of the Transylvanian Gypsies". A poor couple wishes in vain to have a child, and the wife complains about her misery to an old woman she meets in a forest. The hag sends her home with the instruction, "Go home and cut open a pumpkin, pour milk into it and drink it. You will then give birth to a boy who