In 1782 an enthusiastic young German landed in England. Through the fresh eyes of a foreigner we get a wonderful insight into what has or hasn't changed within the last two hundred years. In a series of letters home he describes his amazement at the number of English people who wore spectacles, the amount they drank, the dreadful food they ate, the expense of a simple salad, the drunkenness of the dons, the riotous behaviour in Parliament, and the high level of education among ordinary people.

Contents Include -THE CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA - The Pre-Classical Ochestra - Handle's Contribution - The English Manner - Subscription Concerts - Haydn in London - THE PHILHARMONIC PERIOD - The Founding of the Philharmonic Society of London - Temora Et Mores - English Relations with Beethoven - Why Weber came to London - The Mendelssohn Tradition - The Ochestra in Low Life - Costa and Berlioz - Wagnerian Interlude - Sir Charles Halle - THE NATIONALIST PERIOD - Manns and Grove at the Crystal Palace - Hans Richter - Municipal Music Under Sir Dan Godfrey - The Twentieth Century Ochestras - Reformation