The Symphonies of Haydn

The Early Years

It is now generally agreed that Haydn had written several symphonies

before he composed what is usually called No. 1 (Hob. I:1). That work
consists of three movements: Presto in D; Andante in G; and Finale,
Presto in D. Not until his third symphony does Haydn include a
minuet. Two oboes and two horns are added to the strings, but the
wind parts show nothing unexpected: the oboes double the strings
from time to time and the horns are restricted to playing fanfare-like
figures. The melodic material is divided between the violins, which
are often treated as if the work were a trio sonata, although in many
places they play in unison. The lower strings are bound together
almost entirely. Their function is to provide harmony (the harpsichord
continuo is not indicated but possibly would have been used) and, with
their reiterated, scrubbing eighth notes, provide a forward-driving
rhythm.

The First Esterhzy Years: to 1770

For Haydn, the decade of the 1760s was particularly rich in the
production of symphonies (approximately forty). No other single
genre in his output brings the past and the present together more
effectively. The four-movement symphony, opening and concluding
with fast movements which enclose an Adagio or Andante as second
movement and a Minuet and Trio in the third place, accounts for more
than half the total. The next most common format is the three-
movement configuration in which a fast first movement is followed by
a slow one, concluding with another fast movement or a Minuet and
Trio.

Throughout the decade, he also wrote symphonies in church-sonata

form, Slow / Fast / Minuet and Trio / Fast, with all movements in the
same key. Very occasionally, a Minuet and Trio will be used as a
second movement, or you will encounter a slow introduction to a fast
first movement.

First movements, except for those in the church-sonata symphonies,

are invariably brisk, and carry the marking Allegro or Presto or
Vivace. The material is fundamentally different from that which
Haydn finds suitable for sonatas or quartets. Unison passages, the
alternation of tonic and dominant harmony, cadential figures, and
simple melodic motives all help create a sense of verve and motion in
a texture in which musical events are spread very thin, in contrast to
 the compression, concentration, and pregnant density of the average
sonata or quartet.

The structure of the fast first movements is almost invariably

tripartite, with exposition, development, and recapitulation clearly
defined. The exposition is usually the longest section, and two-thirds
of the first movements have recapitulations somewhat longer than the
developments. Within the broad structural outline, however, the
small-scale variations, the exploration of novel relationships between
different parts of the melodic material, the variety and the extent of
contrast, all these exceed in invention and workmanship anything else
in symphonic music at this time.

Haydn's appointment to the Esterhzy family engendered the richest

response to the symphony genre of the decade. Symphonies Nos. 6, 7,
and 8, which carry the programmatic titles "Le Matin," "Le Midi," and
"Le Soir," were written, it is said, at the suggestion of Prince Anton, and
in them Haydn united a variety of stylistic influences. Perhaps the
most evident quality of these works is their sonorous richness, which
arises not from the use of novel or unexpected instruments, but from
utilizing the concerto principle within the symphonic framework. In
some movements the strings are scored as ripieno with concertino of
two violins and cello. In almost all movements the wind players
depart from their customary role of sustaining harmonies to become
soloists. In all three symphonies, the trio of the minuet movement
contains a prominent solo part for the double bass recalling Baroque
practices in the concerto grosso; yet Haydn, using the standard
combination of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, and string, creates a
modern orchestration, many of the features of which are retained and
used by him in his later symphonies.

The Stylistic Break: 1770-79

Haydn's symphonic production in the seventies is only slightly smaller

than in the sixties. The twenty-odd works from this decade tend to be
more uniform in structure. The church-sonata symphony disappears,
and its most important feature, the slow first movement, is
perpetuated by Haydn as the slow introduction to the first Allegro
movement, a practice which reached its peak in the last symphonies.

The pervasive uniformity tends to make Haydn's exceptional

procedures, his experiments with form, the more striking. The so-
called "Sturm und Drang" symphonies, Nos. 44 in E minor, 45 in F#
minor, and 52 in C minor, are each distinguished by thematic material
of unusual potency.
 Symphonies from this "Sturm und Drang" period are on a larger scale
than the symphonies of the previous decade. Themes are more
broadly laid out, those of the fast movements often beginning with a
bold unison proclamation followed immediately by a contrasting idea,
with the whole theme then restated. Development sections which use
motives from the themes, become more propulsive and dramatic.
Dramatic also are the unexpected changes from forte to piano, the
crescendos and sforzati that are part of this style. Counterpoint
appears, not as a foreign element contrasting with homophonic
texture, but as a natural concomitant of the musical ideas. The
harmonic palette is richer than in the early symphonies; modulations
range more widely and the harmonic arches are broader.

The most exceptional symphony is perhaps No. 60 in C of 1774,

subtitled "Il distratto" (The Absent-minded Man). Its based on the
music Haydn wrote for a play by Regnard. It is in six distinct
movements, not counting the slow introduction to the first movement,
and is built like an ordinary symphony with an extra Adagio and
Presto tacked onto the end.

The most individual, the most important, and the most artistically
successful of the symphonies of the seventies is No. 45 in F# minor,
known as the "Farewell." It stands as evidence of the way Haydn chose
to make a point with his patron -- to allow the musicians to go back to
town to see their wives and families after having been at the summer
palace for six months. The final Presto breaks off into an Adagio, in
the course of which one group of instruments after another concludes
its part and the players get up and leave, until only the first violin is
left to play the closing measures. The "Farewell" Symphony is unusual
in several other respects: the first movement introduces a long new
them in the course of the development section -- an experiment which
Haydn never repeated; both the second movement and the final
Adagio use the extended harmonic vocabulary characteristic of
Haydn's works in this period. The key of this symphony, F# minor, is
exceptional for the 18th century, but such remote tonalities are one of
the marks of Haydn's style at this time. His use of key relationships in
the "Farewell" is also significant. He departs from the minor mode in
the Adagio, going to A major, and in the Minuet to F# major. Even
though the final Presto is in F# minor, the closing Adagio begins in A
major and ends in F# major.

The Last Years at Esterhza : 1780-90

Haydn composed approximately twenty symphonies during this

decade, by the end of which his most mature style was established. All
of them are four-movement works with a fast first movement, a slow
movement, a Minuet and Trio, and a fast Finale. Increasingly, Haydn's
 symphonies result from foreign commissions and commitments, and
are composed with a specific audience in mind.

From the earlier part of the decade, the 77th Symphony is remarkable
in that its fourth movement is a rigorously monothematic sonata form,
exemplifying Haydn's tendency to use folksong-like themes in
extremely contrasting ways -- with the barest accompaniment, or as a
subject for complex imitative or Fuxian counterpoint.

In 1784 Haydn received a commission to write six symphonies from

the directors of the "Concert de la Loge Olympique," the largest
concert-giving organization in Paris. In the Symphonies Nos. 82-87,
known ever since as the "Paris" Symphonies, one senses a greater
depth and breadth of musical substance. First movements have all the
crash and bustle of earlier symphonies, but in addition to the usual
chords and arpeggios there is stronger melodic material. The number
of Adagio movements of serious, quasi-religious quality gradually
increases, replacing variation movements built on folksongs in
Andante tempo or faster. Minuets show less change, while more
Finales are based on popular tunes, rather than those tags and scraps
of melody that lend themselves to contrapuntal treatment.

After the Paris Symphonies, there were five more completed by the
end of the decade. Nos. 88 and 89 were written for Johann Tost, who
took them to Paris and sold them to a publisher there. The Symphony
No. 88 has always been recognized as one of Haydn's finest. Perhaps
more than any other, it demonstrates the fact that the modern
symphony could no longer rely upon stock gestures of unison chords,
or rapid scales, or tremolos, or any of the other standard devices from
which the symphony had, until now, been constructed.

The three Symphonies Nos. 90-92 were probably commissioned by the

Comte d'Ogny, a Parisian aristocrat. They demonstrate Haydn's most
advanced orchestration, particularly in his use of woodwinds. No. 92
was nicknamed "The Oxford" because Haydn chose this work to be
played on the occasion of his being awarded an honorary doctorate by
the university in that city.

Freedom / London

In September of 1790, Haydn's patron and old friend, Prince Nikolaus

Esterhzy, died. His son, Paul Anton, the new Prince, had no use for
music and dismissed all the musical and theatrical staff. Haydn had
been left a pension in Prince Nikolaus' will and Prince Anton kept him
on with no duties and a nominal salary. Haydn accepted an invitation
from the violinist and impresario, Johann Peter Salomon, to come to
London to compose and conduct concerts.
With the twelve symphonies composed for his two London visits,
Haydn reaches a personal pinnacle, setting a standard of excellence by
which every symphony of the late 18th century is measured. Each visit
was the occasion for six new symphonies.

First
No. Key Composed
Performed
London,
93 D major February 1792
1791
G major London,
94 March 1792
("Surprise") 1791
London,
95 C minor 1791
1791
D major London,
96 1791
("Miracle") 1791
London,
97 C major May 1792
1792
London,
98 B-flat major March 1792
1792
Austria,
99 E-flat major February 1794
1793
G major London,
100 March 1794
("Military") 1794
London,
101 D major ("Clock") March 1794
1794
London,
102 B-flat major February 1795
1794
E-flat ("Drum London,
103 March 1795
Roll") 1795
D major London,
104 May 1795
("London") 1795

The symphonies are all marvels of freshness of inspiration, as rich in

details of orchestration and in elaborate contrapuntal devices as they
are inventive in structure.

The Symphony No. 102 in B-flat, considered one of the very best, shows
some of the qualities shared by all of them. It resembles the first six in
the omission of clarinets in its orchestration. Of the second group,
only Nos. 101 and 102 do not use clarinets. Eleven of the twelve
London Symphonies begin with a slow introduction, each of which
serves a different purpose within the compositional process. There
are those like Nos. 94 and 104 where a relationship between
Introduction and Allegro is so abstruse as to cause the listener to doubt
whether any connection is intended by the composer. There are those,
like No. 97, where a phrase at the opening and closing of the
Introduction is almost literally repeated toward the conclusion of the
Allegro. There is the case of No. 103, where the long Introduction
recurs towards the close of the first movement and makes its
relationship to the material of the whole movement obvious.

In No. 102, a repetition of the opening leads to a modulation

development in which the figure stated by the first violins in measure
2 is relayed throughout the orchestral texture. It is this figure that
might be called the musical germ from which the symphony springs.
The working-out of the figure can be followed easily throughout the
movement. The melodies of both Minuet and Trio bear a recognizable
relationship to the opening of the symphony. The slow movement
seems to have no particular connection with the first movement. The
last movement, however, contains another instance of Haydn's
amazing humor which is both funny and structurally significant to the
whole of the work. It contains a section played fortissimo then
repeated piano almost begging the listener to think back to the
opening of the symphony to make the connection.

Hailed by the British as "the greatest composer in the world," Haydn

was determined to live up to what was expected of him. The London
Symphonies are consequently the crown of his achievements.
Everything he had learned in forty years of experience went into
them. While there are no radical departures from his previous works,
all the elements are brought together on a grander scale, with more
brilliant orchestration, more daring conception of harmony and key
relationships, and an intensified rhythmic drive.

His orchestrations include trumpets, independent of the horns, and

cellos, independent of the basses. Solo strings are sometimes featured
against the full orchestra. Woodwinds are treated even more
independently than before.

Novelties in the London Symphonies demonstrate Haydn's grasp of the

musical taste of London at the time -- the "Surprise" crash in the
second movement of No. 94; the trumpet fanfare and use of "turkish"
instruments (bass drum, cymbals, triangle) in the "Military" Symphony
No. 100; the "ticking" accompaniment in the Andante of No. 101 (The
Clock); and the use of folksong melodies in Nos. 103 and 104.