The Symphony No. 94 in G major (Hoboken 1/94) is the second of the twelve so-called London symphonies (numbers 93-104) written by Joseph Haydn Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer. He was one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these genres. He was also instrumental in the development of the piano trio and in. It is usually called by its nickname, the Surprise Symphony, although in German it is more often referred to as the Symphony "mit dem Paukenschlag" ("with the kettledrum stroke").

Contents

Date of composition

Haydn wrote the symphony in 1791 in London for a concert series he gave during the first of his visits to England (1791–1792). The premiere took place at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on March 23 March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 283 days remaining until the end of the year, 1792 Year 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar), with Haydn leading the orchestra seated at a fortepiano Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music. Starting in Beethoven's time, the fortepiano began a period of steady evolution,.

Scoring

The Surprise Symphony is scored for a Classical-era orchestra consisting of two each of flutes The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of Hornbostel-Sachs, flutes are categorized as Edge-blown aerophones, oboes The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca. 1770 from the Italian oboè, a transliteration in that language's orthography of the 17th-century, bassoons The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 1800s, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band, and chamber music literature. The bassoon is a non-transposing instrument known for its, horns The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about 12–13 feet of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player (or less frequently, a hornist), trumpets The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are constructed of brass tubing bent twice into an oblong shape, and are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a, plus timpani Timpani are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Unlike, and the usual string section consisting of first and second violins The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello. The double bass is often described as a member of the violin family, though its tuning and other characteristics share much with the viol, violas The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello, cellos The cello is a bowed string instrument. The word derives from the Italian violoncello. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra. It is the second largest bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, the double bass, and double basses The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, bass violin or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The double bass is a standard member of the string section of the symphony orchestra and smaller string ensembles in Western classical music. In addition, it is used in.

A typical performance of the Surprise Symphony lasts about 23 minutes.

Nickname (the Surprise)

Haydn's music contains many jokes, and the 'Surprise' Symphony includes probably the most famous of all: a sudden fortissimo In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional (velocity). The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics. Dynamics do not indicate specific volume levels, but are meant to be chord at the end of an otherwise piano In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional (velocity). The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics. Dynamics do not indicate specific volume levels, but are meant to be opening theme in the variation-form second movement. The music then returns to its original quiet dynamic In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional (velocity). The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics. Dynamics do not indicate specific volume levels, but are meant to be, as if nothing had happened, and the ensuing variations do not repeat the joke.

In his old age Haydn was asked by his biographer Griesinger whether he had written this "surprise" of the Andante in order to waken the audience:

No, but I was interested in surprising the public with something new, and in making a brilliant debut, so that my student Pleyel, who was at that time engaged by an orchestra in London (in 1792) and whose concerts had opened a week before mine, should not outdo me. The first Allegro of my symphony had already met with countless Bravos, but the enthusiasm reached its highest peak at the Andante with the Drum Stroke. Encore! Encore! sounded in every throat, and Pleyel himself complimented me on my idea.[1]

The work was popular at its premiere. The Woodfall's Register critic wrote, "The third piece of HAYDN was a new Overture [i.e. symphony], of very extraordinary merit. It was simple, profound, and sublime. The andante movement was particularly admired." The Morning Herald critic wrote, "The Room was crowded last night ... A new composition from such a man as HAYDN is a great event in the history of music. -- His novelty of last night was a grand Overture, the subject of which was remarkably simple, but extended to vast complication, exquisitly [sic] modulated and striking in effect. Critical applause was fervid and abundant."[2]

The symphony is still popular today and is frequently performed and recorded.

Movements

Like all of Haydn's "London" symphonies, the work is in four movements, marked as follows:

The first movement has a lyrical 3/4 introduction that precedes a highly rhythmic main section in 6/8 time. As with much of Haydn's work, it is written in so-called "monothematic" sonata form Sonata form is a musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period. While it is typically used in the first movement of multimovement pieces, it is sometimes employed in subsequent movements as well. Study of the sonata form in music theory rests on a standard definition and a series of hypotheses about the underlying reasons; that is, the movement to the dominant The dominant is a psycho-acoustic phenomenon. It is created in the ear, conforms to verifiable mathematical relationships, yet only really exists in the musical imagination of the listener. That said however, all humans, and evidently, some animals, experience the sensation of Tonality key in the exposition is not marked by a "second theme".

The second "surprise" movement, the Andante is a theme and variations In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition: reiteration with changes. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre or orchestration in 2/4 time in the subdominant In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately "below" the dominant. In the C key of C major C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps. The theme is in two eight-bar sections, each repeated. Haydn sets up the surprise, which occurs at the end of the repeat of the first section, by making the repeat pianissimo with pizzicato Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument in the lower strings. Four variations of the theme follow, starting with embellishment in sixteenth notes by the first violins, moving to a stormy variation in C minor with trumpets and timpani, then solos for the first oboist The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca. 1770 from the Italian oboè, a transliteration in that language's orthography of the 17th-century and flautist The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of Hornbostel-Sachs, flutes are categorized as Edge-blown aerophones, and concluding with a sweeping and lyrical forte repeat in triplets. In the coda section, the opening notes are stated once more, this time reharmonized with gently dissonant diminished seventh chords A diminished seventh chord ( play ) is a four note chord comprising a diminished triad plus the interval of a diminished seventh (alternatively regarded enharmonically as a major sixth) above the root. Thus it is (1, ♭3, ♭5, 7), or enharmonically (1, ♭3, ♭5, 6), of any major scale; for example, C diminished-seventh would be (C, E♭, G♭, over a tonic pedal In tonal music, a pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i.e., dissonant harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point is a "non-chord tone", which puts it in the same musical categories as suspensions, retardations, and passing tones. However, the pedal point is unique among non-.

The third movement is a minuet A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, meaning small, pretty, delicate, a diminutive of menu, from the Latin minutus; menuetto is a word that occurs only on musical scores. The name may refer to the short steps, pas menus, and trio Categories: Musical groups | Musical trios | Musical groups by numbers, in ternary form Ternary form is a three-part A–B–A structure in a piece of music. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part (B) contrasts sharply with it. The B section is often known as a trio in the tonic key (G major). The tempo, Allegro molto, or very quickly, is of note since it marks the historical shift away from the old minuet (at a slower, i.e. danceable, tempo) toward the scherzo A scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or string quartet. Scherzo also frequently refers to a; by the time of his last quartets Haydn had started to mark his minuets presto.

The fourth movement is a characteristically rhythmic, energetic and propulsive Haydn finale. The movement is written in sonata rondo form Sonata rondo form was a form of musical organization often used during the Classical music era. As the name implies, it is a blend of sonata form and rondo form with the opening bars appearing both at the beginning and in the middle of the development section. The stirring coda emphasizes the timpani Timpani are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Unlike.

Later uses

Toward the end of his active career Haydn wove the theme of the second movement into an aria An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment. Perhaps the most common context for arias is opera, although there are many arias that form movements of oratorios and of his oratorio An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the opera[dubious – discuss]. Their similarities include the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is musical theatre, while oratorio is strictly a The Seasons (1801), in which the bass soloist depicts a plowman whistling Haydn's tune as he works.

The same theme is also frequently adapted for the purpose of teaching musical beginners; see Papa Haydn.

The composer Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is widely regarded as one of the first American composers of international significance. Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original". Ives combined the wrote a parody of the second movement in 1909, penning the words "Nice little easy sugar-plum sounds" under the opening notes. Ives was unhappy with concert audiences who unadventurously resisted difficult modern music--as is shown by other words in his parody: "Nice sweety silk bonnet melodies ... nice pretty perfumed sounds for the dress circle cushion chai[r] ears."[3] Since the opening notes of Haydn's second movement are very simple, they were a suitable choice for Ives's purpose..

Notes

  1. ^ Haydn: Two Contemporary Portraits, transl. and ed. Vernon Gotwals, Madison, Wisconsin, 1968, p. 33.
  2. ^ Quotations from Robbins Landon (1976, 149)
  3. ^ Sinclair 572-573

References

See also

Show All>>

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers Wikipedia is an online open-content collaborative encyclopedia, that is, a voluntary association of individuals and groups working to develop a common resource of human knowledge. The structure of the project allows anyone with an Internet connection to alter its content. Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by]
This page was last archived by our server on Sun Sep 5 01:23:15 2010. [ refresh local cache ]
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

[Hide]▼
[Hide]▲