Post by erik on Jun 20, 2015 11:49:07 GMT -5
Franz Joseph Haydn's second-to-last symphony, part of his London cycle, is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight, not only because of his compositional greatness, but because of the attention-getting effect that earned the symphony the nickname it has.
Haydn: SYMPHONY NO. 103 IN E FLAT MAJOR (DRUMROLL)
Haydn’s two visits to London in the late 1790s were to provide a windfall not only to the great composer himself, but also to Western classical music in general. The two visits produced the final twelve symphonies of his career (nos. 93-104), known as the “London” symphonies, works that, along with the last six of his much younger (and much missed) contemporary Mozart, elevated the symphony to the pre-eminent form in classical music. Haydn also had a gift for giving his symphonies attention-getting effects, as to witness the bassoon “belch” in the slow movement of the 93rd, and the sharp orchestral jolt in the slow movement of the 94th that gave it the nickname the Surprise Symphony. His second-to-last symphony, the 103rd, continued in that tradition. Because of the fairly ominous timpani roll (though Haydn never specified dynamics markings) that introduces the work, it has since been known as the “Drumroll”; and the effect is repeated near the end of the first movement, which is introduced, following the drumroll motif, with a motif whose notes are faintly reminiscent of the “Dies Irae” heard in the traditional Roman Mass for the Dead. The slow movement’s main themes, in C Minor, seem to be reminiscent of ancient Croatian folk melodies, while the Menuet that follows is full of unusual twists and turns that seem to indicate just how much Mozart still meant to Haydn as a composer (by the time of this work’s composition, Mozart had been gone for four years). The finale, in which Haydn takes the listener into remote key areas, seems to presage certain elements of the first two symphonies of Beethoven, which were to come along in jus three to four years. Following the success of this work, its successor (#104), the Sinfonia-Concertante, and the Trumpet Concerto, Haydn returned to Vienna, and spent the final years of his compositional life largely in the choral genre, creating his two contributions to the oratorio form (“The Creation”; “The Seasons”), and his final settings of the Latin Mass.
Orchestra of St. Luke’s/SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS (Telarc)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 100 IN G MAJOR (MILITARY)
Haydn: SYMPHONY NO. 103 IN E FLAT MAJOR (DRUMROLL)
Haydn’s two visits to London in the late 1790s were to provide a windfall not only to the great composer himself, but also to Western classical music in general. The two visits produced the final twelve symphonies of his career (nos. 93-104), known as the “London” symphonies, works that, along with the last six of his much younger (and much missed) contemporary Mozart, elevated the symphony to the pre-eminent form in classical music. Haydn also had a gift for giving his symphonies attention-getting effects, as to witness the bassoon “belch” in the slow movement of the 93rd, and the sharp orchestral jolt in the slow movement of the 94th that gave it the nickname the Surprise Symphony. His second-to-last symphony, the 103rd, continued in that tradition. Because of the fairly ominous timpani roll (though Haydn never specified dynamics markings) that introduces the work, it has since been known as the “Drumroll”; and the effect is repeated near the end of the first movement, which is introduced, following the drumroll motif, with a motif whose notes are faintly reminiscent of the “Dies Irae” heard in the traditional Roman Mass for the Dead. The slow movement’s main themes, in C Minor, seem to be reminiscent of ancient Croatian folk melodies, while the Menuet that follows is full of unusual twists and turns that seem to indicate just how much Mozart still meant to Haydn as a composer (by the time of this work’s composition, Mozart had been gone for four years). The finale, in which Haydn takes the listener into remote key areas, seems to presage certain elements of the first two symphonies of Beethoven, which were to come along in jus three to four years. Following the success of this work, its successor (#104), the Sinfonia-Concertante, and the Trumpet Concerto, Haydn returned to Vienna, and spent the final years of his compositional life largely in the choral genre, creating his two contributions to the oratorio form (“The Creation”; “The Seasons”), and his final settings of the Latin Mass.
Orchestra of St. Luke’s/SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS (Telarc)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 100 IN G MAJOR (MILITARY)
I like John Eliot Gardiner's recordings a lot much of the time. & that includes his 'alternative' takes on later Romantic era stuff, like the Brahms symphonies & German Requiem, Beethoven and such. & Rene Jacobs's recordings of Mozart operas are often great, and at least interesting. Good point about more