Post by erik on Jun 12, 2021 17:30:42 GMT -5
The sixth of Franz Joseph Haydn's "Paris" symphonies, and the 87th overall in his entire symphonic canon, is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Haydn: SYMPHONY NO. 87 IN A MAJOR
By 1786, Franz Joseph Haydn was firmly established as the father of the symphony; the only serious “competitor” in that respect was actually his much younger contemporary and close friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. During that year, Haydn managed to compose a half-dozen symphonies for the concert company Concert de la Loge Olympique in Paris, whose orchestra could handle the seemingly simple but actually quite intricate structure of Haydn. The orchestra had as its conductor the French-Caribbean composer Joseph Bologne de Saint-George (whose stature in the Haydn/Mozart era was almost totally lost to history because of his skin color for the next two centuries). Those six symphonies, known as the “Paris” symphonies, would become among the most performed symphonies of Haydn’s, though the twelve later “London” symphonies would still overshadow him. The last of these is the 87th Symphony, a work redolent of typical Haydn wit, and with fairly modest orchestral forces required: single flute; pairs of oboes, bassoons, and French horns; continuo instrument (harpsichord), and the full compliment. The trio section of the third movement Minuet a solo oboe that rises to a high E Major note. As with so much of Haydn’s symphonic output, the 87th Symphony was to prove highly popular after its premiere at the Loge; and it remains so with audiences and orchestras to this day.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra/HUGH WOLFF (Teldec)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 83 IN G MINOR (HEN)
Haydn: SYMPHONY NO. 87 IN A MAJOR
By 1786, Franz Joseph Haydn was firmly established as the father of the symphony; the only serious “competitor” in that respect was actually his much younger contemporary and close friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. During that year, Haydn managed to compose a half-dozen symphonies for the concert company Concert de la Loge Olympique in Paris, whose orchestra could handle the seemingly simple but actually quite intricate structure of Haydn. The orchestra had as its conductor the French-Caribbean composer Joseph Bologne de Saint-George (whose stature in the Haydn/Mozart era was almost totally lost to history because of his skin color for the next two centuries). Those six symphonies, known as the “Paris” symphonies, would become among the most performed symphonies of Haydn’s, though the twelve later “London” symphonies would still overshadow him. The last of these is the 87th Symphony, a work redolent of typical Haydn wit, and with fairly modest orchestral forces required: single flute; pairs of oboes, bassoons, and French horns; continuo instrument (harpsichord), and the full compliment. The trio section of the third movement Minuet a solo oboe that rises to a high E Major note. As with so much of Haydn’s symphonic output, the 87th Symphony was to prove highly popular after its premiere at the Loge; and it remains so with audiences and orchestras to this day.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra/HUGH WOLFF (Teldec)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 83 IN G MINOR (HEN)