Post by erik on Apr 16, 2022 19:18:22 GMT -5
The fourth of the 104 symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Haydn: SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN D MAJOR
The earliest symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn were composed between 1757 and 1761, while the future father of the symphony was in his mid-to-late twenties. Although so many of Haydn’s symphonies were written while he was the official composer-in-residence of the Court of Esterhazy, the first several symphonies Haydn composed were composed in the Czech community of Dolni Lukavice in the service of Count Morzin. And given this was at a time when the Baroque period was coming to an end, it is not surprising that Haydn would include a harpsichord as the basso continuo instrument. The Fourth Symphony is a case in point. Haydn wrote it for a relatively small orchestra consisting of pairs of horns and oboes, a single bassoon, and a typical string compliment of the period. As a holdover of the Baroque period, this symphony is in three movements, the outer movements in D Major, and a middle Andante movement in D Minor. In the grand scheme of things, this symphony and its three predecessors are not necessarily significant for Haydn. But within a few short years, a very young man from Salzburg named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would try his hand at the symphony, having been inspired by the much older Haydn; and while the two men would not meet or befriend one another for another two decades, it is clear that Mozart knew of Haydn’s examples in the symphonic form.
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra/DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES (Sony)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN D MAJOR
SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN C MAJOR
SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN G MAJOR
SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN A MAJOR
Haydn: SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN D MAJOR
The earliest symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn were composed between 1757 and 1761, while the future father of the symphony was in his mid-to-late twenties. Although so many of Haydn’s symphonies were written while he was the official composer-in-residence of the Court of Esterhazy, the first several symphonies Haydn composed were composed in the Czech community of Dolni Lukavice in the service of Count Morzin. And given this was at a time when the Baroque period was coming to an end, it is not surprising that Haydn would include a harpsichord as the basso continuo instrument. The Fourth Symphony is a case in point. Haydn wrote it for a relatively small orchestra consisting of pairs of horns and oboes, a single bassoon, and a typical string compliment of the period. As a holdover of the Baroque period, this symphony is in three movements, the outer movements in D Major, and a middle Andante movement in D Minor. In the grand scheme of things, this symphony and its three predecessors are not necessarily significant for Haydn. But within a few short years, a very young man from Salzburg named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would try his hand at the symphony, having been inspired by the much older Haydn; and while the two men would not meet or befriend one another for another two decades, it is clear that Mozart knew of Haydn’s examples in the symphonic form.
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra/DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES (Sony)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN D MAJOR
SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN C MAJOR
SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN G MAJOR
SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN A MAJOR