Symphony Research

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Symphony Research

 

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

  • Austrian composer
  • His life was supposed to be dedicated to priesthood however he was discovered at age eight at the St Stephen’s Cathedral choir in Vienna where he learnt violin and keyboard.
  • Supported his musical passion by teaching and playing violin whilst completing study of counterpoint (the art or technique of setting, writing or playing melodies in harmony with another)
  • He was internationally recognised as the greatest living composer
  • He composed outstanding and significant works in almost every genre possible
  • His works consisted of elegant melodies that contrasted from his personal wit and was a form of innovation
  • He was the first great symphonist composing 106 symphonies. His choral works included 14 masses and oratorios and he also composed 47 piano sonatas
  • Considered to be the principal influence of the Classical style and extended major effects on his friend Mozart and student Beethoven.

What is a Symphony?
Symphonies are examples of “Orchestral Music” which are played by a full symphony orchestra. This means that around 90 musicians being majority of string players accompanied by woodwind, brass and percussion play these symphonies. A symphony is a piece written for the whole orchestra with no particular soloist featured. A symphony usually contains at least one movement that is composed in sonata form.
Symphonies are structured in four movements:

 

1.      Fast Tempo (Sonata in Allegro tempo)

2.      Slow movement (Typically ABA form – Theme and Variation)

3.      Medium Tempo (Dance like)

4.      Fast Movement (Typically Rondo Form)

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/madduci/2A/form.pdf

Symphony No. 94 – Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn composed Symphony No. 94 for the first of his numerous visits to London. The symphony composed in G Major was written in 1791 and was first performed on March 23rd, 1792. It was nicknamed “The Surprise Symphony” as a result of the double-forte outburst that contrasts from the opening piano dynamic played by the orchestra. It is rumoured that Haydn composed this part in to the score as one of his well-known jokes but also to wake the audience who may have fell asleep during the first movement, which is clever and interesting yet sometimes frightful to an unprepared listener. However, others suggest that it was a device used to be competitive with one of his former pupil’s Ignaz Pleyel who was cleverly composing works at the same time. As part of his London success, Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 is a wonderful piece and proves to be enjoyable over two hundred years later.

 

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