The Symphony No. 94 in G major (H. 1/94) is the second of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is popularly known as the Surprise Symphony.
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, 1792, with Haydn leading the orchestra seated at a fortepiano.
Measures 1 to 16 of the first violin part in the second movement. The "surprise" arrives in measure 16, when the rest of the orchestra joins the first violins in a fortissimo G-major chord.
Haydn's music contains many jokes, and the Surprise Symphony includes probably the most famous of all: a sudden fortissimo chord at the end of the otherwise piano opening theme in the variation-form second movement. The music then returns to its original quiet dynamic as if nothing has happened, and the ensuing variations do not repeat the joke. In German, the work is referred to as the Symphony mit dem Paukenschlag, or, with the kettledrum stroke.
In Haydn's old age, his biographer Georg August Griesinger asked him whether he wrote this "surprise" to awaken the audience. Haydn replied:
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.[2]
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.
The first movement has a lyrical 3 4 introduction preceding a highly rhythmic main section in 6 8 time.
The second, "surprise", movement, is an andante theme and variations in 2 4 time in the subdominant key of C major. The theme is in two eight-bar sections, each repeated. The repeat at the end of the first section is pianissimo with pizzicato in the lower strings to set up the surprise. 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, followed by solos for the first oboist and flautist, 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 over a tonic pedal.
The third movement is a minuet and trio, in ternary form in the tonic key (G major). The tempo, allegro molto (very quickly), is of note since it marks the historical shift away from the old minuet (which was played at a slower, danceable, tempo) toward the scherzo; by his last quartets Haydn had started marking his minuets presto.
The fourth movement is a characteristically rhythmic, energetic and propulsive Haydn finale. The movement is written in sonata 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.
Later usesedit
Toward the end of his active career Haydn wove the theme of the second movement into an aria of his oratorioThe 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 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.
symphony, haydn, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, symphony, haydn, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Symphony No 94 Haydn news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Symphony No 94 in G major H 1 94 is the second of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn It is popularly known as the Surprise Symphony Haydn ca 1791I Adagio Vivace assai source source II Andante source source III Menuetto Allegro molto source source IV Finale Allegro molto source source Performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra Serge Koussevitzky conducting Problems playing these files See media help Contents 1 Composition and premiere 2 Scoring and length 3 Nickname 4 Structure 5 Later uses 6 See also 7 Notes 7 1 Sources 8 External linksComposition and premiere editHaydn 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 1792 with Haydn leading the orchestra seated at a fortepiano Scoring and length editThe Surprise Symphony is scored for a Classical era orchestra consisting of two each of flutes oboes bassoons horns trumpets plus timpani and the usual string section consisting of violins first and second violas cellos and double basses Performances of the Surprise Symphony last about 23 minutes Nickname edit nbsp source Audio playback is not supported in your browser You can download the audio file Measures 1 to 16 of the first violin part in the second movement The surprise arrives in measure 16 when the rest of the orchestra joins the first violins in a fortissimo G major chord Haydn s music contains many jokes and the Surprise Symphony includes probably the most famous of all a sudden fortissimo chord at the end of the otherwise piano opening theme in the variation form second movement The music then returns to its original quiet dynamic as if nothing has happened and the ensuing variations do not repeat the joke In German the work is referred to as the Symphony mit dem Paukenschlag or with the kettledrum stroke In Haydn s old age his biographer Georg August Griesinger asked him whether he wrote this surprise to awaken the audience Haydn replied 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 2 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 Structure editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Like all of Haydn s London symphonies the work is in four movements marked as follows Adagio cantabile Vivace assaiAndanteMenuetto Allegro moltoFinale Allegro molto The first movement has a lyrical 34 introduction preceding a highly rhythmic main section in 68 time The second surprise movement is an andante theme and variations in 24 time in the subdominant key of C major The theme is in two eight bar sections each repeated The repeat at the end of the first section is pianissimo with pizzicato in the lower strings to set up the surprise 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 followed by solos for the first oboist and flautist 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 over a tonic pedal The third movement is a minuet and trio in ternary form in the tonic key G major The tempo allegro molto very quickly is of note since it marks the historical shift away from the old minuet which was played at a slower danceable tempo toward the scherzo by his last quartets Haydn had started marking his minuets presto The fourth movement is a characteristically rhythmic energetic and propulsive Haydn finale The movement is written in sonata 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 Later uses editToward the end of his active career Haydn wove the theme of the second movement into an aria of his oratorio 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 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 Donald Swann created a version of the Surprise Symphony with extra surprises for the humorous Hoffnung Music Festival 4 See also editList of symphonies with names Evolution of timpani in the 18th and 19th centuriesNotes edit Haydn Two Contemporary Portraits translated and edited by Georg August Griesinger Vernon Gotwals Albert Christoph Dies Madison University of Wisconsin Press 1968 p 33 a b Landon 1976 p 149 Sinclair 1999 pp 572 573 Instrumental Haydn s Surprise Symphony donaldswann co uk Sources edit Landon H C Robbins 1976 Haydn Chronicle and Works Vol 3 Bloomington Indiana University Press Sinclair James B 1999 A Descriptive Catalogue of the Music of Charles Ives New Haven Yale University Press ISBN 0 300 07601 0 External links editSymphony No 94 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Portal nbsp Classical music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Symphony No 94 Haydn amp oldid 1093467580, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
