Symphony No. 75 (Haydn)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 75 in D major
(Hoboken 1/75) is a symphony
composed by Joseph Haydn
between 1779
and 1781
.
, two oboes
, bassoon
, two horns
and strings
. Later, parts for two trumpets and timpani
were added.
The opening slow introduction is marked Grave which is one of Haydn's most serious indications. The first theme features a lyrical rising half-step motif followed by three loud chords. Mozart liked this theme and jotted it down for later reference.. Indeed, the opening movement bears a striking resemblance to Mozart's overture to Don Giovanni
, written over five years after this symphony. The second theme is very brief and also contains a rising half-step. The second theme is omitted from the recapitulation.
The second movement is theme in muted strings followed by four strophic variations
. The second variation features a dialogue between wind & brass fanfares with simple string writing. The third features a solo string trio against a pizzicato accompaniment. Here, the solo cello
plays continuously weaving sixteenth notes under the melody in the two other solo strings. Legend has it an English preacher heard this music in a dream and felt it foreshadowed his death when he heard it in a 1792 concert. About a week later Haydn was informed the preacher had died.
The fourth movement is "a rounded binary form with repeats of both halves," sometimes mistaken for sonata form.
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
(Hoboken 1/75) is a symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
composed by Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
between 1779
1779 in music
- Events :*April – The London Magazine reports on the organ-playing of three-year-old prodigy William Crotch.*December 26 – Teatro alla Scala in Milan opens its operatic carnival season with Josef Mysliveček's new opera Armida....
and 1781
1781 in music
- Events :*March - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart moves to Vienna to pursue his career, but is passed over in favour of Antonio Salieri as music teacher of Princess of Württemberg....
.
Movements
The symphony was originally scored for fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, two oboes
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, two horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
. Later, parts for two trumpets and timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
were added.
- Grave - Presto
- Poco adagio, 3/4
- MenuettoMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
& Trio: Allegretto, 3/4 - Finale: Vivace, 2/2
The opening slow introduction is marked Grave which is one of Haydn's most serious indications. The first theme features a lyrical rising half-step motif followed by three loud chords. Mozart liked this theme and jotted it down for later reference.. Indeed, the opening movement bears a striking resemblance to Mozart's overture to Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, written over five years after this symphony. The second theme is very brief and also contains a rising half-step. The second theme is omitted from the recapitulation.
The second movement is theme in muted strings followed by four strophic variations
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
. The second variation features a dialogue between wind & brass fanfares with simple string writing. The third features a solo string trio against a pizzicato accompaniment. Here, the solo cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
plays continuously weaving sixteenth notes under the melody in the two other solo strings. Legend has it an English preacher heard this music in a dream and felt it foreshadowed his death when he heard it in a 1792 concert. About a week later Haydn was informed the preacher had died.
The fourth movement is "a rounded binary form with repeats of both halves," sometimes mistaken for sonata form.