Haydn is the father of the symphony. His music is amazing in harmony, grace and elegance. Viva Haydn a true genius of music that gives us unforgettable moments of pleasure and haunting music. Bravissimo
One of the shortest of Haydn's symphonies, and also one of my favourite. It's the only Haydn symphony whose minuet & trio movement has a coda! A delightful work, with powerful and energetic rhythms, simply a joy to listen to.
Haydn’s Symphony 70 was first performed 18 December 1779 at a ceremony to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the new Eszterhaza opera house that was being rebuilt following the fire that had destroyed the original exactly a month earlier (3:30am Thursday 18 November). The symphony is not Haydn’s longest, but it is extremely concentrated - three of the four movements contain significant amounts of serious contrapuntal work; additionally, as suggested by the dates outlined above, the symphony was clearly written, rehearsed, then premiered in a remarkably short period of time. This is a very fine symphony, indeed one of the greatest in a very long list of relatively unknown works by Haydn; it also clearly illustrates the point that the stature of a given work is neither measured by its length, nor weighed by its size. To demonstrate the point further, if asked to write a list truly great symphonies from c.1750 to the present day, then besides all the obvious candidates, I would include the symphony in e minor by CPE Bach - either the original Wq 177 (strings only), or the slightly later expanded orchestration version Wq 178 (CPE added 2 flutes, 2 oboes, and 2 horns). This magnificent symphony lasts just 10 minutes.
I love Christopher Hogwood's recordings, but I do wish he'd made a bit more of the ending. The pianissimo was great but it felt a bit rushed. I conducted this symphony recently and I was very pleased that I actually managed to get a laugh from the audience at the end because they were so taken by surprise.
18 dicembre 1779 - Questa sinfonia secondo le parole del Robbins Landon, "giganteggia" grazie alla consistenza delle forme musicali più serie e complesse e di un "humor" tutto haydniano. Non vi è nulla che ricordi l'idilliaca sinfonia n.67, o l'eroismo folcloristico del "Distratto" (n.60) o la magia della "Rossolana" (n.63): siamo in pieno clima dottrinale. Haydn tributa un inno alle tecniche più severe dell'arte musicale: il canone e la fuga. Sono i passaggi obbligati del compositore alle prime armi e, nello stesso tempo, i punti di arrivo per i maestri del contrappunto. E l'inno Haydn lo intona senza rinnegare se stesso, nel suo stile disadorno, giunto a perfetta maturazione. I sentimenti suscitati da questa sinfonia, unica nella produzione dell'autore, non sono perciò molto diversi dalla pienezza spirituale, dalla gioia che pervade l'animo dopo l'ascolto di un'altra sinfonia di quegli anni felici,. LDC
In the finale, Haydn Places it in the Minor, But at the end, he goes to the major to the very end, Brahms would later do the same thing with the finale of his Third Symphony.
More wonderful music from Haydn, but this upload has been ruined by those blasted adverts popping up again - the first right in the middle of the Andante! Sorry, no thumbs up from me this time.
Apart from Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony (No.4) can you think of another one that starts in a major key but the finale is in the tonic minor??!! And of course Haydn got there first.
The last movement is the crowning glory of the symphony. It's amazing that Haydn was so skilled in contrapuntal writing, though he's never credited as such.
@@timothythorne9464 You make a good point, and that’s exactly why he was first choice to give Beethoven counterpoint lessons when he arrived in Vienna in 1792. It’s also becoming widely accepted amongst scholars now that Haydn may well have lent his heavily annotated copy of Fux’s Gradus ad Parnassum - the bible of the age is and only theory book in JS Bach’s library - to Mozart as part of his studies of older music. Other scholars have suggested that Haydn had he had the strength in his later years, he may have considered publishing an up-dated version of Fux. Haydn was the last great contrapuntist.