Joseph Haydn
Haydn spent most of his career at the Esterházy court with an orchestra at his disposal, and he used it to work out, over more than a hundred symphonies, the four-movement plan that everyone after him took for granted: fast sonata-form first movement, slow movement, minuet and trio, quick finale. The symphonies in this catalog are from his last set, written for London in the 1790s, when the plan was fully formed.
His sonata forms often use one theme for both subjects, so the second subject is the first subject in a new key. That means the key change, not a new tune, is what marks the arrival of the second group. Slow introductions before the first movement are common in the London symphonies.
Haydn's reputation for wit is earned: sudden silences, a loud chord in a quiet passage, a finale that pretends to end and then continues. These are not jokes for their own sake; each one plays with a listener's expectation of the form.
What to listen for
- The slow introduction, if there is one, and the moment the fast tempo breaks in.
- The transition: because the second subject is often the same tune, the key change is the signal.
- The minuet: a real dance with clear phrases, and a trio that thins the texture.
- False endings and pauses in the finale. The silence is part of the form.
Source: Joseph Haydn