Posted by janet on November 27, 19102 at 06:35:01:

In Reply to: Re: surprise symphony posted by John Rasmussen on July 27, 19102 at 17:36:48:

: If you haven't already found one, here's a rough-and-ready ysis based on my listenings. (Sorry, I don't have the score, so can't give you bar numbers.)

: The slow introduction begins quietly on woodwinds but quickly gets into interesting tonal digressions. It closes, as usual with Haydn, with a dominant chord and a pause.

: The main movement doesn't immediately start in the tonic as you would expect: a wonderful example of Haydn's originality. Note also that the main theme begins much like the introduction. This is a tremendously economical theme, lending itself to all kinds of tonal shifts and reworkings, as the development will show. It seems to start over but immediately leads into a transition page. The second theme is the opening theme transposed, but the concluding page is new. Note the brief woodwind chamber music page before the exposition's end.

: A surprise modulation to C major begins the development. As usual, Haydn's developments are masterful and bring new beauties out of the thematic material. The key change to the recapitulation is unusually masterful, using the same repeated B naturals that ended the exposition.

: The recapitulation is shortened at first but then extended, and is certainly not a mere repetition of the material. The masterful theme allows Haydn to experiment with new combinations as late as the coda.

: This movement is a fine example of Haydn's symphonic style, and shows why he is regarded as the father of the sonata form. Not even Mozart carried thematic development to such heights. Haydn's works are the foundation for Beethoven's development methods and thus for most symphonies through the present day.

Follow Ups:

• Re: surprise symphony jea park 14:03:43 5/28/103 (0)
• Re: surprise symphony Daniel B. Martin 13:24:34 11/30/102 (0)

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