The Symphony No. 102 in
B major, Hoboken I/102, is the tenth of the twelve
London symphonies The London symphonies, sometimes called the Salomon symphonies after Johann Peter Salomon who introduced London to Joseph Haydn, were composed by Joseph Haydn between 1791 and 1795. They can be categorized into two groups: Symphonies Nos. 93–98, ...
written by
Joseph Haydn, at the instigation of impresario
Johann Peter Salomon
Johann Peter Salomon (20 February 1745 aptized– 28 November 1815) was a German violinist, composer, conductor and musical impresario. Although he was an accomplished violinist, he is best known for bringing Joseph Haydn to London and for c ...
. It is one of three symphonies he worked on in 1794, along with his 103 and 104th symphonies.
Despite being lesser-known than many of the other works in the group, it is sometimes viewed as Haydn's best symphony, in terms of successful use of compositional strengths unified in a quality undisturbed throughout the work.
Background
It was completed in the summer of
1794
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark).
* January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United Stat ...
, and premiered at benefit concerts at the King's Theatre in May 1795.
It is now believed by many scholars to be the symphony at the premiere of which a chandelier fell from the ceiling of the concert hall in which it was performed. According to the ''Morning Chronicle'' (3 February 1795), "The last movement was encored; and not withstanding an interruption by the accidental fall of one of the chandeliers, it was performed with no less effect." The audience escaped unharmed, supposedly because they had rushed the stage to get a better view of Haydn. It was long believed that this "miracle" event took place at the premiere of his
Symphony No. 96, which had happened in 1791.
[ Steinberg, Michael. "The Symphony: a listener's guide". p. 239–241. Oxford University Press, 1995.]
Movements
The work is in standard four-
movement form and scored for two
flutes, two
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s, two
bassoons, two
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
, two
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s,
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
and
strings.
#
Largo — Vivace
#
Adagio
Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to:
Music
* Adagio, a tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner
* Adagio (band), a French progressive metal band
Albums
* ''Adagi ...
in
F major
F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor.
The F major scale is:
:
F major is the ...
#
Menuetto
A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''.
The term also describes the musical form that accomp ...
.
Allegro
#Finale.
Presto
The second movement is an orchestration of the second movement of the
F minor piano trio, Hob. XV/26, transposed from
F major
F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor.
The F major scale is:
:
F major is the ...
to
F major
F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor.
The F major scale is:
:
F major is the ...
. The repeats in the trio are written out in the symphony, allowing for changes in the orchestration the second time through. The orchestral version also features a rolling triplet accompaniment in the cellos where in the trio the cello simply doubles the piano's bass line.
[Brown, A. Peter, ''The Symphonic Repertoire'' (Volume 2). Indiana University Press (), pp. 283-286 (2002).]
References
External links
*
Symphony 102
Compositions in B-flat major
1794 compositions
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