Symphony No. 50 in C major, Hoboken I/50, by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

was written partly in 1773 and partly in 1774. The symphony is scored for 2

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 type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

s, 2

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

s, 2

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

.Webster & Feder (2002): 96 Since the trumpets double the horns at the same pitch for most of the piece, Antony Hodgson has suggested the trumpets may be omitted.Hodgson (1976): 77 The edition by Helmut Schultz published by Universal Edition under the editorship of H. C. Robbins Landon specifies horns in C-alto with trumpets in parentheses. It is in four movements: #

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 * ''Adag ...

e maestoso, –

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'') * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...

di molto, # Andante moderato, in

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

Menuetto A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that ...

e Trio, #

Presto Presto may refer to: Computing * Presto (browser engine), an engine previously used in the Opera web browser * Presto (operating system), a Linux-based OS by Xandros * Presto (SQL query engine), a distributed query engine * Presto (animation so ...

, It is possible that the first two movements of this symphony were reconstructed from a marionette opera by Haydn called ''Der Gotterath'' (Prologue to Philemon und Baucis), now lost. The marionette show was performed for the

Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

in 1773.H. C .Robbins Landon, ''Haydn: Chronicle and Works'', 5 vols, (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1976– ) v. 2, ''Haydn at Eszterhaza, 1766–1790'' Given that Empress Maria Theresia held rather conservative tastes in music and that this symphony is in some ways less "advanced" than No. 48, scholars such as H. C. Robbins Landon have suggested that No. 50 may be the symphony Haydn wrote for the imperial visit to Eszterháza.

Notes

{{Authority control Symphony 050 Compositions in C major 1773 compositions 1774 compositions