Symphony No. 52 (Haydn)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Symphony No. 52 in C minor is one of the last ''
Sturm und Drang (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto-Romanticism, Romantic movement in German literature and Music of Germany, music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity an ...
'' symphonies composed by the
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n composer
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 ...
while the composer was in residence at
Esterházy The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, durin ...
in 1771 or 1772. It is one of a number of minor-key symphonies that Haydn composed in the late 1760s and early 1770s, the others being Symphonies Nos. 39, 44, 45, and 49. The symphony was described by H. C. Robbins Landon as "the grandfather of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, also created with mathematical precision and in extreme conciseness."H. C. Robbins Landon, ''Haydn: Chronicle and Works'', 5 vols, (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1976– ) v. 2, "Haydn at Eszterhaza, 1766–1790", .


Movements

The symphony is scored for 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 type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
s,
bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
, two
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * 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), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...
, continuo (
harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
) 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 ...
. This symphony is divided into four
movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...
: #
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 ...
assai con brio # Andante in C major, #
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 Trio may refer to: Music Groups * Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble ** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer ** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music ** String trio, a group of three ...
.
Allegretto In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given composition, and is often also an indication of the composition's character or atmos ...
, #Finale.
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 ...
The symphony has several distinct features. The first movement, written in
Sonata-Allegro form The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th centu ...
, establishes a contrast between an agitated and
forte Forte or Forté may refer to: Music *Forte (music), a musical dynamic meaning "loudly" or "strong" * Forte number, an ordering given to every pitch class set * Forte (notation program), a suite of musical score notation programs * Forte (vocal ...
opening theme in C minor, and a lyrical and piano second theme in the relative major ( E). Somewhat unusually, Haydn presents the second theme twice with transitional material in between its appearances.Brown, A. Peter, ''The Symphonic Repertoire'' (Volume 2). Indiana University Press (), pp. 127–128 (2002). As with his Symphony No. 45, the movement employs deceptive progressions in both the exposition (mm. 36–37) and recapitulation (mm. 130–131). The "anger and vehemence" established by the minor mode of the symphony surpasses Haydn's earlier minor key symphonic efforts.


Liturgical use

It is possible that, as with several other symphonies by Haydn and Mozart, the Symphony no. 52 was written for the purpose of being incorporated into the
Catholic liturgy Catholic liturgy means the whole complex of official liturgical worship, including all the rites, ceremonies, prayers, and sacraments of the Church, as opposed to private or collective devotions. In this sense the arrangement of all these s ...
. Haydn's early biographer
Giuseppe Carpani Giuseppe Carpani (28 January 1752 – 22 January 1825) was an Italian man of letters. He is remembered in large part for his role in the history of classical music: he knew Haydn, Mozart, Salieri, Beethoven, and Rossini, and served them in vario ...
noted:
Some other of Haydn's symphonies were written for the
holy days A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...
. They were played in the chapel at
Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; ; ; or ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Austria, Austrian state of Burgenland. With a population of 15,074 (as of 2023), it is the smallest state capital and the 38th-largest city in Austria overall. It lies at the foot o ...
, in the chapel of the Imperial Court, and in other churches on such sacred feast days. They are written in G major, D major, and C minor.
It has been speculated that the C minor symphony refers to no. 52 based both on the date of composition, which coincided with the Austrian practice of performing symphonies during the liturgical service, and the fact that unlike Haydn's other C minor symphony to which Carpani may have been alluding ( Symphony No. 78), no. 52 is a more serious work.Zaslaw, 117


Notes


References

*Brown, A. Peter. ''The Symphonic Repertoire'' (Volume 2). Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 2002. . *Heartz, Daniel. ''Haydn, Mozart and the Viennese School, 1740–1780'', New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. *Robbins Landon, H. C. ''Joseph Haydn: Critical Edition of the Complete Symphonies'', Vienna: Universal Edition, 1963. *Zaslaw, Neal. "Mozart, Haydn and the Sinfonia da Chiesa". ''Journal of Musicology'' 1, no. 1 (January 1982): 95–124. {{Authority control Symphony 052 Compositions in C minor 1771 compositions 1772 compositions