CXXVII. HAYDN, Franz Joseph (1732-1809)
Haydn's lifelong patron, Prince Esterházy, was enjoying his summer stay at his favorite summer palace at Esterháza in Hungary ...
The summer dragged on, and the musicians all missed their wives back in Eisenstadt ... "please, Maestro ..." they pleaded with Haydn.
Haydn -- always the diplomat -- just wrote their farewell into his current symphony (he churned out 106 of 'em!) ... in the final Adagio, they each snuffed out their candle light and walked off the stage!
The Prince got the message.
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The key of F-Sharp Minor (three sharps; relative minor of A Major) was used for perhaps the first time in an 18th-century symphony.
Haydn had special devices made for the horns to account for the semitone differential (horns were valveless, and in F) ...
First Movement
A sharp, crisp descending series of arpeggiated chords starts things off:
The development repeats the idea, but in the relative major (A) ...
After a pause, Haydn moves to a delicate section in D Major (3:04):
Second Movement
One of Haydn's absolutely delightfully elegant Adagios (4:58):
Third Movement (14:44)
Minuet and Trio in F-Sharp Major!
The trio (often the case) features the horns:
Fourth Movement (18:28)
Bat-out-of-hell tempo:
and after a pause, the final "Farewell" Adagio (21:14):
The orchestra members (after snuffing their candles!) leave one by one. (In the video, the conductor also departs!)
Finally, only two solo violinists remain (25:35):
And off to Eisenstadt!
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