17
F major
Sinfonien um 1757-1760/61
Herausgeber: Sonja Gerlach und Ullrich Scheideler; Reihe I, Band 1; G. Henle Verlag München
Symphony No. 17 in F major
This three-movement work opens with one of the longest movements in this repertory. (It is admittedly 'neutral' in style.) Its length results from the development section, which is actually longer than the exposition (the only such case in any early Haydn symphony first movement). What is more, this development exhibits a striking 'double cursus'. After a section of more or less normal length and character, it gives clear signs of working its way back to the tonic, with an elaborate descending sequence characteristic of early Haydn retransitions.2 At the very moment of the tonic arrival, however, the music astonishingly moves away into a second developmental section, almost as long as the first, until another and even more 'formal' transition, touching on the minor over a dominant pedal, prepares the recapitulation. The earlier passage is therefore not a false recapitulation, but a 'false retransition'! (Something similar but less 'pointed' happens in Symphony N0.36.)
The Andante ma non troppo is in the tonic minor, with the slightly odd combination of perkiness and pathos characteristic of such movements in early Haydn. The Finale, again, is a 3/8 Allegro molto (not 'Presto', presumably because of the many moving semiquavers); it is a miniature binary movement, with only a tiny prolongation of the dominant between exposition and reprise.
Analysis

Analysis of the movements



Musicians

Musicians
Due to the unclear time of origin of most of Haydn’s symphonies - and unlike his 13 Italian operas, where we really know the exact dates of premieres and performances - detailed and correct name lists of the orchestral musicians cannot be given. As a rough outline, his symphony works can be divided into three temporal blocks. In the first block, in the service of Count Morzin (1757-1761), in the second block, the one at the court of the Esterházys (1761-1790 but with the last symphony for the Esterház audience in 1781) and the third block, the one after Esterház (1782-1795), i.e. in Paris and London. Just for this middle block at the court of the Esterházys 1761-1781 (the last composed symphony for the Esterház audience) respectively 1790, at the end of his service at the court of Esterház we can choose Haydn’s most important musicians and “long-serving companions” and thereby extract an "all-time - all-stars orchestra".
Flute | Franz Sigl 1761-1773 |
Flute | Zacharias Hirsch 1777-1790 |
Oboe | Michael Kapfer 1761-1769 |
Oboe | Georg Kapfer 1761-1770 |
Oboe | Anton Mayer 1782-1790 |
Oboe | Joseph Czerwenka 1784-1790 |
Bassoon | Johann Hinterberger 1761-1777 |
Bassoon | Franz Czerwenka 1784-1790 |
Bassoon | Joseph Steiner 1781-1790 |
Horn (played violin) | Franz Pauer 1770-1790 |
Horn (played violin) | Joseph Oliva 1770-1790 |
Timpani or Bassoon | Caspar Peczival 1773-1790 |
Violin | Luigi Tomasini 1761-1790 |
Violin (leader 2. Vl) | Johann Tost 1783-1788 |
Violin | Joseph Purgsteiner 1766-1790 |
Violin | Joseph Dietzl 1766-1790 |
Violin | Vito Ungricht 1777-1790 |
Violin (most Viola) | Christian Specht 1777-1790 |
Cello | Anton Kraft 1779-1790 |
Violone | Carl Schieringer 1768-1790 |
Medias

Music
Antal Dorati
Joseph Haydn
The Symphonies
Philharmonia Hungarica
33 CDs, aufgenommen 1970 bis 1974, herausgegeben 1996 Decca (Universal)


