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 of the movements

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".

Music

Score