Symphony No. 2 in C major
This symphony explodes once and for all the notion that the young Haydn's instrumental works are conventional. The opening Allegro is unique; its 'subject-matter' is a kind of dialogue or confrontation between traditional and modern styles. Although it begins straightforwardly with a vigorous, dotted-rhythmed unison theme and a homophonic continuation, the piano counterstatement suddenly invokes academic counterpoint (in 'mixed' species). Indeed the entire movement is dominated by free alternation between rough-and-ready homophony and contrapuntal passages based on the rising dotted theme. But it is formally unique as well. It is Haydn's only fast symphony first movement lacking internal repeats of its two structural parts (exposition; development + recapitulation).4 Although the exposition form is clear, the putative development soon too leads to what turns out to be the first of three separate returns to the tonic. Why? Because Haydn wants to present the theme thrice more, now in the tonic, each time in a new contrapuntal elaboration. Indeed the last of these ushers in a more or less regular recapitulation of the second group in the tonic except for the one last contrapuntal passage, which repeats, in invertible counterpoint, the beginning of the 'development'.
The Andante is a perpetuum mobile for the two violin parts in unison over a 'walking' bass; although it is in sonata form, it too, like the Allegro, omits the internal repeats. Even the finale, though stylistically a normal 3/8 da capo movement, is formally unique in Haydn's symphonic finales: a five-part rondo form, A-B-A-C-A, with the first episode in the tonic minor and the second in the subdominant.

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