25

C major

Order by Hoboken
Hob.I: 25
Chronological order
12
Key
C major
Period
Symphonies for Count Morzin 1757 to 1761
Date of composition
1760/1761
Customer
Count Morzin
Number of movements
3
Authenticity proof
Fürnbergsammlung
Score edition

Sinfonien um 1757-1760/61
Herausgeber: Sonja Gerlach und Ullrich Scheideler; Reihe I, Band 1; G. Henle Verlag München

Symphony No. 25 in C major
This work is almost as unusual as No. 15. It begins with a slow-fast compound movement, followed by a minuet and a fast finale. As in No. 15, the first movement opens with a long Adagio which eventually leads to a fast sonata-form movement. The Adagio is serious, almost 'ecclesiastical' in tone; the opening theme, based on a melody-type common in Austrian mid-century church sonatas, invokes trio-sonata style, unfolding contrapuntally over a 'walking' bass. But as the music proceeds, the topics and textures change constantly, and the Adagio soon proves to be formally and functionally ambiguous as well: like a slow introduction, it heads for the dominant; but unlike any proper introduction, it reaches and prolongs the dominant no fewer than four times, and is altogether much too long for the purpose. It fits no generic pattern.
Not surprisingly, therefore, the cyclic form of the whole symphony is ambiguous. If the Adagio is after all a (long and strange) introduction, the cyclic pattern would be intro/fast-minuet-finale; that is, a 'galant' three-movement form with a minuet in the middle but no slow movement, all three movements in the tonic. If, however, the Adagio were an independent opening slow movement, we would have slow/fast-minuet-finale, as in Nos. 5, 11, 21, 22 and others (see Volumes 1 and 4). But the Adagio is precisely not an independent movement. Symphony No. 25 remains a generic anomaly.
The Allegro molto proper is, like many other C major opening fast movements, in 2/4, with the usual bustling 'festive' air. The minuet in galant style is paired with a concer-tante trio, in which both oboes and horns have their chance to shine. The finale, like that to No. 3, is based on a variant of the four-note 'Jupiter' Symphony motto; here, however, contrapuntal display is at a minimum, with only a single brief imitation (barely audible as such) at the beginning of the development, and a somewhat more elaborate one at the beginning of the recapitulation.

©James Webster

Analysis

Analyse

Analysis of the movements

1. movement
12,1a
 
12,1b
Title of the movement
Adagio / Allegro molto
Key
C major
Form
sonataform
2. movement
12,2
Title of the movement
Menuet / Trio
Key
C-C major
3. movement
12,3
Title of the movement
Presto
Key
C major
Form
sonataform
Duration
appr. 14 min.

Musicians

Musiker

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".

Direction
Joseph Haydn
Instrumentation
0|2|0|0 – 2|0 – 0 – Str.
Cast oft he orchestra
0|2|0|0 – 2|0 – 0 – Str.
Cast
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

Medien

Music

Antal Dorati

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

1. movement
12,1a
 
12,1b
2. movement
12,2
3. movement
12,3



Score

25









Haydn13

1757

1. Periode
Hob.I:1

1757-1759

1. Periode
Hob.I:37
Hob.I:18
Hob.I:2

1757-1760

1. Periode
Hob.I:4
Hob.I:27

1758-1760

1. Periode
Hob.I:10
Hob.I:20

1761/1762

1. Periode
Hob.I:36
Hob.I:33

1766

4. Periode

1771

4. Periode
Hob.I:52
Hob.I:42

1773/1774

4. Periode
Hob.I:50

1774/1775

5. Periode
Hob.I:68

1776

5. Periode
Hob.I:61

1777/1778

5. Periode
Hob.I:53 "L'Impériale"

1778/1779

5. Periode
Hob.I:71

1780

5. Periode
Hob.I:74
Hob.I:62

1781

5. Periode
Hob.I:73 "La chasse"

1787

8. Periode
Hob.I:89

-1788

8. Periode
Hob.I:88

1788

8. Periode
Hob.I:90
Hob.I:91

1789

8. Periode
Hob.I:92 "Oxford"

1791/1792

9. Periode
Hob.I:98

1793

10. Periode
Hob.I:99

1794

10. Periode
Hob.I:102

1796

1799

1801

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I. Periode
Acide
 
I. Periode
 
I. Periode
 
I. Periode
La canterina
I. Periode
 
I. Periode
Lo speziale
 
I. Periode
 
I. Periode
Le pescatrici
 
I. Periode
 
I. Periode
 
II. Periode
 
II. Periode
 
II. Periode
 
II. Periode
Il mondo della luna
 
II. Periode
 
III. Periode
 
III. Periode
La fedeltà premiata
 
III. Periode
Orlando paladino
 
III. Periode
Armida
 
III. Periode
La vera costanza II