Symphony No. 27 in G major
The opening Allegro molto of this symphony begins with a striking 'long-note' theme rising through the tonic triad; later in the dominant, it is varied in imitative piano texture. Although a passage in downward tremolo arpeggios resembles the interior fast movement of Symphony No. 18 (in the same key), as a whole the movement has the motivic and textural variety characteristic of opening fast movements. The Andante siciliano is outwardly conventional, but its phrasing is irregular (exposition: 7+5+6 bars) and the development is mainly in the minor mode. The Presto finale is a typical 3/8 wind-up, distinguished in the second group by a series of fast rising scales that vaguely resemble the 'La tempesta' finale of Symphony N0.8, 'Le soir'.

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