Symphony No. 33 in C major
This is the only symphony in this volume whose sources clearly imply a date of 1760 or earlier, or in which trumpets and timpani are transmitted in reliable sources. Its opening movement bears the unusual marking Vivace and is in the unusual metre (for C major) of 3/4; indeed its particular 'festiveness' is more deliberate than hasty, the piano episode in the second group longer and more nearly lyrical than usual in early Haydn. The Andante, as is common, is in the tonic minor, with continually developing motives; note the strange rising chromatic progression in the transition to the relative major (oddly, this never returns). The minuet is faster than many in this group, and is paired with a trio in the subdominant based on a complex combination of 'straight' and syncopated writing. The exuberant Finale juxtaposes a downbeat forte unison motive 'ending with a bump' (Tovey) and a quiet upbeat answer in the strings; as the movement continues, the downbeat motive produces numerous unexpected and amusing variants, including close imitations between melody and bass.

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