Symphony No. 5 in A major
This is the first of two symphonies in this volume with the movement-sequence slow— fast-minuet-fast. Accordingly, the opening slow movement is an Adagio ('ma non troppo'), serious in tone, densely wrought, with a subtle, six-bar opening melody marked sonically by concertante horn interjections. (In all this, it resembles the more familiar No. 21 in A [see Volume 4], except there the oboes take the concertante lead.) Its construction is a straightforward sonata form, with the horns defining the form: the beginning of the recapitulation is highlighted by new wind doublings of the main theme, and the end by the unexpected return of a long-lost fanfare.
The second movement, Allegro 3/4, is dominated first by a unison main theme with striking dotted rhythms, then by incessantly forward-driving music articulated mainly by syncopations and tremolos. Even the one brief contrasting idea is built on restless eighth notes and non-periodic, sequentially developing motives; as so often in early Haydn, it is everything other than relaxing. The beginning of the recapitulation strikingly unites the tremolos and the dotted opening theme, the latter in free canon at the interval of a crotchet. The vigorous minuet again features the winds, especially in the trio. The short but spirited finale, Presto alla breve, is based on rapidly alternating, mainly contrapuntal phrases.

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