74

E flat major

Order by Hoboken
Hob.I: 74
Chronological order
75
Key
E flat major
Period
Late Esterház-sinfonias 1774 to 1782; The period of the „opera-symphonies“
Date of composition
1780
Customer
Prince Nikolaus I. Joseph Esterházy
Number of movements
4
Authenticity proof
Entwurfs-Katalog
Score edition

Sinfonien um 1780/81
Herausgeber: Heide Volckmar-Waschk und Stephen C. Fisher; Reihe I, Band 10; G. Henle Verlag München

Symphony No. 74 in E flat major
In this work, the generally approachable aspects of style characteristic of this period are mixed with chromaticism, deliberate artifice and expressive warmth. The opening Vivace assai is built on the contrast between three loud 'hammerstrokes' (plus related ideas later on), and a quiet motive with the rhythm: long-long-short-short-short (the long notes descend by step, the short ones simply repeat). The latter motive gives rise to remarkable ruminative passages in the development, and again late in the recapitulation, until Haydn laughingly brings the movement to a brilliant close.
The main theme of the slow movement exhibits the sprightly profundity characteristic of many Haydn slow movements. In form it is a simple rondo, A-B-A1-B1-A2-coda, with the first B in the dominant and the second (shortened) one in the subdominant; each return of the long A theme is richly varied in both melodic detail and instrumentation. The wonderful coda brings a briefer, varied statement for winds alone and then two for the strings, all three richly contrapuntal and expressive, before the cadential wind up.
The minuet features 'Scotch snap' rhythm, while in the trio a solo bassoon doubles the violin melody, with irregular five-bar phrases at each cadence. The sonata-form finale, in 6/8, begins with a quiet, playful, melodically intricate theme (reminiscent of the finale theme in Mozart's String Quartet, K589, in the same key and metre): the first and second violins begin alone, in unison; in the next bar the lower strings answer in pseudo-imitation. The theme soon halts on the dominant, with an odd melodic trailing off; suddenly the melody bursts out loudly in the bass, the violins answer with a new rushing counter-melody, and we are off to the races. The promise of genuinely imitative treatment is not fulfilled; instead, witty jokes follow in profusion. The best of these comes at the reprise: the second violins state the theme alone whereupon the firsts, annoyed at being upstaged, break in one bar'too soon', leading directly to the rushing passage and the remainder of the recapitulation including one brief passage of actual imitation!

Analysis

Analyse

Analysis of the movements

1. movement
75,1
Title of the movement
Vivace assai
Key
E flat major
Form
sonataform
2. movement
75,2
Title of the movement
Adagio cantabile
Key
B flat major
Form
variationrondo
3. movement
75,3
Title of the movement
Menuetto Allegretto / Trio
Key
E flat-E flat major
4. movement
75,4
Title of the movement
Allegro assai
Key
E flat major
Form
sonataform
Duration
appr. 25 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
1|2|0|1 – 2|0 – 0 – Str.
Cast oft he orchestra
1|2|0|1 – 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
75,1
2. movement
75,2
3. movement
75,3
4. movement
75,4



Score

74









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