Hob.I:89 Symphony in F Major     
Symphony No. 89, also composed in 1787, has always stood in the shadow of its disproportionately more popular G major sister, No. 88.  Reserved, cool and conceptually flawless, it is reminiscent of the consummate form of porcelain figures of that era, according to
H. C. Robbins Landon. When it is said Joseph Haydn opened the doors to the 18^th century salon to let in a bit of fresh air, then for No. 89 he temporarily shut them again. This impression is evoked above all by the sections Haydn reworked from other pieces of music: the andante and the finale are based on the second and third movements of the Fifth Concerto for Two “Lire organizzate” (F Major, Hob. VIIh: 5), which Haydn composed for King Ferdinand of Naples in 1786. In both cases Haydn even retained the key. While he rewrote almost only the instrumentation for the symphony’s andante movement, his measures for the final rondo were more drastic, due specifically to a newly composed F-minor episode which allows a dramatic and passionate accent to interrupt the rococo atmosphere. The opening movement need not understate itself, however. Though with all its momentum of superior reserve, it affords the luxury of a thoroughly transformed reprise in which the elements of exposition return in a new combination.

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