Hob.I:93 Symphony in D Major     
No. 93 is neither the “second” of the London Symphonies (based on the numbering of Salomon’s contemporary edition) nor the “first” of the group of twelve including Nos. 93-104 (based on the numbering of the London Symphonies in the Alte Gesamtausgabe which was adopted by the Hoboken Verzeichnis, but “in truth” the third of the series (after No. 96 and No. 95). It was written in London in 1791 but for the second season – 1792 – of Salomon Concerts and performed for the first time on 17 February 1792. Here Joseph Haydn was able utilise his experiences from the first concert series, particularly regarding his assessment of English taste. The first movement is a prime example of a “singing allegro”; it is enveloped in the “tranquillity” of the development and softness of the thematic content, as would hardly be expected in a slow introduction which is rich in contrast and hardly known from Haydn beforehand. Beginning originally as a solo string quartet, the second movement was a veritable “hit” in Haydn’s day, circulated in an entire series of separate arrangements. Here Haydn combines the forms of rondo and variation. At the end of the movement there is a humorous surprise which is persistently led up to through a low fortissimo note of the bassoon.  One of Haydn’s new features is that from then on the tempo of the minuet grows increasingly faster – without losing its “Alpine” inflection. The final movement is a sonata rondo, as is usual with Haydn, a kehraus flavoured with surprising turns of phrase.

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