95
c minor
Londoner Sinfonien, 1. Folge
Herausgeber: Robert von Zahn und Gernot Gruber; Reihe I, Band 15; G. Henle Verlag München
Hob.I:95 Symphony in C Minor
Composed in London in 1791 and performed for the first time in the same season as the Salomon Concerts, the C minor symphony (No. 95) is in many ways strikingly different from the usual framework of the London Symphonies: it is the only piece in a minor key (there are also just two forerunners in this key in Haydn’s body of symphonic work: No. 52, a work of the so-called Sturm and Drang period, and No. 78) and the only one of the London Symphonies that does not begin with a slow introduction. Due to its basic style expressed with the defiant unison statement at the beginning, it was long one of the least popular of the series. A clear indication for the fact that Salomon’s trio arrangement of this symphony for the piano sold the least. Nonetheless, it is consummate with respect to its composition and “inner beauty” so that today’s concert activity is rightly rediscovering it. The most remarkable movement of this composition is probably the finale, in which the usual rondo form is most elaborately permeated with contrapuntal elements. Here the influence of the finale in Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony is very clearly noticeable.
Analysis

Analysis of the movements




Musicians

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".
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

Music
Antal Dorati
Joseph Haydn
The Symphonies
Philharmonia Hungarica
33 CDs, aufgenommen 1970 bis 1974, herausgegeben 1996 Decca (Universal)



