Haydn: Symphony No. 104 in D Major, "London"

Joseph Haydn's final symphony is rather arbitrarily nicknamed, being the last of twelve symphonies that Haydn wrote in London during his second and last visit to England. It premiered in 1795 to great success, and was the capstone on a group of symphonies that came to represent the height of late Classical-era symphonic writing, sealing Haydn's reputation as the "father of the symphony." For its time, it was a symphonic tour de force, lasting twenty-five minutes, thoroughly and compactly assembled with splendour and lighthearted brilliance, and truly meant to move the symphony from the aristocrat's ballroom to the public concert hall.

The first movement opens with a slow, grandiose introduction in D minor. The following Allegro is set in straightforward sonata form, with a playful theme in D Major which appears in A Major as the second theme as well. After repeating the exposition, the development begins with the strings in B minor; it climaxes with a dominant chord which is immediately cut off for a dramatic, unexpected silence before the recapitulation begins. The movement is closed with a brief triumphant coda in D Major.

True to form, the inner movements of this symphony are both distinct and full of character. The second movement, set in G Major, sets up a whimsical theme that serves as the basis for the rest of the movement. The middle section is stormy, but with typical tongue-in-cheek humor it is interrupted with abrupt silence, and in short order brings back the opening theme with classical ornamentations. The melody stalls and wanders into other keys, ending on a strange D-flat Major chord. A lonely flute solo lingers before the orchestra tentatively reenters and then confidently reasserts the main theme; horns bring the movement to a quiet close,
mischievous in its lack of fanfare. The Menuetto returns to the main key of D Major, a stately Allegro which ventures into a more lyrical trio in B-flat major, featuring expressive lines from the oboe and bassoon.

The finale is, as its tempo marking indicates, exuberant and plucky,opening with a lively theme for the violins set in piano and accompanied by a pedal D which promises more. Shortly thereafter, the orchestra bursts in with vigor; much of the movement features the sprightly scales in the violins. The apex of the moment centers
around a singular interval - a half step in the strings which widens into a yawning tenth before the D Major tonic returns with the rest of the orchestra, bringing the movement and symphony to a jubilant
ending.

Haydn: Symphony No. 59 in A Major, "Fire" Symphony

i am also only doing one entry for this symphony, which is very early haydn (circa ~1767, perhaps earlier). the nickname, as with most of haydn's, is more or less unrelated (at least, to the actual music). while one who was  looking at it in hindsight might be able to attribute the name to the perky opening and the quick tempo marking of the first movement, the symphony is not very much more or less fiery than any other symphony that haydn wrote during the time. the leading theory is that parts of it were used as the music to a play by Großmann called "die feuersbrunt" or the conflagration. but it was presented as a gift to the court of his patron esterhazy in full, after this

2 ob, 2 hn, strings

I. Presto

II. Andante o piu tosto allegretto (andante or a faster allegretto)

III. Menuotto

IV. Allegro assai

unfortunately i'm unable to provide a recording for this. hopefully i will find one someday, but i guess you'll have to live with a quick synopsis. because of this, i won't do my usual analysis type style since that's really dull if you don't have a recording to reference.

note the fast tempo marking of the first movement, which is probably the most interesting. the firsts do a quick pickup, but then the melody goes to the other strings while the firsts saw off on on a repeated A. then there is a gentler theme. a nice note i read says that the effect is as if two characters in a play have been introduced. the drama effect is a big force in the symphony, with the character being driving and insistent rather than normal sunny A major.
the second movement, in a minor, is actually in 3/4, which is a bit unusual. it's also not too slow, and sounds more like a minuet than anything else for a while. it has the character of a galante. there is also a crazy moment at the recap, where the horns, playing for the first time in the movement, burst in with a FF fanfare type figure over the quiet theme that vanishes almost as soon as it's played.
the third is a relatively fast (for the time) minuet, in A major switching to A minor during the trio.
the fourth opens with a brilliant horn duo in open intervals, which is answered by oboes before bursting into a rushed and lively string gallop.


i'm sure i will find a recording to update this with someday. until then, see if you can't keep an eye out for this very charming short symphony.

Hummel: Piano Concerto No. 5 in A-flat Major - I. Allegro moderato

hummel is the perfect example of a composer whom we know was great yet have a hard time remembering anything specific about. he epitomizes the importance of historical context and what it does to our memory. sometimes i've heard my friends ask questions like, why do no tchaiks and brahmses exist today - that music is still perfectly good and nobody would mind if more of it was written. and sometimes i wish too that more things in the veins of past composers would continue to be written (ok maybe just more brahms). but the truth is if anyone tries to write this stuff now, they merely consign themselves to hummel's fate, which is to be remembered mostly as "beethoven's contemporary" who wrote music that sounded more or less entirely like early beethoven.

but of course i am not giving hummel himself enough credit: he was extremely popular when he died (1837 - almost ten years after beethoven's death). he fit in great with the culture of the times - wealthy patronage, lovely, graceful, "clementi-style" classical era music. this isn't to say that he just played it safe all the time either - just that his pioneering techniques in composition and performance (he was a well-known pianist) were presented early in his career, and by the eve of his life he found his influence had faded in the face of romanticism.
this piano concerto really sparkles. i can only find one professional recording that seems *ever* to have been made, but fortunately it is a good one. it is even harder to find program notes on this piece, which nobody seems to play. but hummel's piano concerti in general were studied by several generations of the greatest piano-composers - liszt, schumann, mendelssohn, and chopin, to name a few. he never composed a symphony.

this is an expansive movement, almost 15 minutes (to the second movement's 6). it contains so many characteristics of the classical piano concerto that they almost don't seem to be worth going through.

orchestral tutti which introduces all the themes, the first one an e-flat fanfare-like theme and the second at 1:09, a tinge of mellow minor followed by a more playful section with some light graceful notes.

notice orchestration: the strings definitely play the most prominent role, as they were wont to do in early classical music, with winds providing orchestration. (remember, for instance, in bach's orchestra, where basically the only time the very few winds play are for extended solos.)

piano enters at 2:54 with harmonically active material which propels it through the entire exposition. 5:24 is a play on the second theme which was outlined by the orchestra in the introduction.
okay, i think this concerto explains itself rather well. (also, because i can't find any information on it, your guess about all the material is definitely just as good as mine). but do take my word for it that this is a fantastic classical piano concerto.

Haydn: Symphony No. 100 in G Major, "Military" - I. Adagio - Allegro

the nickname doesn't come from the first movement: if you want to know the reason, give the middle section of the second movement a listen.
this symphony is the 8th of 12 "london" symphonies (which he wrote while he was in said city). these were haydn's last symphonies, his most well-known, and most of his best.
here we have the first movement.

there is a slow stately introduction, in the main key. this travels around the dominant and builds up suspense for a dancing theme which is scored only for flutes and oboes, repeated by the strings. second theme begins at 2:34, transitioning to d minor and then quickly going into D major, 2:51. after a repeat of the exposition, the development begins at 4:53 with a super dramatic 2 bar grand pause. and then the violin ostinato comes back suddenly in b flat major. this is a great moment!
cycle through lots of keys, play with the themes, and we eventually end up at an e minor statement of the theme at 5:36. this is reiterated upwards through several keys... and then we have a recap at 6:07. second theme in the correct key this time, and then the end! no coda.

:)

Mozart: Overture to Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K. 620

OK, as i've been promising for a few days, some Mozart!

composed in 1791, and unique because it's one of the only works Mozart composed to german text. the libretto was written by emanuel schikaneder. it was his last really major work, produced in vienna.

i don't really want to focus on plot synopsis, so we'll just dive right in to the actual overture.

levine has near perfected the art of opera, and is one of the most consistent big name maestros for the form today. this is a rather beefy version. he also looks incurably goofy (i cannot be the only one who wants to laugh when i see the cue right before the first note), but it cannot be disputed he gets the job done.

the first few chords are always done differently. the pickup is actually written as a sixteenth, but they're usually so heavy that they sound like something different. in any case: these chords are like a foundation - they set up a "realm," both tonal and emotional, within which the opera resides: graceful yet grand, dramatic and delicate. or as dale put it more poetically, "it's like describing eden." and indeed the whole overture of an opera is all about setting up a musical stage. the rest of the overture uses mainly just one brisk theme of eighths and sixteenths, which is developed in a fugal form. a brief middle section begins with a sort of reprise of the opening chords in the dominant major, B flat. a minor section which develops the sole theme with more fugal interplay gets furious and dramatic but remains light. a truly mozartean ring around the circle of fifths leads us to a fake recap which dissolves into a series of descending scales, and then back to the theme for the real recap.

notice the fantastic brass fanfares in the coda ;)

just for reference, you can also check out the muti/vpo one - i won't host it here because i think it's quite similar to the levine, except perhaps a bit more delicate and "classy." it is nice because you can see the orchestra for most of it, ionno about that bg picture though :D

here's something very different.

a perfect example of what i was talking about with the opening sixteenth notes. abbado decides to take them pretty much in time, and doesn't stretch the half notes *or* the fermatas. the opening is muuuch brisker than you hear normally, and the overall sound is thinner - almost as if he's trying to go for a period feel with the modern orchestra. lots of decay on longer notes, super short chords, and generally everyone is playing quite light even for this overture. it's also quite a bit faster, clocking in at over half a minute shorter than levine or muti (in a 7 minute piece, nontrivial). i enjoy this though. very unsentimental, but classy.