Symphony no.80 in D minor

Haydn (1732 - 1809)

1. Allegro spiritoso
2. Adagio
3. Menuetto and Trio
4. Finale : Presto

Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, and at the age of 8 he went to Vienna as a choirboy at St. Stephen's Cathedral. When his voice began to break, his days as a choirboy were numbered, although some writers have suggested that Haydn’s dismissal was as the result of an unspecified prank. For the next eight years he managed to eke out a living by teaching and playing, but by the late 1750s Haydn was beginning to become known as a musician. On the recommendation of Baron Fürnberg, whose children he had taught, he obtained an appointment as Music Director to Count Morzin. Morzin lived in Vienna, but spent the summers at his palace at Lukavec where he had a small orchestra. Unfortunately, Morzin managed to squander his wealth and within a couple of years disbanded his orchestra. Haydn was subsequently appointed in 1761 as Vice-Kapellmeister at Eisenstadt to Prince Paul Esterházy. For almost 30 years Haydn remained with the Esterházy family, spending much of his time at the palace of Esterháza. The isolation suited Haydn who, despite being largely self-taught as a composer, set about producing vast quantities of music - most of his 104 symphonies were written during his time under the Esterházy patronage. He also had the luxury of always having musicians around to play whatever he wrote, allowing him to experiment. As he put it : “As a conductor of an orchestra I could make experiments and be as bold as I pleased - I was forced to become original.”

Haydn's fame spread far beyond Esterháza as his symphonies began to be published. His initial contract prevented him from composing for anyone apart from the Prince, but “pirate” editions started to appear and his popularity increased. A new contract with the Prince now allowed Haydn to sell his compositions for his own gain and Symphony No. 80 was written in 1784, the middle one of a group of three symphonies which he offered to a number of publishers including Boyer (in Paris), Bland and Forster (both in London) and Hummel, based in Berlin and Amsterdam. This widespread publication bore witness to the extent of Haydn's fame abroad. Indeed, his next six symphonies, Nos. 82 - 87, were to be the “Paris Symphonies” - the result of his first major commission from outside the Esterházy patronage.

Tonight’s work is scored for flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns and strings. It opens in a dramatic D minor followed by a lilting F major second subject. The slow movement opens with a gentle melody. A hint of restlessness is provided by an arpeggio figure in the second violins and violas which appears later as an accompanying figure. The stately Menuetto is in D minor with the Trio in a contrasting D major given added energy by the triplet accompaniment. The Finale opens with a driving syncopation which initially gives the listener the impression the off-the-beat theme is actually on the beat. Chaos seems to reign before Haydn brings everything back on the rails and normal service is resumed! Much of the movement is in D major providing a cheerful conclusion to the symphony.

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Bassoon concerto in Bb Major (K.191)

Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Soloist - Teodor Illiescu

1. Allegro
2. Andante ma adagio
3. Rondo (Tempo di menuetto)

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Serenade for Strings (opus 20)

Elgar (1857 - 1934)

1. Allegro piacevole
2. Larghetto
3. Allegretto - Come prima

Elgar's delightful Serenade for Strings is a relatively early work dating from 1892 when he was still largely unknown as a composer. It was initially rejected for publication by Novellos on the grounds that “this class of music is practically unsaleable”, but Breitkopf & Härtel did agree to publish it and consequently it was first performed, not in England, but in Antwerp. Elgar introduced the piece to the ladies’ orchestral class he was teaching in Malvern at the time, but it was not until 1899 that it received a concert performance in England. It nevertheless remained a firm favourite with the composer and was the last of his works which he recorded.

The Serenade evokes the scene of a summer evening in the English countryside. It is an early example of Elgar's ability to blend deep sentiment with a lighter side in his music, a characteristic of much of his greatest music. The central slow movement is typically Elgarian, blending nostalgia with an overall feeling of nobility. Describing one of the themes to an orchestra Elgar said : “Second violins, I want you to enjoy this tune; I wrote it especially for you.” The outer movements are delicate and graceful, showing the composer at his melodic best.

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Symphony no 5 in Bb Major (D485)

Schubert (1797 - 1828)

1. Allegro
2. Andante con moto
3. Minuet and Trio : Allegro molto
4. Allegro vivace

Franz Schubert was born in Vienna where his father was a schoolteacher. He learned the violin from his father and the piano from his elder brother, Ignaz, but soon surpassed them both as players. At the age of eleven, he entered the imperial court chapel as a choirboy. This led to admission to the Imperial and Royal City College, where his tutors included Antonio Salieri. While at the college, he joined an orchestra founded by fellow-student Josef von Spaun. Von Spaun was greatly impressed by Schubert, who was eight years his junior, and the younger musician rose rapidly through the ranks to become the orchestra’s leader. Schubert also deputised as the orchestra’s conductor when the regular conductor was absent. This gave him the opportunity to learn orchestral techniques, which would prove invaluable in the years to come. Schubert’s earliest compositions date from his time at the college. These included the Fantasie in G for piano duet (D1) and the early string quartets, written for the family quartet (Franz playing viola, his father playing cello and his brothers Ignaz and Ferdinand playing violins). The finest of his earliest works was his first symphony, completed on 28th October 1813, at about the time he left the college. He followed his father into the teaching profession, enrolling as a trainee teacher. He continued to have occasional lessons from Salieri for a further three years and eventually abandoned teaching as a career in 1817 to pursue his work as a composer.

The fifth symphony is the gem amongst Schubert’s early symphonies. It was composed in 1816 and, while still classical in style, it also shows Schubert’s rapidly developing mastery of the symphonic form. In contrast to its immediate predecessor, No. 4 “The Tragic”, it is essentially sunny and optimistic in character. It was first performed by an amateur orchestra in which Schubert and his brother Ferdinand both played, and was possibly composed specifically for the group. The main theme of the opening movement is as joyful and melodic as anything Schubert wrote. The two inner movements are clearly influenced by Mozart - the Minuet shares the key of G minor with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, a work Schubert knew and greatly admired. The Finale sees a return to the good-humoured charm of the first movement, bringing this delightful symphony to a lively and jolly conclusion.