The London Symphony- 1st movement

The first movement of the famous symphony, often referred to as ‘The London Symphony’, not to be
confused with ‘The London Symphonies’ by Haydn is shaped into a Sonata form. This movement is a mere
30 minutes, although it was considered to be longer than the average length of a classical composition,
therefore Haydn had to work especially hard throughout his piece to keep the audience entertained. Its first
movement begins with a slow, fanfare-like movement in tutti, which is quite loud, marked in forte. The
double dotted notes embedded into the theme add to the suspension, which was a crucial element in the
midst of the classical era, done to grab the attention of the audience. Though at first unclear, we begin with a
minor tonality of D, reinforced with C#s from bar 3, which adds to the sense of mystery; harmonically
sparce, only tonics and dominants are used, due to the restrictions of the brass section at the time. The
introduction moves on with C naturals from bar 5 to subtly modulate to the relative major of F, and slowly
returning to the tonic key once again. The fanfare motif returns in F major, and the homophonic texture
creates this sense of grandeur and unity, enhanced with the fortissimo marking; Haydn finishes the
introduction with a chromatic chord, further supplementing the exuberant nature of the movement, and
preparing us for the next section.

The exposition begins with cut common time, and a conjunct movement. Call and response structure is still
employing the dotted rhythms and appoggiaturas of the key signature, to keep the audiences’ interest, firstly
ending in imperfect cadence as of bar 8, then a perfect one to add contrast into the heavily fragmented 16 bar
phrase. The flutes are doubling the same part, as at the time they were simply used as a doubling instrument,
mostly adding to the texture. From bar 20 follows an animated tutti passage, with the first appearance of
semiquavers, rhythmically supplementing the vibrancy in texture. A tonic pedal is continuously repeated in
the brass, to further establish the key. Staccato articulation is employed in the subject, and tremolo in the
strings to imitate the timpani from the previous section. A melodic contour is created by the descending
sequence reaching a low point, so it can be built up again, in the violin’s quaver passage from bar 41. Scale
on thirds in the violin parts adds to the excitement and builds towards an anticipated climax. A subtle use of
G# is moving the music away from D Major towards the dominant key of A major: This is a clear indication
of moving towards the second subject. The 4-bar phrase in a high register by the bassoon is recognised as a
repetition of the first subject from the opening. More imitation is carried through bars 34-46, as inversions of
the theme in the violins and modulated subjects in the bassoon are continuously used, which are
representative of the first section of the exposition. Fragmented themes are supporting the subtlety of the
transition passage, along with repeated pedal notes of the tonics and dominants in horns to support the
ongoing modulation. The section then takes a turn onto E major (the dominant of the dominant) reinforced
by its tonic repeated in a pedal note, played by the upper woodwind. However, it becomes apparent that the
new key is bound to be A major, as the pedal of its dominant is repeated in the bass in bars 47-48. An
appreciated moment of silence is added by Haydn before the second subject, to further build anticipation
after the continuous modulations.

However, the so highly anticipated new theme is never introduced, as Haydn follows a monothematic sonata
from, therefore staying with a transposed version of the main theme in A major. More and more chromatic
harmonies and lively passages are introduced from bar 52, as the strings and woodwind work together to
harmonically enrich this section; rhythmical contrast is presented using syncopation and ornamentation with
some appoggiaturas in bar 63 for example. The flutes are now playing in 5ths, which is also contrasting not
only from the previous section, but the typical parts played by the wind in that period of time. A cadential
distinction was also portrayed, as the first time, a perfect cadence was heard, however, as it is repeated, an
interrupted cadence occurs to keep the audience interested.

The closing theme is creating a sense of majesty yet again, with the dominant pedal of played in the bass,
fragmented motifs of the main theme, followed by rising triads, and even a trill in bar 90, adding further
embellishment to the closure. With the addition of the inverted falling triads, acciaccaturas in the list of
ornaments, and developing fragments of the original motif coming from the first subject, Haydn brings a
near-end to the exposition, reinforcing with the double stoppings for emphasis, he adds a repeat, before
moving onto the development.
 The very much expected development begins with a previously heard material from bars 19-20 of the
exposition and is then passed around the orchestra in different registers and timbers as a form of imitation.
Loads of chromaticism is also a tell-tale of it. To supplement this, an entry of a high motif in horns,
supporting the excitement. Then, an unexpected turn of a remote modulation occurs, where Haydn subtly
shifts to C# minor, and enhances this with a fortepiano dynamic marking, but then this is taken back, as the
texture is reduced, which is then followed by a rare moment of the flutes playing have separate harmony
parts for a change, presenting Haydn’s exploration of their abilities in the classical era’s symphony
orchestra. Further continuous modulations take place whilst the bassoon is playing a dominant sequence.
The piece finally arrives at the dominant of the dominant: E major, also being the relative major of C#
minor. In terms of development, the orchestra becomes more so polyphonic, as the repeated notes by the
woodwind are contrasted with the falling sequence, tremolos and scale in thirds all played by the strings,
creating a heightened atmosphere, and prepare for the magnificent ending: even the timpani joins back since
the start of the development section, as the ascending chromatic scale and a dominant pedal leads us to the
satisfactory home key:

A moment of surprising silence welcomes us before the dramatic start of the recapitulation; followed by a
high register motif developed from the previous second subject is heard in the first violin part. Haydn
reduces the texture, whilst he reinforces the return of the home key, and flutes and oboes have importance
instead of violins, creating a smoother overall sonority. This is followed yet again by an exuberant tutti
passage with semiquavers, and consonant, functional harmony. Then, not to bore the audience, Haydn
introduces a new, tentative section to keep interest, with violins playing pizzicato, and repeated staccato
passages repeated all throughout the orchestra.

The closing theme employs the return of the simplistic fanfare thematic material, as descending arpeggios
are used to reflect this. Lastly comes a fanfare-like flourish, and the repeated signing tonic arpeggio
movement, which brings us to the extravagant ending, paired with double and triple stoppings in the strings,
broadening the chord out even more, with the addition of heavy percussion for an intense end to the very
first movement.

In comparison to the late classical era, this symphony was quite inspirational to the later composers, even
revolutionary prodigies, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who clearly took inspiration form Haydn’s
symphony when composing his ‘Prague’ Symphony No.38, which is also written in D, and begins in a
similar military-like manner. There are many other similarities, such as a slow-fast-slow structure, combined
with an original sonata form. Although, in Mozart’s pieces were also influenced by the rising Italian opera,
which resulted in a contrapuntal working of motifs, as well as more adventurous time signatures in the latter
two movements. Instrumentation-wise, even though we see early signs of exploration in the harmonic
capabilities of the woodwind section in Haydn’s composition, in Mozart’s it is much more apparent, as there
are clear sections indicated to the flute, in the Finale. Mozart still follows the main original structure though,
only adding slight changes and bending of rules-including more lyrical melodies and the introduction of
hemiola rhythms- to add his own twist to the popular style of the classical era.

However, the third party of the First Viennese School was a lot more lenient and keener to stretch the
possibilities of music. Ludwig van Beethoven took the music to another level, and introduced the audience
to a completely new form, even a new musical era. His new perspective to express romanticism through
music led to 9 ground-breaking symphonies for the history of music. His 6th symphony ‘Sinfonia Pastorale’
really portrays his deep love for nature, as every tiny detail was carefully chosen by him to depict a lovely
rural scenery. The brass was a significantly more prominent in his compositions, as since Haydn’s time, the
instruments have evolved tremendously. Beethoven’s cohesive collection of leitmotifs really encapsulated
the expression he intended to achieve. Perhaps the main difference between mid-classical and the early
romantic period was that the later composers were much more emotionally driven and had a true sense of
passion revealing itself through the façade of music. Of course, the unforgettable Symphony No.9, also
called ‘Ode of Joy’ was a crucial development in the romantic era, as the development of the symphony
orchestra allowed Beethoven to truly experiment with every aspect of music, as it was the largest it’s ever
been: a simple but magnificent introduction leads to a revolutionary addition to symphony music: vocals.
Beethoven truly thought out of the box and found a way to incorporate previously significant aspects of
music from Haydn and Mozart, which is why his pieces are equivalently dissimilar and indifferent to his
previous equals.

Csenge Kosaras