Symphont Pieces

Question 1

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - context, where was it performed?

Answer 1

First In London 1794

Question 2

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - form

Answer 2

I. Adagio- Allegro (slow introduction, sonata form)
II. Allegretto (ternary form in C major)
III. Menuetto: Moderato (minuet and trio)
IV. Finale: Presto (sonata-rondo)

Question 3

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - time

Answer 3

Total 25 min, first movement 8 min

Question 4

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - intrumentation

Answer 4

2 x flutes, oboes, clarinets in C (second movement only), bassoons, horns (in G), trumpets in C, timpani (G and D)
And strings

Question 5

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - why is it nicknamed “military”?

Answer 5

Appears to have been used from about 1795, comes from the use of (for the first time) a large number of percussion instruments in the 2nd and 4th movements. In addition to the timpani there are triangle, cymbals and bass drum

Question 6

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - what was this composed for?

Answer 6

After being freed from working full-time for the Esterházys on the death of Prince Nikolaus, Haydn was invited by concert organiser Johann Peter Salomon to visit London, this was written for Haydn’s second visit in 1794

Question 7

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - who was the performance directed by?

Answer 7

Salomon, with Haydn supposedly at the keyboard, however no indicated of what he might have played, as with most of Haydn’s ‘London’ symphonies, there is a slow introduction before the first movement

Question 8

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - is the woodwind important?

Answer 8

With clarinets in the second movement, Haydn has a complete double woodwind section at his disposal, and from the start of the symphony the new melodic independence of the woodwind can be seen. This was relatively new at the time

Question 9

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - why did the horns and trumpets not play a major role in this movement?

Answer 9

Limited to the harmonic series on G, they first play bars 14-16 helping to achieve a rapid crescendo. This is possible because although the music is modulated, it is in the tonic minor so many notes are available. Throughout the movement the brass plays a small number of pitches, mainly when the music is loud. The use of the brass section in the development section is limit to a few held or repeated notes

Question 10

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - how are brass prevalent at the end of the movement?

Answer 10

From 239, they are able to play nearly continuously because much of the music is based on tonic or dominant chords

Question 11

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - how can rests create excitement?

Answer 11

A feeling of expectation, whole beats of silence after ff chords, he uses silence in great effect at the start of the development section with bars 125 and 126 completely silent, the sophisticated London audiences attending the first performances of this symphony would have expected the start of the new section, after the repeat of the exposition, so would of been wondering how this new section would begin. Haydn kept them waiting

Question 12

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - how do repeated quavers create excitement?

Answer 12

Drives the music forwards and is used throughout the movement. The excitement builds when repeated quavers are heard as a reiterated tonic pedal in the cellos. Melodic broken 3rds appear followed by Scalic passages

Question 13

Haydn Symphony No100 in G “Military”, first movement - how have rhythmic patterns created excitement?

Answer 13

Rhythmic pattern of the two crotchets, creates a feeling of instability, driving the music forward

Question 14

Mozart Symphony No41 in C , K551 ‘Jupiter’ - how did Mozarts symphonic style change?

Answer 14

He was influenced by music he encountered, and the size of the work and the instrumentation was usually dictated by where he was writing it for. Many of Mozarts early symphonies had three movements, but in his mature works there are usually 4. The earliest symphonies had little development and over the years Mozart increased the dimensions of this section. By his last years Mozart’s music had become more based on motifs and was sometimes monothematic

Question 15

Mozart Symphony No41 in C , K551 ‘Jupiter’ - was this one of Mozarts latest works?

Answer 15

This symphony is Mozart’s longest and last

Question 16

Mozart Symphony No41 in C , K551 ‘Jupiter’ - why is it nicknamed ‘Jupiter’?

Answer 16

Does not appear until after his death, it was possibly first used by Salomon (arranged Haydn’s trips to London) to reflect the symphony’s grandeur and majesty. The symphony includes music recycled from a comic opera aria composed earlier in 1788 in bars 101-110

Question 17

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - who was this dedicated to?

Answer 17

Franz Joseph Maximilian Fürst von Lobokowitz, first performed in a private concert in summer 1804 at Eisenberg Castle in Bohemia for Lobokowitz

Question 18

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - why was this written?

Answer 18

The symphony was published with the title “Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man”. Heroic is the English translation of the Italian “Eroica” and the great man is thought to be Napoleon. This is because on the title page of the manuscript score Beethoven has scrubbed out a direct reference to Napoleon. In 1804, Napoleon declared himself emperor and Beethoven was apparently furious at this. There may have also been monetary considerations. Lobokowitz was a patron of Beethoven’s and had paid to have six months’ sole use of the symphony, Beethoven may have realised that he should not really dedicate it to anyone else

Question 19

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - why is this piece so important?

Answer 19

Hailed as one of the most important works in Western Music. It certainly marks a significant change in Beethoven’s style and had a big impact on later Romantic composers. The comparison of this symphony coincides with what is now called Beethoven’s ‘middle period’ where he began to move away from the purely classical style

Question 20

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - how did Beethoven expand the symphonic form?

Answer 20

He kept the outlined structures standardised by Haydn and only slightly expanded the orchestra, sometimes adding piccolo, trombone or contrabassoon (until then only found in opera orchestras)

Question 21

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - how does this contrast with those of M+H’s symphonies?

Answer 21

It is an emotional rollercoaster, with rapid movement between movements of great tension or drama and relaxation

Question 22

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - what did reviewers say ?

Answer 22

In 1805, great length and technical difficulty for the orchestra, “lurid” and “bizarre”, however following years critical opinion became more positive

Question 23

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - is it long?

Answer 23

Beethoven was apparently concerned by the length of the piece and considered removing the repeat of the exposition, but decided the repeat would achieve musical balance

Question 24

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - how was the orchestra slightly expanded? (Strings)

Answer 24

The cellos and basses are no longer “shackled” together, often having different music to play

Question 25

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - how was the orchestra slightly expanded? (Brass)

Answer 25

Required to pay much more difficult music, no longer tied to mostly tonic and dominant harmonies

Question 26

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - how was the orchestra slightly expanded? (Woodwind)

Answer 26

Has an independent role, often taking the melody while strings accompany, writes for a double woodwind section

Question 27

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - how does Beethoven create great moments of tension and drama?

Answer 27

Rhythmically he leaves the audience feeling unsettled through syncopation and rhythms across bar lines, creating metric ambiguity, tutti used together with dissonant harmonies (something quite shocking)

Question 28

Beethoven: Symphony No3 in Eb Op55, ‘Eroica’, first movement - tempo markings

Answer 28

Many more markings in this score than in the symphonies of Mozart or Haydn, carefully indicates the articulation and required dynamics