So the first week of September Symphonies is complete, and I have so far listened to 16 relatively early examples in the form, travelling from the work of Boyce and C.P.E.Bach to Haydn's final output in 1794. What has really come through so far is the largely positive nature of emotions shown in the writing, though in Haydn's case in particular these have been allowed to darken considerably.
What has really been impressed on me so far is the upbeat nature of the fast movements, of J.C.Bach, Stamitz and Dittersdorf in particular, which have been very energetic. Brief though they are, the pieces are concentrated and full of melodic invention. At this stage they follow convention relatively closely, though are not afraid in the case of Arne and Boyce's minor key works to throw in some scrunchy harmonies now and then.
Where Haydn is concerned, I could easily have selected any one of about 30 symphonies to listen to for September Symphonies – and even then that is bearing in mind that I still don’t know around half of his symphonic output. With such a large canon it helps to have nicknames, though it is worth pointing out that some of the very best have no nicknames at all. One of my favourites, Symphony no.87 in A, is packed full of the customary Haydn wit, as were two of my selections for the project, the 'Oxford' and 'Clock' symphonies.
There are much darker moments in Haydn though, and it seems many of the symphonies have subtle inventions that had not been tried before – drums in the slow movement, virtuosic writing for horns, sudden deviations or harmony or key. The 'Sturm und Drang' period is rightly celebrated for its fiery emotions and occasional leave-taking of tradition, so with that in mind I listened to the 44th symphony, 'Trauer', for the first time in years. A 'big band' performance conducted by Ferenc Fricsay, it was emotive and yet kept a kind of serenity, an observation that could be levelled at other high points in the output such as no.49, 'La Passione'.
Mozart I find harder to warm to as instinctively as Haydn, yet there is no doubting the near perfection of the architecture of his last three symphonies. No.39 is my personal favourite, though it was interesting to discover H.C. Robbins Landon's suggestion, made in Robert Layton's A Guide To The Symphony - one of my companion books for this series – that it was set as a 'masonic' work. Whatever, it is a wonderfully affirmative piece – as is the 41st, whose 'Jupiter' nickname is curiously earned and relates to nothing in particular. The finale of the 'Jupiter' is one of the high points of 18th century symphonic writing, a perfect fusion of form, melody, harmony and counterpoint – with Mozart introducing the same melodic subject over and over again in a wide variety of ways and means. In the performance I listened to, with Claudio Abbado conducting the Mozart Orchestra, perfection was indeed attained.
Another big personal plus of the first week of symphonies has been that they are all easy to work to, rewarding both background and foreground listening. As I journey further in to the 19th century I know this will not always be the case, so expect some wringing of hands by the time I reach week three! For now, though, an air of relative serenity persists – and next it's Beethoven!
Symphonies and recordings listened to so far:1. Boyce - Symphony no.8 (1737) English Concert / Trevor Pinnock (DG Archiv)
2. Monn - Symphony in B flat major (c1740) Camerata Bern / Thomas Furi (DG Archiv)
3. C.P.E.Bach - Symphony in G major Wq 173 (1741) Les Amis de Philippe / Ludger Remy (CPO)
4. Haydn - Symphony no.6 in D major (Le Matin) (1761) English Concert / Trevor Pinnock (DG Archiv)
5. J.C.Bach - Symphony in D major Op.3/1 (1765) Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields / Sir Neville Marriner (Philips)
6. Arne - Symphony no.4 in C minor (1767) The Hanover Band / Graham Lea-Cox (Gaudeamus)
7. Haydn - Symphony no.44 in E minor (Trauer) (1772) RIAS Symphony Orchestra Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay (DG)
8. Mozart - Symphony no.29 in A major K201 (1774) Orchestra of the 18th Century / Frans Bruggen (Philips)
9. Dittersdorf - Sinfonia in A minor (c1775) Camerata Bern / Thomas Furi (DG Archiv)
10. Stamitz - Symphony in F major Op.24/3 (1784) London Mozart Players / Matthias Bamert (Chandos)
11. Haydn - Symphony no.85 in B flat major (La Reine) (1785) Concentus Musicus Wien / Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)
12. Mozart - Symphony no.39 in E flat major K543 (1788) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Karl Bohm (DG)
13. Mozart - Symphony no.40 in G minor K550 (1788) Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields / Sir Neville Marriner (Philips)
14. Mozart - Symphony no.41 in C major K551 (Jupiter) (1788) Mozart Orchestra / Claudio Abbado (DG)
15. Haydn - Symphony no.92 in G major (Oxford) (1789) Orchestra of the 18th Century / Frans Bruggen (Philips)
16. Haydn - Symphony no.101 in D major (Clock) (1794) Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Claudio Abbado (DG)
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