performed by the London Mozart Players under Matthias Bamert Yes, that William Herschel. The one who discovered Uranus. Feel free to giggle. Frederick William Herschel (but actually Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel) was born on 15 November, 1738, in Hanover, “in Germany, then part of … Continue reading William Herschel: Symphony no. 8 in Cm for strings
performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra under Adam Fischer, or below with the Philharmonia Hungarica under Antal Dorati Well, here we are… at our final Haydn (symphony) for a while, after another stretch of works. Again, I promise once we … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 11 in E-flat (H. I/11)
Horns. The fifth in A major has its date between 1760 and 1762. Wikipedia refers to it as a sonata da chiesa and states that this is the reason for its four-movement form, unlike its cousin the third. It also says that because of the very high horn parts, this is some of the most difficult writing for the instrument in Haydn’s oeuvre. And yes, they are high. As a kite. It’s the most striking thing about the symphony at first listen. In the past, the winds (of any kind) had only gotten much smaller kind of background parts, but this is the … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 5
The third in G major was written (it is believed) between 1760 and 1762. It shares its orchestration with its predecessors, (two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings, continuo) but is Haydn’s first symphony to be written in four movements, and one of the earliest in general to do so. The winds in this symphony are also absent from the slow movement, as in the previous symphony. This symphony is more ‘complex’ no only for its four-movement structure, but also for the structure of two of the movements: the minuet is a canon between high and low voices, and the finale … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 3
Fugue for Thought 