Haydn: Symphony No. 54 in G major (with Score)

Franz Joseph Haydn:
Symphony No. 54 in G major, Hob. I/54 (with Score)
Composed: 1774
Orchestra: Cologne Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Helmut Müller-Brühl

00:00 1. Adagio maestoso – Presto (G major)
06:11 2. Adagio assai (C major)
15:57 3. Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio (G major)
20:14 4. Finale. Presto (G major)

During his time in the Esterhazy court, Franz Josef Haydn went through what appear to be fairly delineated stages in his maturity as a composer. Excepting his 'London' symphonies written in the 1790's while in England, the symphonies (and string quartets) written in the period between 1771 and 1774 are considered among his most advanced works.

Symphony #54 reveals that growth in many ways. Though the entire work is not thoroughly in a mature style, certain movements and compositional devices give a preview to his final achievements as a composer. In particular, the orchestration Haydn uses in the work is remarkable at such an early period. Scored for two each of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, and trumpets, along with timpani and strings, the piece has the largest and most complex orchestration in the pre-London period (although the flutes, trumpets and timpani may have been a later addition judging by their location in the manuscript). The use of the trumpets speak of Haydn's maturity especially; rather than for simply the stereotypical fanfare moments, the trumpets begin to contribute strongly to harmonic structure.

The opening adagio, very much in the later style, appears to also be an afterthought. The opening theme of the main section of the first movement utilizes another newer technique of this period: statement of the theme in octaves. This gives it a dramatic force instead of a melody. As a result, Haydn avoids a second theme, but instead varies the opening one with melodic accompaniments.

The second movement is perhaps one of the finest Haydn ever wrote, regardless of the period of his life. Although he long toiled over his second movements throughout his compositional career, this elegant movement combines serious tragic drama with endlessly flowing melody. Structured as the older church-sonata movements, this one uses distant harmonic regions with surprising modulations (a sign of his increasingly adventurous character).

The third movement, a minuet and trio is light and whimsical. Succinct and more conservative, it provides relief from the turmoil and resolution of the previous movement.

The final movement is surprisingly inconclusive in nature; usually final movements have an aspect of finality to them (naturally). This one sounds almost like an opening movement. This shows Haydn's indecision about finales; in this period of his life, he bordered on two different categories of finale. This one derives from the style he used in his earlier years, using two semi-themes in a conventional binary construction.


All Music Guide
(https://www.allmusic.com/composition/...)

Wikipedia article
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphon...)

Haydn107
(https://www.joseph-haydn.art/en/sinfo...)

International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
(https://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.54...)