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Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony No. 49 in F Minor, "La passione"
Composed: 1768
Premiered: unknown
Duration: 24 minutes

Haydn composed his first 15 or so symphonies during the three-year period he spent with his first employer, Bohemian nobleman Count Karl Joseph Franz von Morzin. In 1761, after Count Morzin disbanded his orchestra due to financial difficulties, Haydn took up the position of Vice-Kapellmeister to the even wealthier and more influential Esterházy family. His numerous responsibilities included composing operas, symphonies, chamber and vocal music, and maintaining the court orchestra and library.

Between approximately 1768 and 1772, he composed a number of urgent, dramatic works in minor keys, Symphony No. 49 among them. This is often referred to as his Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress) period.

Symphony No. 49 may possess links to Easter. Its nickname, which was applied anonymously at a later date, has several other possible sources, including an origin in incidental music for a stage drama, or simply its deeply serious character. Its sequence of movements is unusual. It opens with a dark, grieving slow section, one that the eminent Haydn scholar H.C. Robbins Landon feels may suggest “the winding line of penitents before the Cross.” Haydn follows it with three quick movements. For maximum effectiveness and to skirt any possibility of monotony, he places the stately Minuet (its gentle central Trio is the symphony’s sole music in a major key) between two brisk, fiercely dramatic movements.

Program note by Don Anderson © 2022

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony No. 49 in F Minor, "La passione"
Composed: 1768
Premiered: unknown
Duration: 24 minutes

Haydn composed his first 15 or so symphonies during the three-year period he spent with his first employer, Bohemian nobleman Count Karl Joseph Franz von Morzin. In 1761, after Count Morzin disbanded his orchestra due to financial difficulties, Haydn took up the position of Vice-Kapellmeister to the even wealthier and more influential Esterházy family. His numerous responsibilities included composing operas, symphonies, chamber and vocal music, and maintaining the court orchestra and library.

Between approximately 1768 and 1772, he composed a number of urgent, dramatic works in minor keys, Symphony No. 49 among them. This is often referred to as his Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress) period.

Symphony No. 49 may possess links to Easter. Its nickname, which was applied anonymously at a later date, has several other possible sources, including an origin in incidental music for a stage drama, or simply its deeply serious character. Its sequence of movements is unusual. It opens with a dark, grieving slow section, one that the eminent Haydn scholar H.C. Robbins Landon feels may suggest “the winding line of penitents before the Cross.” Haydn follows it with three quick movements. For maximum effectiveness and to skirt any possibility of monotony, he places the stately Minuet (its gentle central Trio is the symphony’s sole music in a major key) between two brisk, fiercely dramatic movements.

Program note by Don Anderson © 2022