Joseph Haydn
(1732-1809)

Symphony No. 88 in G Major, Hob. I:88

Composed 1785

In 1761, the Viennese composer Joseph Haydn was hired by Prince Paul Anton Esterházy to serve as Vice-Kapellmeister (Assistant Chapel Master) of the Esterházy court. All of his compositions written henceforth were considered property of the court under the terms stated in his contract:

The said Vice-Kapellmeister shall be under obligation to compose such music as his Serene Highness may command, and neither to communicate such compositions to any other person, nor to allow them to be copied, but he shall retain them for the absolute use of his Highness, and not compose for any other person without the knowledge and permission of his Highness.

Growing increasingly frustrated by his music being pirated and published outside of the court while seeing none of the revenue, Haydn renegotiated his contract in 1779 to allow outside commissions. Thus, the six Paris Symphonies (Nos. 82-87) were among the first successful commissions he received outside of his court employment.

Symphony No. 88, though perhaps first performed for the court as part of his official duties, was written for Haydn’s second principal violin Johann Tost. After the end of his service, Tost traveled to Paris and, taking advantage of Haydn’s recent commercial successes there, sold several of Haydn’s new compositions to the publisher Jean-Georges Sieber, including this symphony. Tost had even offered Sieber works by Haydn without his permission, and including pieces that did not even exist, to Haydn’s great annoyance.

The work begins with a slow introduction, followed by a sonata-form first movement that presents only one theme (monothematic), which Haydn uses motivically in the development to maintain interest. Listen to how he cleverly uses chromaticism in the woodwinds to emphasize cadences.

This work achieved fame in particular for its slow movement. Johannes Brahms is reported to have said he wanted his “ninth symphony” to be like this. Trumpets and timpani enter for the first time, defying the expectation that they would appear in the first movement rather than the second. A delicately orchestrated theme is first intoned by a single oboe, violas, and cellos. In Haydn’s time, it was unusual for the viola and violoncello to carry the main theme.

The third movement, as was common, juxtaposes a courtly minuet with a rustic trio featuring open fifth harmonies, accents on the “wrong” parts of the beat, and sudden dynamic contrasts. A trademark of Haydn, the sonata-rondo theme of the fourth movement places the emphasis on beat two of the measure, creating an off-kilter sensation. As if that were not enough, near the middle of the movement he writes a canon between the lower and higher strings one beat apart. A fermata brings the energy to a halt before a rousing finale ends the work.

I first encountered this symphony, as many have, in a video clip of Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic using only his eyes. It is a testament not only to the expressive capabilities of a conductor, but also to the ability of musicians to play together without centralized leadership, like chamber music.

Instrumentation – one flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings

Duration – 20 minutes

~ Tomás García
Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor
Princeton Symphony Orchestra