Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
's Symphony No. 15 in D major, Hoboken I/15, may have been written between 1760 and 1763.
It is scored for 2
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
s,
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
, 2
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
,
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
and
continuo, with a solo for 2
violas
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
or
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
in the trio of the minuet.
[Landon (1955): 637. "2 ob., 2 cor., str. with 2 violas or solo vcl. in trio fag., cemb. ] This symphony has four movements:
#
Adagio
Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to:
Music
* Adagio, a Tempo#Basic tempo markings, tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner
* Adagio (band), a French progressive m ...
, –
Presto, – Adagio,
#
Menuet
A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''.
The term also describes the musical form that accompa ...
e Trio, with the Trio in
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable compositi ...
, both
#
Andante
Andante may refer to:
Arts
* Andante (tempo), a moderately slow musical tempo
* Andante (manga), ''Andante'' (manga), a shōjo manga by Miho Obana
* Andante (song), "Andante" (song), a song by Hitomi Yaida
* "Andante, Andante", a 1980 song by A ...
in
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable compositi ...
,
#Presto,
The opening movement is more similar to a baroque overture than sonata form though the movement still eludes either of these forms and has a unique character of its own. The movement begins with a light adagio with the first violins alternating with two horns while the rest of the string section accompanies in pizzicato. The Presto has two themes with distinct bridges between themes; however, it is difficult to define which section is the exposition, development and recapitulation, if in fact there even are such sections. The movement finishes with a modified version of the Adagio at the beginning of the movement.
[A. Peter Brown, ''The Symphonic Repertoire'', Volume 2 (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 2002): 77–78. .]
The work is one of the few symphonies of the Classical era to place the Minuet second (others include Haydn's
44th and
"B" as well as his brother
Michael's
Michaels Stores, Inc., more commonly known as Michaels, is a privately held chain of 1,252 American and Canadian arts and crafts stores, as of January 2021. It is one of North America's largest providers of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall ...
15th
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...
and
16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
). The G major trio was likely played as a quintet focusing on a dialog between violin I/violin II and viola/cello played over a bass.
The slow movement is for strings and has one principal theme with several bridge motifs.
The final movement is a dance-like presto in ABA form.
References
Symphony 015
Compositions in D major
1760s compositions
{{symphony-stub