Haydn Symphony No. 94, "Surprise"

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

Joshua Weilerstein

Clarinet, Timpani, Performing, Trombone, Cello, Trumpet, Bassoon, Classicalmusic, Performing Arts, Arts, Violin, Flute, Piano, Conductor, Music, Weilerstein

4.9 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2022

⏱️ 40 minutes

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Summary

If you want to understand how a symphony works, look no further than the works of the Father of the symphony, Joseph Haydn.

In 1790, a concert promoter and impresario named Johann Peter Solomon showed up un-announced at the Vienna home of the great composer Joseph Haydn. He immediately told Haydn: “I am Solomon from London and I have come to fetch you.” What Salomon and Haydn were about to embark upon would be one of the greatest successes of both of their lives. Haydn would end up making 2 visits to London, presenting an adoring audience with 12 symphonies, almost all of which are still regularly performed today. But the most famous one is the one we’re going to be talking about today, the 94th symphony, nicknamed “Surprise” or in the slightly drier German version: “the one with the Drumstroke.” The piece is famous for this surprise, which is now so well known that it rarely surprises anyone, though we’ll get into just how you might be able to do that in 2022. But the entire piece is a masterpiece in its own right, and so today we’ll discuss all of the tricks and traps Haydn pulls with his audience, leading to one of the most enjoyable symphonies of his entire catalogue.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Sticky Notes, the Classical Music Podcast.
0:07.8	My name is Joshua Weilerstein, I'm a conductor, and I'm the Music Director of the Phoenix
0:11.6	Orchestra of Boston.
0:13.1	This podcast is for anyone who loves classical music, works in the field, or is just getting
0:17.5	ready to dive into this amazing world of incredible music.
0:21.2	Before we get started, I want to thank my new Patreon sponsors, Connor Debra, James,
0:26.0	and all of my other Patreon sponsors for making Season 8 possible.
0:30.3	If you'd like to support the show, please head over to patreon.com slash Sticky Notes Podcast.
0:35.5	And if you are a fan of the show, please just think of a moment to give us a rating or review
0:38.4	on Apple Podcasts.
0:40.4	Every rating review helps more people find the show, and it's greatly appreciated.
0:45.8	I have a bit of an announcement this week, and that is that for the very first time in
0:51.3	five years, I'm going to be taking a little bit of a break.
0:56.1	Even in between seasons of the show for the last five years, I've been uploading older episodes.
1:00.8	But I'm going to be going on a vacation to the US with my wife for about a month, where
1:05.5	there will be very limited internet service, so I won't be able to be uploading new episodes.
1:10.9	But never fear, we'll only be gone for about a month.
1:14.6	I will finish this season Season 8 with three episodes.
1:19.1	Today's episode on Hyde & Surprise Symphony, a Patreon sponsored episode on Nicholas Rubenstein's
1:24.1	Ocean Symphony, and then a little surprise for the season 8 finale.
1:29.6	And then I will be off again for about a month, and then in the second week of September,
1:34.4	I should be coming back with Season 9, which has a lot of really exciting stuff coming.
	...

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