Haydn - Symphony No. 44 'Trauer'

Orchestra of St. John's, Smith Square, London - John Lubbock, conductor
1. Allegro con brio
2. Menuetto - Allegretto 9:35
3. Adagio 15:10
4. Presto 22:38
Pictures in video are of the music room of the Esterhazy Palace where many of Haydn's symphonies had their first performance.
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[@seven8n235]

The Haydn genius never disappoints. Now in 2020, isolated from Corona virus, we have 104 symphonies to cheers us.

[@McIntyreBible]

That's one thing about Haydn that is attractive: his music is NOT GLOOMY!

[@vigorosoPIMPJr]

The Esterhazy Palace is a beautiful place to perform, I've had the pleasure to perform there at the Eisenstadt Music Festival with Dr. Zelinski. Haydn was such an amazing composer. Just being in the same halls and cathedrals he originally had his pieces performed was and will always be a great honor.

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

This has always been one of my favourite performances of this fantastic symphony using modern instruments. A very fine work of its type written in 1770 or 1771, it speaks a new, powerful, but sensuous language that brings out all the ‘sturm und drang’ features of the work: unison motifs, contrapuntal development, intense powerful forward momentum, serene lyrical beauty, perhaps the most intense winding up of tension in any eighteenth century symphony (the ever rising figure in the finale), and much more, All these features are blended together in a dramatic, poetically beautiful, and satisfying artistic whole. This symphony has a claim to be counted as one of Haydn’s greatest: in the words of Charles Rosen in his standard text ‘The Classic Style’ (1971), it is an example of music Haydn was writing at the time - the early 1770’s: ‘...on a level that no other composer of Haydn’s time could equal or even approach’. This view has never since been seriously challenged and this performance allows us to hear exactly why Rosen’s statement is so true.

[@johnb6723]

Except Mozart.

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

@@johnb6723 No, Rosen didn’t mean ‘…except Mozart’ for the obvious reason that the teenage Mozart in the early 1770’s was still well short of works like Symphonies 44 and 45, the string quartets Opus 20, the piano sonatas in A flat (Hob. XVI:46, or in c minor (Hob. XVI:20) and a number of other works Haydn had produced around this time. Mozart’s time - in spite of some astonishing early works - came later.

[@haveatyou556]

@@elaineblackhurst1509 I agree that Mozart had not written anything on this level by 1772 (the Trauer is an imposing work) but not with the implication that late Mozart is “obvious(ly)” more advanced than early Mozart. I would not be the first to argue that there is a textural balance and structural tautness in his teenage (and even childhood) music almost nowhere to be found later on.

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

@@haveatyou556 This is a very difficult area: the only thing I would suggest in addition to your point - rather than contradicting it - is that in some of Mozart’s later works, there is clear evidence that one of the things he picked up from his close friendship with Haydn, talking to him and studying his music, was that from the mid/later 1780’s, Mozart’s characteristic profusion of ideas has been tempered with a somewhat Haydnesque economy and rigour in the working out of themes.

[@maurizioangeletti703]

At last a performance with tempi which truly suit the narrative of each movement. These days most musicians are obsessed with excessively fast tempi. This is a beautiful performance.

[@arthurgride8207]

Haydn's strongest, leanest and most beautiful symphony

[@drcurv]

A most enjoyable performance of a wonderful Haydn symphony. Thank you, winkle522000, for uploading it.

[@joselopes2293]

Haydn is the father of the symphony. His music is amazing in harmony, grace and elegance. Viva Haydn a true genius of music that gives us unforgettable moments of pleasure and haunting music. Bravissimo

[@alessandromarchesini9039]

Senor Lopes, are you sure Haydn is the father of the symphony?

[@_Are_You_Stupid_]

ffs senor lopes please stop copy pasting the same thing under every haydn work

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

@@_Are_You_Stupid_ I’ve had great fun trying to contradict Senor Lopes by saying the same thing - that Haydn is *not* the father of the symphony - in 104 different ways.

[@류순열-h6i]

아름다운 연주곡 잘 들었습니다~감사합니다~🎵🎻🌿🍀☘🌹🌹☘🍀🌿❤❤

[@eliasmusic919]

That room can’t be anymore majestic!

[@SuperMelvyn]

I agree completely with the conductor and therefore disagree with the commentators below who criticise his tempi. I have heard many performances of this symphony but this is the first time it has really "worked" for me. These tempi allow the music to breathe and enable nuances of accentuation, dynamics and weight to be brought into play. The slow movement attains a grandeur that looks forward to the opening of The Creation and even towards Wagner in the breadth and range of its eternal melody while snatches of counter-melody emerge from the beautifully punctuated harmonies. What can sound like rococco plaster here achieved a timeless beauty beyond space. And the whole topped off with a whizzing finale full of tense energy. Sturm und Drang indeed.

[@robertmcqueen289]

Wonderful performance. Superbly played with tempi perfect. I envy the musicians who had the privilege to perform daily in such a beautiful Palace, and the art work. Haydn was truly a great boss to have.

[@riverstun]

They went on strike for a reason! (Farewell Symph.)

[@legonuts100]

Haydn himself wanted the adagio to be played on his funeral, hence the name "Trauer" (mourning)

[@anthonymigliaccio3492]

That last movement is probably the best part of any Haydn symphony

[@fabiograssi670]

I wrote something like this in a published essay of mines.

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

Fabio Grassi I looked out your article and found it very interesting; it gave me some new things to think about, thank you. The only thing that I might add, and it applies to the last movement of this symphony, is that I find in Haydn’s music an inherent, intrinsic sense of development that begins almost from the first bar - something I recognise in Beethoven too but not in Mozart who does things differently. The exposition section of this finale is in effect part of the development too!

[@ryevic]

I agree, to be at Esterhazy Palace would be fantastic. To hear the music of Haydn {live] would be incredible, I would not be worried about tempo, repeats, fast, slow, but wrapped in the music of a GREAT MASTER.

[@gerardbegni2806]

I also agree with the tempi and the style chosen by the conductor. We have an excellent rendering of this symphony.

[@christophernicol4762]

Yes, this symphony really comes alive for me for the first time with this performance. Brilliantly incisive playing;exciting tempi. I listen to it repeatedly! (There is another performance of this symphony on KZbin which is astonishingly dull.)

[@wolfgangamadeusmozart9387]

Now I understand why Haydn is the father of the symphony

[@wolfgangtrubshaw5549]

A little late for that, _Wolferl_ …

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

Haydn is *not* the father of the symphony - there is no such person; when Haydn wrote his first symphony in 1757 (Symphony 1), the form was already a troublesome teenager of about 17 or 18 years old. Haydn as the ‘father’ is therefore utterly absurd,* and it’s a great pity that this mindless myth is so regularly propagated in simplistic junior school type text-books by authors who really should know better; it’s cheap, sensationalist clickbait at best. * A father by definition must be involved at the conception - Haydn wasn’t as there were hundreds of symphonies being played all over Europe by the time Haydn wrote his first one in 1757.

[@CharlesDickens111]

That adagio movement was exquisite.

[@paveluzhakov7335]

15 : 13 is wonderful and romantic, I would love to know haydns inspiration for this movement!!!

[@themusicalgerbil192]

Haydn chose a very suitable symphonic movement to be played at his funeral.

[@ukhio]

it is 1am and me still working but listening this wonderful music

[@MarcoCapponi79]

L'esecuzione del terzo movimento è a dir poco sognante... da ascoltare all'infinito!

[@sAmfRancIs94]

my favourite haydn symphony....

[@rogernortman9219]

As to be expected, a great minor mode Haydn symphony.

[@ironflange]

So nice to hear the 3rd movt played at a real Adagio when these days it seems it's always more like an Allegretto.

[@veskovarbanov]

Another fenomenal composer. Thanks for sharing.

[@juliaward1127]

phenomenal

[@veskovarbanov]

@@juliaward1127 come on grammar nazi, put me in the gas chambers for making a silly mistake...

[@polyphoniac]

What beautifully nuanced phrasing! The violins in particular play as though one voice. I have never heard a "name" orchestra play Haydn with as much lyric expressiveness. (Can you believe the idiot below who calls this a "weak" performance?!) And how nice finally to hear a classical minuet played as a stately dance and not so goddamn fast as the current benighted fad among conductors would have it! (I once arranged this symphony for two pianos eight hands, so I know every last note of it.)

[@marinapegrisch1305]

MAGNIIIIFICENT!!😇

[@ensimon]

On the disc, with haydn's 44th symphony, from which the performance above derivers, Mozart's 40th is also included. winkle522000 if you can, you could upload the mozart symphony as well (?)..

[@osnyoliveira5488]

Simplesmente lindo !!!!

[@paulefstathiou1819]

Great Music ; no matter what the corruption is !

[@dragicapetrovic9470]

44th symphony by Haydn in Esterhazy Palace sounded fantastic and if funereal. ~

[@mmbmbmbmb]

Thank you !

[@georgerannie]

Haydn at his best

[@wilfriedmathias2236]

Wunderbare Musik!

[@peterszigeti7476]

How did the organise an orchestra in Haydn time? And a chore?

[@xbqchm]

Money.

[@georgerannie]

delightful Haydn

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

george rannie Complete misdiagnosis; this symphony is far too profound, intense, and powerful to be labelled ‘delightful’.

[@armandogonella2770]

U N G E N I O

[@extrasalt4595]

I always relish the minuet. Hoomeyow!!

[@PokeShadow77]

lmao I remembered my middle school orchestra played Presto in HALF speed

[@fulviopolce7652]

Cupa ma splendente!

[@bensladden3542]

Nice

[@dsm2240]

Too bad we don't have Mozart's 44th Symphony!

[@rafalwisniewski8590]

we don"t need mozarts 44 symphony we got his 41st!!

[@Galantski]

Or his 104th for that matter!

[@riverstun]

Rather have Bach's Luke and Mark passions :)

[@patrickhows1482]

We do! Mozart wrote about 46 symphonies, there are some doubts about attributions of these early symphonies. The standard numbering was devised in 19C and includes two that are definitely not by Mozart, nos. 2&3. The others were found after the standard numbering was devised, scholars are agreed about most of these discoveries, but there are one are two about which no consensus has been reached.

[@AK-kw5qm]

22:37

[@Vlad-zm7bp]

Iron Haydn 🤟

[@m.erubik]

15:13

[@STELLAVOLPE]

execution of 1st mov.: weak (but listened to worse ones); of 2nd: too slow; of 3rd: toooooooooo sloooooooooow; of 4th: the most convincing. Only, IMO the coda must not be played twice, it is a non sense, it must be played only after the repetition of the 2nd part. Fey makes the same (IMO) mistake.

[@anthonymigliaccio3492]

Fabio Grassi, When I play this symphony, I don’t have a Coda on my part, what arrangement are you referring too

[@legonuts100]

reminds me sometimes of Beethovens style

[@filipvujanovic7903]

Beethoven was a student of Haydn!

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

Olivier Goossens This symphony was written during Haydn’s very particular ‘sturm und drang’ phase (c.1765-1773). Beethoven wrote no sturm und drang style music which has very particular characteristics, most of which you will not find in Beethoven - nor in Mozart, apart from his g minor Symphony 25 ( K183) which is his only sturm und drang-style symphony. Beethoven’s first serious works, the piano trios Opus 1 and piano sonatas Opus 2 were written about 20 years after sturm und drang. That said, Beethoven took a lot from Haydn in terms of compositional technique so in that respect about ‘style’, you are quite right; the turbulent, stormy aspect of his music however owes very little to sturm und drang and is something so particular to Beethoven, it is worthy of its own adjective - Beethovenian.

[@apostolismoschopoulos1876]

The latter was deeply influenced by the former. He even dedicated some of his early piano sonatas to him!

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

Filip Vujanovic Beethoven’s formal lessons with Haydn were almost entirely dedicated to studying counterpoint - a sort of musical grammar - rather than free composition per se. That said, it’s inconceivable that the two composers did not discuss informally wider musical matters. The young Beethoven actually learnt far more from listening, studying, and copying out Haydn’s scores, and informal chats with him, than he ever did poring over dry technical and academic exercises from Fux’s Gradus ad Parnassum.

[@m.erubik]

@@apostolismoschopoulos1876 hi friend

[@ThreadBomb]

Too much vibrato.

[@cegaliano]

Overrated symphony, due to the absurd myth that Haydn choose the boring and superficial adagio, typical of the gallant style, to be executed at his funeral. Haydn wrote many more beautiful and profound symphonic adagios, such as those of the Symphonies 5, 13, 26, 34, 49, 75, and 99. The minueto si boring too. The last movement is the truly jewell of this symphony

[@ОлександрКрестін]

This is you, who overrate yours estimating abilities.

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

carlos e. galiano This comment is as mistaken as to judgement as it is unrepresentative of both scholarly and public opinion; it simply goes to prove that an opinion is a judgement not necessarily based on knowledge and understanding.

[@juliaward1127]

jewel

[@alessandromarchesini9039]

Mr Galiano explains his opinion like all people, what's the problem? Respect. De gustibus disputandum non est.

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

⁠@@alessandromarchesini9039 Everyone is entitled to a viewpoint, even if only to prove the point that an opinion does not have to be based on knowledge and understanding. Some people are of the opinion that the earth is flat - that is their opinion, such nonsense however is open to challenge, and rightly so; one cannot respect factual inaccuracies, misinformation (or disinformation), and other assorted nonsense and baloney.