Michael Haydn

Symfonier

The complete symphonies of Michael Haydn

Up until the eighteenth century the term symphony served to designate a whole range of instrumental works. It was only during the further course of music history that the word come to apply to a large form of several - usually four - movements and thus to the most magnificent genre of instrumental music. The Italian opera sinfonia and its sequence of three movements (fast-slow-fast) formed the immediate point of departure for the symphony proper. The sinfonia gradually moved beyond its original function as a prelude or interlude, and its component parts took on the form of independent, contrasting movements. The initial result was the early-classical instrumental symphony with an allegro as its introductory movement, a slow movement of cantabile character, and a spirited, stirring finale. Italian musicians such as Giovanni Battista Sammartini and Alessandro Scarlatti had given the primary impetus to this development. A cycle of four parts resulted from the addition of the minuet dance element, which usually occupied the position just before the finale. The formal division of initial sonata-form movement, periodic, succession-form slow movement, minuet structured in three parts, and rondo or sonata finale became the established norm.

A broadening of the tonal and dynamic spectrum offering increased opportunities for contrast accompanied the formal design and development of the symphony. With its structure marked by periodicity and cadential harmony, the symphony contributed significantly to the formulation of the classical idiom.

Here it must suffice to say that the development of the various components of the symphonic large form was a process involving numerous composers from the eighteenth century whose precise contributions to this development can no longer be determined with any degree of accuracy. The new style had given rise to a productivity which even today is still difficult to grasp in all its dimensions. This productivity come in response to the increasing demand for orchestral music at the residences and courts of the nobility. Mannheim and Vienna were of decisive importance here as far as compositional production and influence were concerned. In Mannheim Johann Stamitz succeeded in bringing together a whole list of virtuosos to form the leading orchestra of the time. Mannheim’s ideal geographical location and the presence of a Parisian music publisher contributed a great deal to the dissemination of works by the court’s composers. Georg Matthias Monn composed the first four-movement symphony in Vienna in 1740. This marked the beginning of a compositional tradition leading to Haydn and Mozart, and a generation later the classical symphony type had taken shape.

Johann Michael Haydn, some five years younger than his brother Franz Joseph Haydn, witnessed the early development of the symphonic type during his years of study in Vienna. He joined the Großwardein Orchestra as a violinist in 1757 and advanced to the position of music director at this episcopal residence a mere three years later, in 1760. During his years at Großwardein he composed sacred music and a number of instrumental works for various combinations of instruments which were on a full inspirational par with the works of his famous brother. Michael Haydn gained notice with a horn concerto included in the academy program at the Burgtheater in Vienna in 1762, and a year later some of his music was performed as dinner entertainment at Mirabell Castle in Salzburg. He was appointed music director at the Salzburg court during this same year and continued to occupy this post until his death in 1806. From 1777 on he also served as organist at Trinity Church and from 1782 on as cathedral organist and an instructor at the choir school. According as these various positions required, he wrote sacred music, dramatic works, solo and ensemble songs, and instrumental works.

Michael Haydn’s almost 150 instrumental works (symphonies, concerti, serenades, and chamber works) account for only a sixth of his oeuvre. Among his instrumental works, the symphonies form the most important category.

According to the current scholarly assessment, Haydn composed forty-one symphonies (our edition is based on the thematic catalogue of his symphonies published by Charles H. Sherman [New York & London: Garland, 1982]). The Sherman Catalogue corrects and supplements the systematic-thematic catalogue published by Lothar Perger in Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich Vol. 29 of 1907 (the Perger-Verzeichnis). Thirty-one of Haydn’s symphonies are extant in autograph manuscripts, most of them housed in the Scéchényi Hungarian National library. The others have come down to us in copies from the eighteenth century. As far as we know, Haydn composed his symphonies over a period of almost three decades, from 1760 to 1789. His most productive year was in 1788, when he composed six symphonies. A number of Haydn’s works, above all his early symphonies, contain movements which he used in other instrumental or vocal works (e.g., in his German singspiel Die Hochzeit auf der Alm [1768] or in the final comedy Pietas in patriam [1771].

Twenty-one of Haydn’s symphonies contain three movements and nineteen of his symphonies four movements. As a rule his three-movement symphonies begin with an introduction or introductory movement in slow tempo. Only one of his symphonies (No. 32) consists of two movements.

The instrumentation of strings, two oboes, and horns predominates in Haydn’s early symphonies. Occasionally two trumpets and timpani or specialized instruments such as piffari and English horn (No. 18) are added to the basic ensemble. Since Salzburg oboists also had to be able to perform on the flute, some of Haydn’s slow movements (e.g., that in No. 12) call for the oboe and flute in alternation. Full-scale solo parts also occur in his slow movements (e.g., No. 14), this in keeping with the serenade style. In later symphonies Haydn preferred to employ a larger orchestral instrumentation and treated the strings, woodwinds, and brass instruments as equal partners.

For Michael Haydn, as for Joseph Haydn, the symphonic genre seems to have served as an experimental area and stimulation for manifold formations. Michael Haydn’s duties as a cathedral organist and teacher at the choir school probably explain why devoted the last years of his life almost exclusively to vocal music and stopped writing symphonies in 1789.

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There are three numbering systems for Michael Haydn’s symphonies. The oldest follows the catalogue of his works compiled by Lothar Perger. In the early 1980s Charles Sherman issued a thematic index listing all of Haydn’s symphonies and numbering them from 1 to 41. This is the numbering system we have followed on these recordings. Sherman has since gone on to publish a thematic catalogue of Michael Haydn’s complete works in which the symphonies are assigned other numbers. Although the numbering system in this newer catalogue is now regarded as official, for better orientation we have retained the numbering system from Sherman’s thematic index. The numbers from Sherman’s complete catalogue and Perger’s listing are indicated in parentheses.

Gerhard Walterskirchen

Symphonies Nos. 1-6
Symphony No. 1 in C major (MH 23/Perger 35)

1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

According to the music catalogue housed in the Göttweig Benedictine Monastery in Lower Austria, Michael Haydn composed his Symphony No. 1 in C major (MH 23/Perger 35) in Großwardein prior to 1761. The instrumentation of two oboes, two trumpets, timpani, two violins, viola, and bass lends this symphony a festive splendor.

The first movement is an allegro sonata-form movement. The principal motif is presented in the sixth measure, alone determines the developmental section, and then is taken up by the trumpets and timpani in the short coda. The duple-time andante has a chamber instrumentation limited to the stringed instruments. It is followed by a minuet movement and a sonata-form presto with a theme featuring octave leaps, repetitions of tones, and eighth triplets. A simulated recapitulation begins after eight measures of development; modulatory processes leading to E major ensue, and a recapitulation proper of much greater concentration than the exposition concludes the work.

Symphony No. 2 in C major (MH 37/Perger 2)

1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

The Lang (Bavarian State Library, Munich) and Rettensteiner (Michaelbeuern Benedictine Monastery, 1814) Catalogues state 16 February 1761 as the date of composition for Haydn’s Symphony No. 2 in C major (MH 37/Perger 2). The instrumentation is even more festive than that of the first symphony. Here Haydn calls for two oboes, two horns, two trumpets, two violins, viola, and bass.

The first movement is a sonata-form movement. The extremely short developmental section of ten measures is assigned to the two violins. The recapitulation is longer than the exposition and features imitations involving the brass instruments. The two-part andante is instrumented for strings. The brass instruments are assigned solo parts in the minuet trio. The finale is a rondo, and there is a clear demarcation between the instrumentation of its couplets and the instrumentation of the refrain – as in all the rondo movements on this recording.

Symphony No. 3 in G major

1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

According to the Göttweig Catalogue, Haydn composed his Symphony No. 3 in G major (lacking in the Perger Catalogue) in Großwardein in 1763. Another source has transmitted the work as a Divertimento; at the time the symphony genre had not been clearly distinguished from the partita, cassation, and divertimento forms. For example, Mozart’s Divertimenti K. 136-138 are also known as the Salzburg Symphonies.

Haydn prescribed the instrumentation of two oboes, two horns, two violins, viola, and bass (violoncello, bassoon, double bass, and harpsichord).

The first movement adheres to the sonata form. The first part of the main theme features trills and octave leaps, while the second part is marked by syncopation. Both parts appear together in the developmental section, but only the rhythmical structure of the first part is maintained. Part crossing involving the two violins and modulations to E minor and B major follow. Part of the three-part andante resembles a developmental section. All the instruments join in the minuet third movement, with the string instrumentation of the trio offering a contrast. A hunting motif runs through the rondo movement concluding the work.

Symphony No. 4 in B flat major (MH 62/Perger 51)

1. Allegro
2. Andante (La Confidenza)
3. Allegro

Symphony No. 4 in B flat major (MH 62/Perger 51) was the first symphony to be composed by Michael Haydn in Salzburg. He completed it on 7 December 1763. The instrumentation of the outer movements corresponds to that of his G major symphony.

There are important signs of progress here over against Haydn’s first three symphonies. The main theme of the first movement exhibits a more clearly delineated structure than that of the G major symphony. There is a greater degree of rhythmical refinement and a higher level of melodic artistry. A motif derived from the main theme makes its unobtrusive appearance in the bass part in the exposition and then migrates through the various ranges and parts and touches on various keys in the developmental section.

The E flat major movement bears the title La Confidenza (The Confidential Communication). The two bassoons, sometimes assuming soloistic functions, take the place of the oboes and horns employed in the first movement. A peaceful andante in 3/4 time punctuated by two short, duple-time, dancelike allegretto episodes presents the various instruments in dialogue. A rondo marked Allegro molto concludes the three-movement work.

Symphony No. 5 in A major (MH 63/Perger 3)

1. Allegro molto
2. Andante ma non troppo
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Haydn completed his Symphony No. 5 in A major (MH 63/Perger 3) on 29 December 1763. It also calls for two oboes, two horns, two violins, viola, and bass.

The sonata-form first movement is marked by imitations. The three-part andante draws on the same thematic material. Like the minuet trio, it is instrumented for strings. The sonata-form final movement presents imitations with the two violin parts. A shift to A minor is followed by a long section in this key.

Symphony No. 6 in C major (MH 64/Perger 4)

1. Vivace
2. Andante colle sordine
3. Tempo di minuet

The complete autograph score of Symphony No. 6 in C major (MH 64/Perger 4) in the Göttweig Monastery library bears the date Salisburgi 14ta Januarij 1764.

The main theme of the sonata-form first movement consists of a dotted motif and an ascending thirty-second figure with repetitions of the last tone. The joining of the two themes gives rise to developmental elements already in the exposition. Only the dotted motif is submitted to further elaboration in the developmental section. Modulations on the dominant seventh chord and the diminished seventh chord on G sharp minor follow. Haydn’s pianissimo citation of the dotted motif just prior to the conclusion makes for a surprise effect.

The second movement is reserved for the strings in con sordino. The first violins play a cantabile melody. The second violins offer an accompaniment in triplet figures throughout, and the violas and basses form the foundation. The work concludes with a Tempo di menuet, not a minuet proper but a concluding movement in 3/8 time and of finale character.

Elisabeth Guy

Symphonies Nos. 7-12, 15 & 16
Symphony No. 7 in E major (MH 65/Perger 5)

1. Allegro
2. Andantino
3. Finale. Allegro

Michael Haydn composed his Symphony No. 7 in E major (MH 65/Perger 5) about six months after his arrival in Salzburg. The autograph score in the holdings of the Göttweig Benedictine Monastery bears the date of 25 January 1764. Like most of his early symphonies, it is structured in three movements. The original Tempo di Menuet prescription of the concluding movement in 3/8 time was subsequently changed by the composer to Finale. Allegro. The new minuet he inserted after the introductory Allegro while revising the work was listed in Perger’s 1907 catalogue but is no longer extant. Thus on the present recording the symphony is heard in its original three-movement form.

The first movement and the finale call for two violins, viola, bass, two oboes, and two horns. In the second movement a single transverse flute joins the string ensemble. The large-scale introductory movement of 165 measures is divided into a number of clearly delineated parts. The thematic ideas are nicely linked by the concluding formula of the principal motif and undergo great variation in the developmental section. In the A major Andante the cantabile, periodic melody of the violins is matched by the transverse flute in octaves for appealing nuances of color. The finale, a compact song form with the addition of a closing group, is animated by broad chord fragments, lively trill motifs, and surprising dynamic contrasts.

Symphony No. 8 in D major (MH 69/Perger 38)

1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto. Minore
4. Finale. Presto

Haydn formed his Symphony No. 8 in D major (MH 69/Perger 38) from parts of his nine-movement Divertimento in D. The two-part autograph score of the Divertimento (Nos. 1-8 and No. 9) housed in the music collection of the Hungarian National Library (Széchényi) in Budapest is dated to “Salzburg, 4 August 1764”. The compositional history of Haydn’s symphony reflects a practice current in the eighteenth century and known to us from Mozart’s Haffner Symphony K. 385. Haydn omitted the march with full instrumentation that had opened the Divertimento and brought together its second, third, fourth, and ninth movements to form his Symphony in D major. The changing instrumentation from movement to movement of the symphony owes to the original divertimento character of the composition. The introductory Allegro molto movement and the minuet third movement call for two oboes, two horns, two trumpets, and, in keeping with the practice of the times, two timpani. The Andante second movement has two flutes in addition to the strings, and the flutes and a bassoon are assigned solo parts. In the Presto finale Haydn prescribes a large wind ensemble with pairs of oboes, horns, and trumpets, two solo bassoons, a concertante clarinet, and a trombone. Accordingly, this movement bears the traces of a sinfonia concertante.

With respect to its compositional technique, this symphony may be designated as one of the high points in Michael Haydn’s early symphonic oeuvre. The introductory sonata-form movement with two song like subsidiary themes exhibits formal artistry and an effective design, and the colorfully instrumented developmental section with its excursions into minor regions also makes an important contribution here. The Andante in the form of a free variation is the same high quality as the first movement and allows the concertante solo instruments more room for soloistic development. The festive minuet forms a lively contrast to the minor trio with the delayed entries and imitations of the two solo bassoons. The Presto finale offers a brilliant display of orchestral color shifts. In keeping with the traditional model, the ritornello is assigned to the orchestra and the solo parts to the solo winds.

Symphony No. 9 in D major (MH 50/Perger 36)

1. Allegro assai
2. Andante
3. Finale. Presto assai

Little is known about the exact circumstances of the composition of Michael Haydn’s three-movement Symphony No. 9 in D major (MH 50/Perger 36). The date of 1765 on the main source for this work in the Kremsmünster Benedictine Monastery sets what must be regarded as a terminus ad quem. The orchestration of two violins, viola, bass, and two horns is relatively small in comparision to that of Symphony No. 8, and in the Andante second movement it is reduced to the string instruments.

The introductory Allegro assai movement of 95 measures is barely as half as long as its counterpart in Symphony No. 8. It abides by the aesthetic ideal of courtly, entertaining music for social occasions and brings to mind many of the compositional features of the early Mannheim School: short motifs, usually of one or two measures, are linked together in ordered sequences, and tremololike repetitions and spectacles provide for a certain fullness of sound. The movement is unusual by virtue of its formal design: it not only gets along without a genuine contrast of themes but also leads directly into the developmental section after a feigned repetition of the main theme and without a repetition of the exposition. Extended passages with syncopation play an important role in the developmental section. The main theme makes for a surprise by returning not at the beginning but at the end of the recapitulation.

The D minor second movement is so brief that it might be termed an Intermezzo. The eight-measure initial melody with an elegiac fade-out is developed not as a whole but in its motivic elements. The result is a free sequential form. The third movement takes the form of a short rondo with a captivating refrain in a popular-traditional tone.

Symphony No. 10 in F major (MH 51/Perger 45)

1. Allegro assai con spirito
2. Andante grazioso
3. Finale. Prestissimo

The Symphony No. 10 in F major (MH 51/Perger 45) also dates to before 1765 and has three movements. The manuscript score in the Kremsmünster Benedictine Monastery prescribes the instrumentation of two violins, viola, bass, two oboes, two horns, and two bassoons.

This symphony has a larger and more demanding format than Symphony No. 9, a work with a similarly sparing instrumentation composed around the same time. Although the sonata-form first movement contains only 142 measures, it seems to balanced and loose instead of compact and dense - something owing no doubt to its multilayered compositional structure. The basic staccato eighth movement is almost always present in same of the string parts and overlaps over wide stretches with motifs and wind chords usually maintained in fourth movement. Unisono sections and instrumental combinations reduced to as few as two voices serve as formal demarcations. The Andante gracioso follows an ABACA pattern supplemented by a closing group. The movement as a whole is largely of mono-thematic design: the cantabile theme from A is reworked in the episodic inserts B and C. The two bassoons assume in part soloistic functions in these latter units. The finale is also of thoroughgoing motivic-thematic design and offers a very effective combination of contrapuntal imitative work and the festive liveliness associated with finale movements.

Symphony No. 11 in B flat major (MH 82 & 184/Perger 9)

1. Allegro assai
2. Andantino
3. Menuetto
4. Finale. Allegro molto (MH 184)

The autograph score of the Symphony No. 11 in B flat major (MH 82 & 184/Perger 9) in the Hungarian National library contains two separate dates. 27 September 1766 appears after the minuet and applies to the first to third movements, and 15 June 1772 occurs at the conclusion of the finale. The finale composed after the other movements calls for the same instruments as the introductory movement and the minuet, namely for two violins, viola, bass, two oboes, and two horns. The wind instruments are not represented in the Andantino second movement.

Most of the compositional principles Michael Haydn had tested in his earlier symphonies return in a more advaneed, integrated form in the Allegro assai first movement. A theme of four measures presented by the violin duo opens the work and stands over against an orchestral tutti insert of the same length. Melodic elegance and block presentations of orchestral sound occur in balanced contrast throughout the movement, which itself pursues a strict course of development without a repetition of the exposition and culminating in a recapitulation with reversed theme groups. In the Andantino slow movement Haydn’s concentration and development of the music lead to uninterrupted sixteenth figuration in some of the string parts. An appealing pizzicato section introduces the second part of the short two-part unit. The minuet opens with accents reminiscent of Beethoven, and its ten-measure introductory period departs from the norm. Stressed afterbeats are heard even in the short trio with a waltzlike accompaniment. The finale in 12/8 time draws on the sonata-form movement, albeit without its marked thematic dualism, and supplies this masterful success of a work with a lively conclusion.

Symphony No. 12 in G major (MH 108/Perger 7)

1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Finale. Prestissimo

Michael Haydn’s singspiel Die Hochzeit auf der Alm (The Wedding in the Alpine Meadow) alter a libretto by Father Florian Reichssiegel (1735-93) had its first performance in the great hall of the University of Salzburg on 27 April 1768. This best-known of Haydn’s singspiels, a pastoral poem in two acts celebrating marital fidelity, consists of eight songs and four instrumental movements. These movements were transmitted as an independent symphony, the Symphony No. 12 in G major (MH 108/Perger 7), and printed by J. J. Hummel in Amsterdam with the title Symphonie periodique during Michael Haydn’s lifetime, albeit under the name of Joseph Haydn. The symphony was joined to a poem in praise of Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach after 6 May 1768, the date of the subsequent Licenza for the singspiel, and is scored for two violins, viola, bass, two flutes, two oboes, and two horns.

The first movement is more than a mere imposing introduction to the singspiel. The minor section at the beginning of the developmental section of this sonata-form movement and the transformation of the main theme from major to minor in the recapitulation are musical peculiarities which may have been occasioned by the music-dramatic context of the work. Two flutes, the characteristic accompaniment instruments in bucolic opera scenes, join the string orchestra in the miniature Andante. Contrary to what might be expected, the minuet is not an example of rustic simplicity but of the rich artistry of imitation. It is followed by a dancelike trio. The Prestissimo finale, short on extensions and with clear-cut periodic divisions, forms a spirited conclusion to the symphony.

During the years from 1757 to 1763 Michael Haydn composed a total of twelve symphonies, works that brought him renown as a symphonic composer. Still without a permanent position in 1757, Haydn entered the service of the Salzburg Court Orchestra in 1763. Alter 1764 his compositional emphasis shifted from the symphony to other musical genres, and during the late 1760s and early 1770s most of his compositional efforts were devoted to divertimenti, serenades, oratorios, and occasional works for the stage. His symphonies from this period more often than not bore a direct relation to these works of other genres: he borrowed thematic ideas, parts of movements, and whole movements from them for use as or in his symphony movements.

Symphony No. 15 in D major (MH 150/Perger 41)

1. Allegro
2. Menuetto
3. Andante
4. Presto assai

Symphony No. 16 in A major (MH 152/Perger 6)

1. Allegro molto
2. Menuetto
3. Andante
4. Finale. Allegro molto

Haydn’s Symphony No. 15 in D major (MH 150/Perger 41) and Symphony No. 16 in A major (MH 152/Perger 6) both drew on the ballet singspiel Hermann, a work he completed on 1 August 1771. The mainly vocal Dedicatio of this work served as the basis for the finale movements in both symphonies. Thus the two symphonies must have been composed after 1771 and performed apart from the ballet singspiel.

The Symphony in D major (MH 150/Perger 41) for strings, two oboes, two horns, and one flute has come down to us in eighteenth-century parts in St. Peter’s Monastery in Salzburg and the Lambach Monastery in Upper Austria. The first three movements probably drew on an earlier composition not known to us at present. The first movement represents a successful combination of some of the conventional topoi of symphonic composition during those years (e.g., the pendulum motif of the main theme) with passages of a thoroughly personal inspiration (e.g., the second theme). As a result, the movement does full justice to the symphonic claim to stateliness while also reflecting Haydn’s personal style. The extended minor sequences forming the developmental section recall similar passages in works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The second movement has been transmitted without a superscription. This movement in the minuet position is distinguished by its adherence to a single motif. The third movement, an Andante in G major for strings and flute, has a mere forty measures and follows the three-part song form. It consists of duple periods and, to judge by its character, may go back to a ballet or a divertimento. The octave doubling of the first-violin part continues almost throughout the whole of the movement.

The finale, Presto assai, begins with a concise theme proceeding from repetitions of tones into an ascending scale and contains three parts along with a coda supplement. The oboes and horns are assigned soloistic tasks in the middle section. These solos contribute to the variety of the movement - as do the limited dynamic contrast effects in the framing sections.

The Symphony in A major (MH 152/Perger 6) cells for two oboes and two horns in addition to the strings. The exposition of the first movement contains a number of distinct subdivisions recognizable as such by their characteristic motivic formations. The movement is unusual in two respects: a comparatively long passage in E major precedes the melodic second theme in the same key and a developmental section in piano and of relative calm serves as a contrasting interlude between the more animated exposition and recapitulation. The Minuet in A major is linked to the Trio in A minor by a ländler-style melodic design consisting of doublets. The old-fashioned, solemn Andante is reserved for the strings. Its long stretches of steady eighth chains recall earlier figured-bass music. In the Allegro molto concluding movement, however, Haydn distinguishes himself through the freshness and rich variety of his ideas and shows that he was a master of entertaining, light composition as well as of thorough style.

Thomas Hauschka

Symphonies Nos. 18, 25 and G

The above three compositions by Johann Michael Haydn date to the 1770s and offer a good example of the range of meaning still covered by the term sinfonia/symphony during that decade. It referred to a work of more than one movement, such as an instrumental introduction to a cantata. Other movements might also be added to this single piece and thus once again result in the formation of a work of several movements.

From the compositional-technical standpoint, it is interesting to note that the second theme of the sonata-form movement hardly contrasts with the first theme in these symphonies by Michael Haydn and that an additional cantabile or dance-like theme is introduced where we would expect the development section.

Symphony No. 18 in C (MH 188/Perger 10)

1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto. Allegretto
4. Finale. Vivace

The score of the Symphony No. 18 in C (MH 188/Perger 10) bears the date of 23 August 1773. In its instrumentation and overall compositional structure, this work creates an almost exotic impression. A third horn, timpani, and two pifferi join the usual orchestral instrumentation of strings, two oboes, and two horns. Although piffero or piffaro actually designates an Italian shawm, it was also employed in reference to an instrument of the flute family, the Italian for fife being the near homonym fiffaro. Haydn probably meant the fife or pipe employed along with the tabor drum. This transverse pipe, a prime example of a popular-traditional instrument, was employed mostly in rural music beginning in the Middle Ages and held its own up until the nineteenth century. It also had a function in military music. The use of timpani is unusual here inasmuch as they normally occurred only in connection with a trumpet ensemble. (The score indicates that a trumpet may be substituted for the third horn.) A few passages of the symphony recall the Turkish music so popular at the time as well as its imitations of the color of Janissary music. But Haydn’s intention here did not seem to include a parody of such music - the typical exotic percussion instruments, Turkish crescents, cymbals, triangle, and the like, are lacking - but rather of the Salzburg military bands, for example the Bürger-garde, which also were enthusiastic in their efforts to play alla turca.

The military character of the music comes to immediate expression in the fanfarelike first theme of the first movement and its drumroll reinforcement. The short, lyrical second theme hardly seems to play any role at all. In the second movement only two horns and two English horns join the strings, this in the interest of a darker sound. The melodic material consists of continuous sixteenth movement in the strings as well as of a songlike line assumed in alternation by the strings, the English horns, and by both these instrumental groups in combination. The effort to assign the natural horns a function beyond that of mere musical reinforcement is limitied to triadic-chord fragmentations.

Static harmonies lend the minuet a remarkably awkward and uncouth effect, like a parody of rural music. One is almost reminded of Mozart’s Ein musikalischer Spaß K. 522. In contrast, the trio creates a surprise with its striking chromatic progressions. Contrary to all convention, it is not in a key of the dominant or subdominant but in the Phrygian mode and stresses the augmented seconds. The resultant sound impression recalls the gypsy minor and thus also supplies an oriental coloration. A lively vivace in sonata form serves as the conclusion; its appeal derives mainly from its alternation of eighth and triplet movement in the strings.

Symphony No. 25 in G (MH 334/Perger 16)

1. Allegro con spirito
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Finale. Allegro molto

For some time Michael Haydn’s Symphony No. 25 in G (MH 334/Perger 16) was assigned to Mozart. We now know, however, that Mozart merely added a slow introduction - KV 444 (425 a) - to the beginning of the work when he presented a concert at Count Thun’s Linz residence on a return trip from Salzburg to Vienna in 1783. This demonstrates once again how greatly Mozart valued Michael Haydn’s compositions.

Haydn composed this symphony in the standard instrumentation of strings, two oboes, and two horns for the installation of Abbot Nikolaus II of Michaelbeuern in 1783. The first movement thus served here as the sinfonia of an applause cantata. An unusual feature is that the piece is played straight through without repetitions. The result is a sort of three-part form A-B-A' including the strong contrast of the cantabile theme in the development and then the recapitulation. The second movement, also in three parts, was originally an aria. In the first part a flute takes the place of the two oboes, plays colla parte with the violin, and thus brightens up the darker tone. Two of the bassoons, instruments usually serving only to reinforce the bass group, are treated independently. In the second part, in minor, they engage in dialogue with the bass, and in the third part they lend support to the melody. A dancelike finale in 6/8 time displaying incipient polyphonic treatment of the melodic material in the development concludes the symphony.

Sinfonia in G (Perger 8)

Allegro molto

The Sinfonia in G (Perger 8) dating to 14 November 1770, is a one-movement work for string orchestra and was also intended as an introduction to a Latin Applausus cantata for the Michaelbeuern Monastery. Triadic-chord figures lend the piece its characteristic stamp. Here too the development first presents a new cantabile theme before the resumption of the previous themes in the recapitulation.

Stefan Engels

Symphonies Nos. 1A, 1C, 22 & 23
Symphony No 1A in D major (MH 24/Perger deest)

1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No 1C in E flat major (MH 35/Perger 1)

1. Andante
2. Allegro con spirito
3. Menuet
4. Finale. Prestissimo

The four symphonies recorded on this compact disc come from two of Johann Michael Haydn’s compositional periods. Some twenty years separate the two periods, and the symphonies selected from them offer a fascinating glimpse both at Haydn’s compositional development during this time and at the variety presented by the experimental field of the symphony of those years.

The Symphonies MH 24 and MH 35 number among Haydn’s earliest contributions to this genre. He composed both symphonies in connection with his work in the orchestra of the Bishop of Großwardein. He had joined the orchestra in 1757 and beginning in March 1760 - at the young age of twenty-two - served as its music director. This private orchestra was a center for the cultivation of early Viennese classicism and similar in importance to the orchestra of Prince Esterházy, even though the latter secured a unique place in music history because of the continuity lent to its operations by Haydn’s elder brother, Franz Joseph Haydn. The two symphonies already correspond to the four-movement Viennese symphonic type with the minuet in the third position. The instrumentation with strings, two oboes, two horns, and the bassoon as a bass reinforcement represents the orchestral standard of those times and is obligatory in all four of the works recorded here.

Haydn composed the Symphony in D major (MH 24/Perger deest), his second contribution to the genre, between 1758 and 1760, probably in Vienna. The Allegro molto first movement sparkles with youthful carefreeness and delight in performance. A frisky and spirited first subject is presented without an introduction and dominates the entire movement. As was customary at the time, the second subject is not really a new theme but a variant of the first subject, which here, so to speak, is viewed only episodically from a different angle. After a short, undramatic development section and a recapitulation hardly engaging in any varying at all, the untamed musical course proceeds into a short coda, which serves to conclude the movement. In this movement, as in the symphony as a whole, the wind instruments are skillfully employed for tonal expansion and differentiation without ever essentially obtaining their independence from the string part. It is thus that the Andante second movement forms a tonal contrast to the flanking movements because of its complete elimination of the wind instruments. The same effect is also achieved within the Menuett by having the Trio occur in pure string instrumentation. The concluding Presto, though following the orientation of the sonata-form movement, is a short finale in 3/8 time.

The Symphony in E flat major (MH 35/Perger 1) is the one symphony among Michael Haydn’s eight extant early symphonies to have been transmitted in an autograph. Even though it belongs to a group of five “Partitas” composed for Großwardein (the other works of the group are lost today), this work composed in the autumn of 1760 has become known as Haydn’s “first symphony” because of its numbering in Perger’s catalogue. At the time the designation “partita” could be employed as a synonym for the “symphony”, a fact reflecting the as yet rather vague and poorly developed understanding of the genre during this early phase of the Viennese symphony. Freer treatment of the instrumentation on Haydn’s part is already in evidence in this symphony, which was composed at most two years after MH 24. If the high winds still strictly followed the string parts in MH 24, then in MH 35 they already cautiously pursue paths of their own, without yet, of course, engaging in a genuine dialogue with the string parts. The formal design of the symphony abides by the general scheme of the church sonata with its slow-fast-slow-fast sequence of movements, which is also frequently encountered in Joseph Haydn’s symphonic oeuvre from this period. The Andante first movement begins with extreme reserve. The violins, played con sordino, expound a galant melody to the discreet accompaniment of the lower voices, in ascending dotted rhythm, and in descending triplets and thus set the tone for the whole of the movement. In its song-like continuation the movement, which here and there is filled up by the winds, forming a sort of sound plane, seems to proceed along randomly and weightlessly. Twice the motion comes completely to a halt, and twice the movement is again set in motion. It is not until the end of the movement that the initial motif is transformed into a signal in the orchestral tutti, which finds an echo in the horn. It is at this point that the Allegro con spirito second movement begins with an attacca. This movement is designed as a sonata-form movement, and its modulating middle part already is stamped by the richness of harmonic imagination that would go on to become Michael Haydn’s hallmark. The Menuett obligatory in this symphonic type follows. Its Trio forms a contrast by doing without the wind instruments and by having the cellos present a counter-melody in animated eighths. In the Finale an energetic, bouncing first subject stamped by heavy string tremolo stands over against a cheerful, melodious second subject. The contrast is increased by the reduced string part in the second subject, first in two voices and later in three voices. The episodic development section refrains from extended harmonic escapades. The movement proceeds to its fast conclusion with furious animation.

The two symphonies composed two decades later included on our compact disc are obliged to the older Italian symphonic type. This three-movement type did not yield to the four-movement symphonic type, today regarded as the “classical form”, until around 1800, in particular as a consequence of the enormous success of Joseph Haydn’s “London Symphonies”. Until then the three-movement type was the international standard and was also able to hold its own in the cultural centers of the Habsburg empire as a generic type meriting serious consideration. The artistic level of the works recorded here is cortespondingly high. The richness of melodic imagination already present in the early symphonies is now complemented by a general tendency toward rich, original harmonies as well as by the decidedly greater formal breadth of the individual movements. The wind parts have now gained complete independence from the strings, and Haydn, where necessary, treats them completely independently.

Symphony No. 22 in F major (MH 284/Perger 14)

1. Allegro assai
2. Andantino
3. Fugato. Presto ma non troppo

The Symphony No. 22 in F major (MH 284/Perger 14) composed in Salzburg is extant in an autograph dated to August 22, 1779. The first movement is introduced by an extended Adagio in the empfindsam-galant style, and the Presto of the main part could not form a greater contrast to it. The energetic forward drive of the first subject and the cheerful country atmosphere of the second subject form more of a conflict than the themes in the earlier symphonies, and this conflict is not resolved at the end of the movement. Rather, here an element of tension involving more than one movement is introduced and reinforces the cohesion of the symphony as a whole. The Andante second movement assumes the atmosphere of the introduction and intensifies it to dramatic power in the expansive harmonic elaboration of the modulating middle part. The elaboration is also original in its rhythmic design. The conclusion of the movement again remains open, pointing ahead to the next movement. A cheerful and careful atmosphere of pastoral coloration predominates in the Vivace assai last movement. Episodes of melancholy contemplation and some other noisy and threatening ones again create suspense or tension in the middle parts but do not pose a serious threat to the mirth of the recurring, rondo-like principal theme. A fine sense of irony pervades the movement, and the surprising asymmetries in the structuring of the periods document the fact that a subtle sense of musical humor, something for which his brother has been honored often enough, was also not foreign to Michael Haydn.

Symphony No. 23 in D major (MH 287/Perger 43)

1. Adagio - Presto
2. Andante
3. Rondo. Vivace assai

The Symphony No. 23 in D major (MH 287/Perger 43) in all probability was also composed in Salzburg and must have been written between 1778 and 1780. A copy in the Lambach Monastery has 1781 as its date. In contrast to MH 284, MH 287 begins without a slow introduction in the Allegro assai. An opening triodic chord motif is intoned in alternation by the winds and strings. The movement develops amid animated scales to the abrupt entry of the second subject, which is introduced into the process by a one-measure halt of the whole orchestra on the root of the fifth degree. Here Haydn plays even more pointedly than in his earlier symphonies with unsymmetrical period construction and unfolds the motivic material amid entertaining variety. The Andantino second movement initially proceeds in a D minor of gloomy effect. The muted strings offer a cantabile melody marked by sighing motifs. A harmonically rich middle part stamped by syncopated rhythm modulates the theme to major; it is assumed by the winds entering in the third section and led by the entire orchestra to the end of the movement. The Fugato. Presto ma non troppo third movement is situated in the Southern German tradition of symphonic counterpoint. Less than a decade later Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would take this tradition to its most famous high point in the finale of his Jupiter Symphony. Haydn expounds the whole of the motivic material already in the first measures in the manner of a double fugue with two subjects entering together and forms a large-scale polyphonic sonata-form movement from this material. The motif of the second subject is derived from the continuation of the first subject and in the development section is elaborated together with the motivic elements presented at the beginning. The movement becomes increasingly concentrated as the canonic entries occur at increasingly shorter intervals. The last entry with the first subject again at the interval of more than a measure in all the string parts introduces the extending coda concluding the work.

Lars E. Laubhold

Symphonies Nos. 26-28
Symphony No. 26 in E flat major (MH 340/Perger 17)

1. Allegro spirituoso
2. Adagietto affettuoso
3. Finale. Presto

Symphony No. 27 in B flat major (MH 358/Perger 18)

1. Grave - Allegro con spirito
2. Andante
3. Finale. Presto

Symphony No. 28 in C major (MH 384/Perger 19)

1. Allegro spirituoso
2. Rondeau. Un poco adagio
3. Fugato. Vivace assai

Michael Haydn composed his Symphonies Nos. 26-28 (MH 340, MH 358, MH 384/Perger 17-19) in 1783 and 1784. In instrumentation they represent an advance beyond the standard strings, oboes, and horns of the 1770s: the bassoons are assigned independent parts instead of the limited function of bass reinforcement. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart must have known these symphonies by Michael Haydn quite well. Haydn composed his E flat major symphony during Mozart’s last Salzburg stay, and printed editions of the B flat and C major symphonies were available for Mozart’s perusal in Vienna. They belonged to a set of Tre Sinfonie del Signore Michele Haydn published by Artaria, Mozart’s important publishing partner, in 1786 as Michael Haydn’s Opus 1, one of the few works by Haydn to be published during his lifetime.

All three symphonies were composed according to the same three-movement model of the Italian tradition, a tradition which had given rise to set types. The first movement was marked by fanfare thematic construction and rapid structural shifts and indebted to the piano and forte zones of the older concerto, the second movement was a cantabile composition with an elaborated upper-voice melody, and the third movement was a dancelike piece with a self-contained, well-proportioned thematic design conducive to the repetition of set component elements.

Although Michael Haydn proceeded on the basis of this tradition, he varied its standard features in original fashion. His E flat major symphony begins with a triadic-chord thematic design but persists for quite some time in the atypical piano. The alternation between the instrumental groups, here between the strings and the winds, virtually assumes the form of a dialogue. It is thus not without reason that scholarship has cited this movement as a model for Mozart’s E flat major symphony K. 543. In the B flat major symphony the slow introduction to the first movement proper yields to the allegro without a caesura or fermata. In the allegro the fanfare element seems to have been reduced to mere jolting repetitions of tones. In the first movement of the C major symphony, however, the dominance of the fanfare structure is very much apparent. This is essentially a factor of the C major symphony’s modified instrumentation: trumpets and timpani supplement the wind section. The new instruments remain silent at first, and it is only with their sudden entrance, bringing with it a forte of the whole orchestra, that the theme proper of the movement bursts forth in a descending triadic-chord figure of marked rythmicity. A cantabile, recurring motif in the manner of the singing allegro determines the preceding piano section. As a result, the movement unfolds along with a sort of double motivic design and a dramatic quality of rich contrasts even before the appearance of the second theme (which, as in the other symphonies, continues to have its place even after the attainment to the fifth degree).

The slow movements of all three symphonies are in the key of the lower fifth. A melody undergoes figured elaboration in uniform, almost stereotypical fashion in the sordino of the violins. But the E flat major symphony does have its moments of breadth and depth when the ornamental motion is transferred to the second violin and the first violin is free to engage in a new cantabile solo in the manner of a grand song. At a similar juncture in the B flat major symphony, this time after a surprising shift to minor, solo woodwinds intervene and widen the melodic range. Both movements exhibit a simple two-part form. In the case of the E flat major symphony there is also a short interlude with motivic fragmentation reminiscent, by citation, of the famous String Quartet op. 33 of 1781 by Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn’s brother. The Un poco adagio of the C major symphony occupies a special position: the participation of loud trumpets and timpani in a tender solo movement is contrary to all convention. Here the repetition of the melody in the tonic key leads not to a parallel second part but directly to a middle section exploiting, in dramatic fashion, the minor effect of the “punctum remotum” represented by the sixth degree. Formal closure is not achieved until the third approach via the initial melody, whence the title Rondeau. Here there is also reason to think of a greeting to Eisenstadt. Following Joseph Haydn’s precedent, the movement ends with a twofold concluding formula - with the beginning.

The special character of the C major symphony is also reflected in its final movement. The concluding movements in the two other symphonies share in the dancelike liveliness of the rondo without, however, taking on that simple form. In contrast, the C major finale is developed as a fugue. Here Michael Haydn followed the Southern German tendency toward instrumental counterpoint. The most famous example of this tendency is represented by Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony. After a short preview the theme is stated with accompaniment and then migrates through all the voices with imitation. The rhythmically identical theme halves give rise to the periodic organization of the movement. Toward the end a rhythmically vital motif splinters off during the sequencing of the theme head. The two quarter notes of the motif are juxtaposed in refractory alternation between downbeat and upbeat. These alternations are also involved in the counterpointing of the melodic subsidiary theme in the lower voices. The large form follows and fulfills a clear plan. The second part again begins with the initial chords and treats a new fugue subject. The subsequent recapitulation then combines the two themes in a masterfully intricate compositional design. Michael Haydn composed an outstanding piece in this finale, a movement that must have continued to exert a powerful influence, impressing no less a figure than Beethoven.

Manfred Hermann Schmid

Symphonies Nos. 21, 30, 31 & 32

Johann Michael Haydn turned to the symphony, if not regularly, then repeatedly, throughout his compositional career. To judge by our sources for their dating, he evidently composed a considerable number of his contributions to this genre in groups. Our sources also indicate that he composed a number of his forty-one symphonies (thus the current total) in connection with divertimentos of several movements. Agreements between same of the movements in these works suggest as much, while also raising the thorny question of the identification of what may have been different versions of one and the same piece, which, in turn, may have been performed different occasions with different sequences of movements. The explanation for certain peculiarities in Haydn’s instrumentations, which in part differ significantly from the standard usage of his times, may lie in the practice of movement recycling. In six early symphonies from his Salzburg years Haydn appears to have drown on material from other instrumental and vocal works.

About one half of Haydn’s symphonies are in four movements, and the other hall in three movements. Most of the four-movement symphonies (movement sequence: allegro, andante, minuet and trio, presto) come from the period before 1778. The three-movement symphonies (usual movement sequence: a slow introduction followed by allegro, andante, and presto movements) date to the subsequent period. Only one of the symphonies recorded here, Symphony No. 32 (MH 420/Perger 23), has a mere two movements.

Symphony No. 21 in D major (MH 272/Perger 42)

1. Introduction: Adagio - Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Finale: Presto

Symphony No. 21 in D major (MH 272/Perger 42) is extant only in manuscript partbooks from the time of its composition. Since the parts bear the date 1778, we have to conclude that the work was composed sometime prior to that date. The instrumentation calls for two oboes, two horns, first and second violin, viola, and bass (with bassoon). The work begins with a slow introduction assigned primarily to the strings and extending over twenty measures. The introduction leads into an Allegro molto beginning with the whole orchestra in unison. Bright triplet motifs and emphatic triadic chords mark the initial measures of this movement. As is often the case in Haydn, the winds are assigned what is largely a supporting role without much in the way of idiomatic independence. The Adagio is full of genuine feeling. The Finale: Presto shows the hand of a composer whose main field was sacred music. The strings dominate the movement and indulge in fugatos and imitation.

Symphony No. 30 in D major (MH 399/Perger 21)

1. Adagio - Allegro spiritoso
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Finale: Vivace molto

We seem to have two different versions of Symphony No. 30 in D major (MH 399/Perger 21). One dates to April 17, 1774 (cf. Editio Budapest 1969) and follows the sequence Adagio, Andante, Minuet/Trio, Finale: Presto assai. The other, corresponding to the first only in its first movement, has the movement sequence Adagio, Allegro spirituoso, Andante sostenuto, Finale: Vivace molto. This latter version, which has come down to us in an autograph score with the date Salzburg, March, 10, 1785, is the one listed by Sherman in his thematic catalogue of Haydn’s works. In contrast to Symphony No. 21, this work has two bassoons with their own part in addition to the usual strings and horn and oboe pairs. This feature is also encountered in further works in Haydn’s symphonic oeuvre.

Symphony No. 31 in F major (MH 405/Perger 22)

1. Allegro assai
2. Andante cantabile
3. Presto

Symphony No. 31 in F major (MH 405/Perger 22) was the last in a series of seven such works composed by Haydn between May 1783 and May 1785. Since the autograph bears the date May 30, 1785, it is possible that he composed it for the birthday of the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg on May 31. The symphony is in three movements (Allegro assai, Andante cantabile, Presto), and its first and third movements have the same instrumentation as No. 30. The second movement exhibits a peculiar instrumental design: it is something along the lines of a concerto movement for English horn and violin with accompaniment by an orchestra of strings, horns, and bassoons. The two solo parts at times run parallel to the string part and at other times perform soloistic functions or occur in dialogue. The horns serve merely as harmonic filling.

Symphony No. 32 in D major (MH 420/Perger 23)

1. Vivace assai
2. Finale: Presto

The autograph of Symphony No. 32 in D major (MH 420/Perger 23) dates to May 30, 1786, which probably points to another birthday dedication to the Prince Archbishop. As we have already indicated, this composition is the only two-movement work among Haydn’s symphonies. Its instrumentation is unusually festive: one flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. The Vivace assai first movement is in two parts and 3/8 time. It begins with a dancy theme. Chordal melodic constructions lend their stamp to the theme in the second part. The flute initially runs parallel to the string part, but in the further course of the movement this instrument emerges from the tutti and indulges in brilliant sixteenth runs from time to time. The second movement is a Presto rondo with a quite simple theme initially presented by the first violins. Here too the flute occasionally claims its share of the soloistic spotlight.

* * * * *

“I admittedly had the talent. With it and with much diligence I made progress.” Joseph Haydn is supposed to have made this statement at the end of his life. These words also apply to his younger brother, and his captivating symphonies are vivid audible testimony to this fact.

Daniel Brandenburg

Symphonies Nos. 34-39
Symphony No. 34 in E flat major (MH 473/Perger 26)

1. Allegro con brio
2. Adagietto
3. Finale. Fugato. Allegro

Symphony No. 35 in G major (MH 474/Perger 27)

1. Allegro spiritoso
2. Andante
3. Finale. Presto

Symphony No. 36 in B flat major (MH 475/Perger 28)

1. Allegro con fuoco
2. Andante con espressione
3. Finale. Rondo. Presto molto

Symphony No. 37 in D major (MH 476/Perger 29)

1. Vivace
2. Andantino
3. Finale. Allegro assai

Symphony No. 38 in F major (MH 477/Perger 30)

1. Allegro molto
2. Andantino
3. Finale. Allegro scherzante

Symphony No. 39 in C major (MH 478/Perger 31)

1. Allegro con spirito
2. Andante
3. Finale. Fugato. Molto vivace

Johann Michael Haydn composed six symphonies in the incredibly short time of seven weeks at the beginning of 1788. Four months later Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his last three symphonies in a mere six weeks. These circumstances might seem to offer material for a comparison between the two composers, but the symphonies Mozart wrote during the summer months of 1788 are of too different a character to suggest any meaningful parallels. Formal similarities such as the fugue finales in Haydn’s Symphony No. 39 and Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony K. 551 reflect a common contrapuntal tradition. In matters of experimental symphonic structure, a hallmark of works departing from established convention, the two composers and their respective works are not all that alike.

Our sources do not indicate what moved Haydn and Mozart to compose their symphonies in such record time. An entry in the journal of Abbot Dominikus Hagenauer of St. Peters in Salzburg (Hagenauer, a boyhood friend of Mozart, was the dedicatee of the “Dominikus Mass” K. 66) may offer an explanation for Haydn’s swift composition of his Symphonies Nos. 34-39. The election of Father Damaszen Kleimayrn as the rector of the University of Salzburg in January 1788 was followed by a gala celebration with music. Moreover, much to the abbot’s regret, operas and concerts had continued that year in Salzburg not only during the carnival season but also through Lent until Holy Week. There was a great demand for new compositions, and Michael Haydn supplied erudite and entertaining music, as the occasion required.

All six symphonies in Haydn’s cycle are in three movements. The dance movement, the minuet, is the movement omitted from the four-movement structure. The instrumentation and series of keys in the six symphonies also suggest that they form a cycle. Most of the symphonies have an instrumentation of two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, and strings. Two trumpets and timpani supplement this basic instrumentation in Symphonies Nos. 36 and 39. The keys are E flat, G, B flat, D, F, and C. Other traces of their interconnection include the dialogic alternation of the woodwinds and strings, bassoon parts independent of the bass foundation, and the tendency toward concertante employment of the winds. The tone colors of the orchestra may be said to serve as a formative structural element in the slow movements. For their part, the development sections of the first movements in Symphonies Nos. 37 and 38, movements reflecting the galant style, exhibit a certain amount of formulaic design in their employment of customary sequence techniques and markedly simple harmonies. The inner dynamic of the sonata form results from the contrast of the primary and secondary thematic complexes and their dynamic and melodic differentiation. Haydn’s wealth of ideas and skill in relating opposites make for diversity in unity. Examples of his wealth of ideas include the first movements of Symphony No. 35, a work with tone repetitions bringing to mind his brothers Symphony No. 83 (La Poule), and of Symphony No. 38. The finale of Symphony No. 39 exemplifies the repeated alternation of homophonic and contrapuntal sections in the synthesis of opposites in its combination of the erudite and galant styles. The last movement of Symphony No. 34 may exhibit a looser fugue technique, but Haydn continues to maintain the contrapuntal standard to keep the conclusion from turning into nothing more than a mere finale. In contrast, the finale of Symphony No. 38 presents the thematic ideas in variative form.

Michael Haydn seems to have made deliberate use of citation techniques in some of his movements. The sixth psalm tone makes its sudden appearance toward the end of the rondo finale in Symphony No. 36. Quotations from what is quite evidently song material of folk origin occur in the andante movement of this symphony and in the finale of Symphony No. 35. The aesthetic of the times viewed folk music as a natural source for the arts. Contact between the vocal and instrumental traditions was a very characteristic trait of our versatile composer. Moreover, one or the other vocal reminiscence may well have been deliberately intended as a means for the active stimulation of the hearer through inventive memory motifs. Mozart was also fond of clever brain games of this type. In 1777 he wrote the following to his father from Augsburg about the lesson in improvisation he had given to the Conventuals of the Holy Cross Augustinian Monastery of Canons Regular: “I asked for a theme and took it on a stroll, and in the middle of it - the fugue proceeded from G minor - I began in major and with something very funny but in the same tempo, then finally the theme again but asswise [retrograde]. Finally it occurred to me: might I not be able to employ the funny thing as the theme as well? I did not ask long but did it immediately, and it went so accurately that it was as if Daser himself [Mozart’s tailor in Salzburg] had measured it.”

The six symphonies by Michael Haydn recorded here illustrate the art of combination, of the connection and opposition of ideas, of the technique of dialogic playing between instruments and instrumental groups, of the enlivenment of conventional movement sequences with contrasting characters, and of the alternation between cantabile and instrumental sections. As such this cycle of 1788 represents a synthesis of the symphonic development of the Salzburg Haydn.

Gerhard Walterskirchen

Johann Michael Haydn – Symphonies

Johann Michael Haydn, the son of a wheelwright and village official, was barn on 14 September 1737 in Rohrau, Lower Austria. At the age of eight his musical talent brought him to St. Stephen’s Chapel House in Vienna, where his brother Joseph was already active as a choirboy. Following musical training in composition, violin, and piano, Michael Haydn served initially as violinist (1757) and then as archiepiscopal music director (1760) in Großwardein, today’s Oradea in Rumania. In 1763 he found a post as concertmaster at the court of the Salzburg Prince Archbishop Count Sigismund von Schrattenbach. Beginning in 1777 Haydn also served as organist at Trinity Church in Salzburg, and in 1782 he succeeded Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as court and cathedral organist and also took over the piano instruction program at the Salzburg Chapel House. In these various capacities Haydn wrote sacred music for the cathedral, symphonies, concertos, and chamber music for the archiepiscopal court, music dramas for the university and court theaters, and lieder, songs, and dance music for the citizenry. Although he received a financially attractive offer from Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy, he remained in Salzburg until his death in 1806. Haydn’s oeuvre encompasses more than eight hundred works in almost all the genres of music of his time. A requiem commissioned by the Empress Maria Teresa - as in the case of Mozart’s requiem - remained unfinished.

In March 1772 Count Hieronymus von Colloredo was appointed Prince Archbishop of Salzburg. Colloredo was a good violinist and liked to join the musicians during court evening musical entertainments. As a result, the demand for chamber music and symphonies as well was very great. In the case of Mozart, who at the time was still an unsalaried concertmaster, this led to the composition of several symphonies during the same year. In contrast, no increased production during the same period of time can be detected in the case of Haydn, who had enjoyed a permanent post as “court musician and concertmaster” ever since 1763.

Although Mozart was Michael Haydn’s compositional equal already during his young years, Haydn was of course the leading musical personality in Salzburg. Mozart repeatedly oriented himself by Haydn’s oeuvre by copying numerous works by him for study and more or less consciously taking him as his model. In some works the two are stylistically so close that same of Haydn’s compositions were long ascribed to Mozart. Despite this stylistic closeness, Haydn’s delight in experimentation lends his music a personal note marked by musical humor and imaginative wealth of the sort that one does not so quickly find in similar fashion in Mozart.

Michael Haydn’s symphonies appeal directly to the listener. His economic employment of complex structures makes them easy to listen to but also richly varied and crafted with fine art. One special feature is found in their careful orchestration. In contrast to some of his contemporaries, Haydn employs the winds not only to reinforce the harmonies but also has them participate in the thematic process, even as solo instruments. The Salzburg court ensemble had outstanding musicians at its disposal, and here Haydn could entrust them with the corresponding tasks.

While a concrete occasion of composition is often known for church music and stage works, this is hardly the case with chamber music and symphonies. Rather, numerous occasions and the places of composition going along with them qualify for consideration. Dinner and evening compositions were performed at the court, opening and entr’acte compositions at the theater of the Benedictine University or at the court performances, and finales and serenades in the open air. In addition, occasional pieces for birthdays and name days and performances for and with the musically active members of the nobility were held in private residences. The dance pieces for ballrooms, with Michael Haydn likewise contributing many works to this genre, should also not be forgotten here.

The social life of the eighteenth century, which then was just as much stamped by music as it is today, is reflected in the manifold occasions and places for concerts. A total of forty-one symphonies by Michael Haydn from a period extending approximately from 1760 to 1789 have been transmitted. Haydn thus composed on the average one to two symphonies per year. The only exception here was 1788, in which six symphonies are registered right at the beginning of the year. Although Michael Haydn compiled a substantial inventory of symphonies, this genre of orchestral music certainly did not occupy the center of his musical activity in Salzburg.

Lothar Perger listed fifty-two symphonies in his cataIogue (”Thematisches Verzeichnis der Instrumentalwerke von Michael Haydn”; in: DTÖ 29 (1907), pp. XV-XXIX). The selection of forty-four symphonies for our complete recording is based on the more recent catalogue compiled by Charles H. Sherman and T. Donley Thomas: Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806): A Chronological Thematic Catalogue of his Works, New York, Stuyvesant. 1993.

The nine symphonies offer us a glimpse at the whole creative period concerned. Accordingly, they are diverse in form and instrumentation. Manfred Hermann Schmid distinguishes three instrumentation types. Two oboes and two horns (Type A) or two trumpets and timpani together with the oboes and horns (Type B) are added to the usual string ensemble of two violins, viola, and basso. From 1779 onward Michael Haydn consistently employs two bassoons. The symphonies “A più stromenti”, (Type C) in which Haydn employs various special instruments such as a solo flute (MH 151), concertizing bassoon (MH 133), or post horn (MH 302), depart from this rule.

Michael Malkiewicz

Symphonies Nos. 1B, 14, 17, 19, 24, 29, 33, 40 & 41
Symphony No. 1B in F major (MH 25/P deest)

1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

According to Charles H. Sherman, Michael Haydn composed the Symphony in F major (MH 25/P deest) around 1760. It falls into Haydn’s period in Großwardein from which his first compositions have been transmitted, after he had risen from violinist to music director under the new bishop Baron Adam von Patácic (Patachich) of Zajezda in 1760. The symphony corresponds to Type A and, like many of Haydn’s early symphonies, is in four movements. An extremely lively Allegro with eighth notes continuing throughout occurs at the beginning. Despite its quiet melodic leading, syncopations and eighth notes in the bass mean that the Andante is also very animated. Here the winds are not included, and this forms a contrast to the first movement. A similar situation results in the Menuetto, which has a trio without the winds. The work concludes with a Presto. The pithy theme recurs three times before the movement issues in a short coda.

Symphony No. 14 in B flat major (MH 133/Perger 52)

1. Allegro molto
2. Concertino per il Fagotto
3. Menuet

The Symphony No. 14 in B flat major (MH 133/Perger 52) was composed between 1768 and 1770, during Haydn’s Salzburg years. Here the usual two oboes (Type B) are joined by way of exception by four horns. At the beginning there is an agitated Allegro molto in 3/4 time. The Adagio mà non troppo second movement is entitled Concertino per il Fagotto and with its wonderful solo part for the bassoon ranks with the most unusual and most beautiful symphonic movements in Michael Haydn’s oeuvre. There are extended solo segments with the most economical orchestra accompaniment, and here the bassoon also engages in intimate dialogue with the strings and winds before making its way to an improvisational solo cadenza. The symphony concludes in unusual fashion with a Minuetto e Trio as the finale movement.

Symphony No. 17 in E major (MH 151/Perger 44)

1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Allegro con spirito

The earliest source for the Symphony No. 17 in E major (MH 151/Perger 44) is dated to 1776. Here, however, Michael Haydn drew on already existing material. On l August 1771 Haydn concluded the music for the five-act tragedy Pietas in patriam by Father Florian Reichssiegel, a work performed at the theater of Salzburg’s Benedictine University. In 1773 the same work, now in German and with the title Hermann, ein Beispiel der Liebe zum Vaterland, was again performed. Haydn took over two numbers from the music for this drama without changes. The Allegro first movement was originally the opening movement from one of the two ballets performed with the tragedy. Michael Haydn in general demonstrates a predilection for 3/4 time in opening movements - and so too in this symphony. The Andante second movement is taken from an entr’acte interlude. Although it originally did not belong to the first movement, this movement with eighth notes in accentuated progression is surprisingly similar to the first movement. The simple Menuetto is followed by a Trio in E minor with an almost eerie sound. The Finale. Allegro con spirito is a swift last movement. Here one seems for a moment to hear the duet of Papageno and Pamina “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from The Magic Flute, which of course was not composed until much later by Mozart in Vienna. The folk sound of the melody and the fugato hinted at a number of times form a conclusion that is just as richly contrastive as it is worthy of such a function.

Symphony No. 19 in D major (MH 198/Perger 11)

1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Finale. Presto assai

According to the autographic dating, the Symphony No. 19 in D major (MH 198/Perger 11) was composed on 17 April 1774. The instrumentation Type B is complemented by a solo flute. The Allegro first movement, as so often in Michael Haydn, is in 3/4 time and has a minuet character with its striding fourth notes. Toward the end of this movement Haydn has a surprise in store in that the transition to the coda executed by the strings issues in a general rest. In the Andante second movement the solo flute splendidly soars over the violins. As is the general practice, the trio of the minuet is in a minor key; on the whole Haydn plays here with contrasting forte and piano sections. thus lending the movement a dramatic effect. The concluding movement is a Presto in the manner of a contradanse.

Symphony No. 24 in A major (MH 302/Perger 15)

1. Allegro con brio
2. Andante cantabile
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

According to the catalogue of Haydn’s main copyist Nikolaus Lang, the Symphony No. 24 in A major (MH 302/Perger 15) dates to 19 July 1781. In its instrumentation it corresponds to Type A. The animated opening Allegro con brio is followed by an Andante cantabile second movement, now, however, with flutes instead of oboes. In this variation movement the winds engage in dialogue with the soft sound of the strings “colle sordine”. The full wind instrumentation in the Menuett is followed by a trio in which a post horn in A comes into the soloistic spotlight. A lively Presto in 6/8 time is heard as the finale. As an incomplete autograph of the score and two part copies show, this symphony with the post horn signals was also performed in the Benedictine Abbeys in Göttweg, Lambach, and Kremsmünster.

Symphony No. 29 in D minor (MH 393/Perger 20)

1. Allegro brillante
2. Andantino
3. Rondeau. Presto Scherzante

The Symphony No. 29 in D minor (MH 393/Perger 20) is Haydn’s sole symphony in a minor key. The festive instrumentation (Type B) and the autographic dating to 30 December 1784 suggest a performance in the setting of the court, possibly on the occasion of the New Year’s greeting for the archbishop. Its character of thorough animation is intimated already in the indications of tempo of the framing Allegro brillante and Presto scherzando movements. The Andantino is in a bright B flat major and has a dance character recalling a minuet. This symphony is a successful example of the fact that minor keys can also be made to have a friendly jocular sound.

Symphony No. 33 in B flat major (MH 425/Perger 24)

1. Vivace
2. Adagietto. Cantabile
3. Menuetto. Allegro (MH 652/Perger 82)
4. Finale. Presto ma non troppo

The Symphony No. 33 in B flat major (MH 425/Perger 24) is dated to 28 September 1786 in the autograph. It is festively instrumented with additional timpani and trumpets (Type B). In its original three-movement structure it recalls an Italian opera sinfonia, that is, a category of music primarily aiming at the capturing of the audience’s attention. The Vivace first movement is correspondingly animated, and its special significance is emphasized by the extended development section with fuguing parts and a great horn din. Although it is designated as an Adagietto cantabile, the second movement is also hardly intended for laying back but presents itself as an intricately woven instrumental texture with animated leading of the melody and winds coming forward in solo roles. The Presto mà non troppo forms a virtuoso finale in dynamically demarcated sound blocks. Eleven years later Haydn added a Menuetto. Allegro (MH 652/Perger 82) dated to 16 February 1797 to the symphony. It also has a large instrumental ensemble, and despite the long intervening period of time fits in perfectly, both in sound and style, with the symphony.

Symphony No. 40 in F major (MH 507/Perger 32)

1. Allegro molto
2. Adagio ma non troppo
3. Rondeau. Vivace

The Symphony No. 40 in F major (MH 507/Perger 32) is dated to 15 July 1789 in the autograph and exhibits the same instrumental ensemble as that of the Symphony No. 41. The whole first Allegro molto movement is stamped by three striking fourth notes in a manner suggestive of leitmotivic composition. Here too Haydn relies on a dialogue between the strings and winds. On the present recording it was decided to equip the violins with mutes in the Adagio mà non troppo second movement. The seemingly delightful and sweet movement nevertheless has some unexpectedly dramatic segments. In contrast to the finale of the Symphony No. 41, here the swift Rondeau. Vivace is a rather simple concluding number.

Symphony No. 41 in A major (MH 508/Perger 33)

1. Spiritoso
2. Andante
3. Fugato. Vivace molto

The following two symphonies were composed in rapid temporal succession in Salzburg during the summer of 1789. Like all of Haydn’s symphonies from the 1780s, they are in three movements, and in their instrumentation they correspond to Type A, though Haydn systematically employs two bassoons beginning in 1779. The Symphony No. 41 in A major (MH 508/Perger 33) is dated to 26 July 1789 in the autograph, and thus is Michael Haydn’s last composition of this genre. In the Spiritoso first movement the bassoon appears in unison with the violins – which in this unusual combination produces a very specific sound. In the Andante second movement each of the three parts begins with a very succinct theme answered by the strings “colle sordine”. At the end there is a Fugato. Vivace molto with virtuoso sixteenth runs and a tightly constructed development section. Michael Haydn could not know that it would be his last symphony. It is precisely the complexity in the last movement that shows, however, that Michael Haydn is very much able to hold his own next to the late works of his brother Joseph and also next to Mozart.

Michael Malkiewicz

Symphonie Nos. 13 & 20, Notturno No. 1

During the early years of the seventeenth century the term “sinfonia” initially designated purely instrumental music and distinguished it from the vocal music then continuing to predominate. For a long time the sinfonia or symphony was not yet standardized as an original orchestral work with three movements or – as was mostly the case during the eighteenth century – with four movements.

Symphony No. 13 in D major (MH 132/Perger 37)

1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto 1 & 2
4. Allegro molto assai
Symphony No. 13 in D major – Alternative versions
Andante – Version Göttweig
Menuetto 2 – Version Göttweig

Haydn composed the Symphony No. 13 in D major (MH 132/Perger 37) in Salzburg around 1768–70. An autographic score of the symphony is not extant. However, it has been transmitted in two partbook versions, one at the Kremsmünster Abbey (A-KR H. 1 .6) and the other in the Music Archive of the Göttweig Abbey (A-GÖ 2778). Although one and the same work is involved, there are differences in the instrumentation. The symphony transmitted in Göttweig has an additional flute part in the middle movements. Since we do not have the autograph, it cannot be determined for certain whether or not both versions were authorized by Haydn. Anthony van Hoboken ascribed this symphony to Joseph Haydn (Hob. I:D26) in his work catalogue, but then also mentioned the attribution to Michael Haydn.

The present recording is based on the previously unedited source from the Kremsmünster Abbey. The instrumentation as indicated is for two oboes, two horns, two trumpets and timpani, two concertizing violins and two accompanying violins, and viola, violoncello, and violone. The identity of the composer may clearly be inferred from the label on the cover of the part material: “Del Sigl:re Michele Hayden / Maestro di Concerto / di S: A: R: a Salisburgo.”

This symphony for a large ensemble has four movements when we count the two minuets as one movement. The theme right at the beginning in the Allegro consists of a very simple motif in the manner of a scale. However, from it Haydn generates a drive never losing a bit of its original energy, right through to the end of this movement. It is followed by an Andante, entirely without trumpets and timpani, in which above all the two concertizing violins are employed. The wonderful melody with the woodwinds and horns in dialogue takes us into other spheres of tonality. The Menuetto 1mo, again with the full ensemble, follows with instrumental color designed for concert performance. Since this minuet has brilliant trumpet tones, it would not be encountered in this form in the ballroom. By contrast, the Menuetto 2do is entirely limited to the string sound. Although the orchestral parts are extant in full, this version almost seems to be somewhat unfinished when compared with the Göttweig version insofar as a linking melody instrument seems to be lacking at the very beginning. The symphony concludes with a rather conventional Allegro molto assai executed by the full ensemble.

Göttweig Version

So that the two extant versions can be compared, the Andante and Menuetto 2ndo in the version from the Göttweig Abbey have been recorded here with the additional flute voice. The addition of an instrument to a previously existing composition – the opposite process would be less probable – did not require Michael Haydn to intervene significantly in the work. Accordingly, the present recording with the Göttweig version indicates to us how a ”musical work of art” might have been understood in the eighteenth century and offers us insights into the compositional and performance practices of that epoch.

Symphony No. 20 in C major (MH 252/Perger 12)

1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

The Symphony No. 20 in C major (MH 252/Perger 12) was performed in Salzburg in 1777. However, it was not originally composed as a symphony; instead, it involves a pasticcio-like combination of four movements from previously existing material. During the eighteenth century the sinfonia or symphony did not yet have the individual character of a clearly identifiable work – as afterwards would be the case at the latest with Ludwig van Beethoven’s symphonic oeuvre. Here the combination of previously existing music to form a symphony did not contradict the idea of this genre. Perhaps Haydn had to present a symphony on short notice and then drew back on other music penned by him. Therefore an autographic score is also not extant for this symphony. The copies of the parts from the Kremsmünster Abbey (A-KR H.1.13) form our source material here.

The instrumentation with two oboes, two horns, two violins, viola, and basso is frequently encountered in Michael Haydn. Despite its festive C major key, this symphony, certainly because of its combination of different works, does not contain trumpets and timpani. In addition, it is one of the few symphonies with a slow movement in a minor key.

The Allegro molto first movement was originally the Sinfonia per la Parte seconda from a ballet (MH 141) performed with the final comedy Pietas christiana (Christian Steadfastness) by the librettist Florian Reichssiegel in the main auditorium of Salzburg’s Benedictine University on 31 August and 4 September 1770. The autographic score of this ballet music is dated 15–16 July 1770. Perhaps in anticipation of the various ballet inserts, Haydn incorporates a wealth of ideas into this introductory movement: piano/forte contrasts, unison passages against orchestral chords, ascending sequences, enhancement of exotic sounds with syncopations, and coloration with altered tones.

The Andante, the Menuetto with the Trio, and the Presto last movement are from a single three-movement Partita (MH 251) with an autographic score dated 2 March 1777. Haydn attached a movement from an older ballet to the beginning of a three-movement work, thereby changing its function to that of a four-movement symphony.

The Andante is in A minor. The solo oboe mostly accompanies the violin or viola and really only comes forward as a solo instrument in the middle part. A plain Menuetto is followed by a contrasting trio presented solely by the strings. The focus in the symphonies of these times predominantly lay on the first movement. Here Haydn’s works repeatedly display wit and humor as well as an imaginative wealth in the slow movements of song character. The last movements executed in swift tempos often exercise the function of rousing finales. This also applies to the concluding Presto and to the last movement of the partita and to its use as the finale of the symphony.

Notturno No. 1 in F major (MH 185)

1. Allegro
2. Menuetto
3. Adagio
4. Finale – Presto

Three orchestral works by Michael Haydn with the generic label “Notturno” have been transmitted. “Notturno” designated music intended for evening entertainment and varying in its instrumentation and number of movements. During the summer months open-air performances of notturni were also regularly scheduled. Count Hieronymus von Colloredo was elected Prince Archbishop of Salzburg on 14 March 1772. The first Notturno, in F major (MH 185), is dated 21 December 1771; the second Notturno, in C major (MH 187), 17 February 1773; and the third Notturno, in G major (MH 189), 1 December 1773, which means that they were composed during the winter months. The last two exhibit an instrumentation solely for string quintet. It cannot be ruled out that the Prince Archbishop, who played the violin, participated in these notturni for entertainment or as a pastime during the long winter nights.

Michael Haydn’s score for the Notturno in F major (MH 185/Peter 106) has a four-part string texture with two horns. In contrast to the two later notturni, here the minuet with the trio by way of exception occurs already in the second position and the slow movement in the third position. The Allegro first movement derives its appeal especially from its unmediated forte/piano contrasts. The high range of the Violin I is striking; it goes up to g’’’ and attests to the good quality of the violinists in the Salzburg court ensemble. In the Menuetto the violins again are led into the highest registers. In the Trio in D minor, presented solely by the strings, motifs in the manner of scales dominate. In the Adagio of song character, it too reserved for the strings, the Violin I dominates. Here Haydn once again demonstrates that he was a genuine master in the creation of wonderful melodies. Here too the Presto has the character of a rousing finale. This applies both to its original placement in the partita and to its role as the last movement of the symphony.

Michael Malkiewicz

Marches (MH 185)

Eleven marches by Michael Haydn have come down to us. The works of this genre recorded here are from various years. The occasions of their composition and places of their performance are not known and may have been very diverse. The instrumentation at least allows us to conclude that these marches were not performed at a striding pace. The Marcia in F major (MH 421/Perger 59) is dated to 30 June 1786 in the autograph and - somewhat surprising for a march piece – is instrumented solely for strings, including two violas. The Marcia in D major (MH 515/Perger 64) was composed on 12 June 1790 and has the standard instrumentation of a symphony of Type A. The Marcia in D major (MH 441/Perger 62) is dated to 7 July 1787 in the autograph and has a large ensemble including doubled flutes, oboes, bassoons. horns, trumpets, and timpani together with the strings. This march bears the superscription Con maestà instead of a tempo marking, and this character is manifested in the typical march rhythm right at the beginning.

In a biographical sketch penned by Michael Haydn’s friends in 1808, we read of his approach to music, “He was not taken in by the physical and mathematical science of music or the theory of music and compared it to demonstrations that may have much good about them in their kind but are not usable in practice.” According to this statement, for Haydn the quality of a composition should be measured less by its theoretical foundations and above all should be proven in performance while being heard. The works recorded here show how very much Michael Haydn exercised his fine art to combine these two principles.

Michael Malkiewicz

Symphony No. 1 in C major (MH 23/Perger 35)
1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No 1A in D major (MH 24/Perger deest)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No 1B in F major (MH 25/Perger deest)
1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No 1C in E flat major (MH 35/Perger 1)
1. Andante
2. Allegro con spirito
3. Menuet
4. Finale. Prestissimo

Symphony No. 2 in C major (MH 37/Perger 2)
1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No. 3 (Divertimento) in G major (MH ?)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No. 4 in B flat major (MH 62/Perger 51)
1. Allegro
2. Andante (La Confidenza)
3. Allegro

Symphony No. 5 in A major (MH 63/Perger 3)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante ma non troppo
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No. 6 in C major (MH 64/Perger 4)
1. Vivace
2. Andante colle sordine
3. Tempo di minuet

Symphony No. 7 in E major (MH 65/Perger 5)
1. Allegro
2. Andantino
3. Finale. Allegro

Symphony No. 8 in D major (MH 69/Perger 38)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto. Minore
4. Finale. Presto

Symphony No. 9 in D major (MH 50/Perger 36)
1. Allegro assai
2. Andante
3. Finale. Presto assai

Symphony No. 10 in F major (MH 51/Perger 45)
1. Allegro assai con spirito
2. Andante grazioso
3. Finale. Prestissimo

Symphony No. 11 in B flat major (MH 82 & 184/Perger 9)
1 Allegro assai
2. Andantino
3. Menuetto
4. Finale. Allegro molto (MH 184)

Symphony No. 12 in G major (MH 108/Perger 7)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Finale. Prestissimo

Symphony No. 13 in D major (MH 132/Perger 37)
1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto 1 & 2
4. Allegro molto assai
Symphony No. 13 in D major – Alternative versions
Andante – Version Göttweig
Menuetto 2 – Version Göttweig

Symphony No. 14 in B flat major (MH 133/Perger 52)
1. Allegro molto
2. Concertino per il Fagotto
3. Menuet

Symphony No. 15 in D major (MH 150/Perger 41)
1. Allegro
2. Menuetto
3. Andante
4. Presto assai

Symphony No. 16 in A major (MH 152/Perger 6)
1. Allegro molto
2. Menuetto
3. Andante
4. Finale. Allegro molto

Symphony No. 17 in E major (MH 151/Perger 44)
1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Allegro con spirito

Symphony No. 18 in C major (MH 188/Perger 10)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto. Allegretto
4. Finale. Vivace

Symphony No. 19 in D major (MH 198/Perger 11)
1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Finale. Presto assai

Symphony No. 20 in C major (MH 252/Perger 12)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No. 21 in D major (MH 272/Perger 42)
1. Introduction: Adagio - Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Finale: Presto

Symphony No. 22 in D major (MH 287/Perger 43)
1. Allegro assai
2. Andantino
3. Fugato. Presto ma non troppo

Symphony No. 23 in F major (MH 284/Perger 14)
1. Adagio - Presto
2. Andante
3. Rondo. Vivace assai

Symphony No. 24 in A major (MH 302/Perger 15)
1. Allegro con brio
2. Andante cantabile
3. Menuetto
4. Presto

Symphony No. 25 in G major (MH 334/Perger 16)
1. Allegro con spirito
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Finale. Allegro molto

Symphony No. 26 in E flat major (MH 340/Perger 17)
1. Allegro spirituoso
2. Adagietto affettuoso
3. Finale. Presto

Symphony No. 27 in B flat major (MH 358/Perger 18)
1. Grave - Allegro con spirito
2. Andante
3. Finale. Presto

Symphony No. 28 in C major (MH 384/Perger 19)
1. Allegro spirituoso
2. Rondeau. Un poco adagio
3. Fugato. Vivace assai

Symphony No. 29 in D minor (MH 393/Perger 20)
1. Allegro brillante
2. Andantino
3. Rondeau. Presto Scherzante

Symphony No. 30 in D major (MH 399/Perger 21)
1. Adagio - Allegro spiritoso
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Finale: Vivace molto

Symphony No. 31 in F major (MH 405/Perger 22)
1. Allegro assai
2. Andante cantabile *
3. Presto

Symphony No. 32 in D major (MH 420/Perger 23)
1. Vivace assai
2. Finale: Presto

Symphony No. 33 in B flat major (MH 425/Perger 24)
1. Vivace
2. Adagietto. Cantabile
3. Menuetto. Allegro (MH 652/Perger 82)
4. Finale. Presto ma non troppo

Symphony No. 34 in E flat major (MH 473/Perger 26)
1. Allegro con brio
2. Adagietto
3. Finale. Fugato. Allegro

Symphony No. 35 in G major (MH 474/Perger 27)
1. Allegro spiritoso
2. Andante
3. Finale. Presto

Symphony No. 36 in B flat major (MH 475/Perger 28)
1. Allegro con fuoco
2. Andante con espressione
3. Finale. Rondo. Presto molto

Symphony No. 37 in D major (MH 476/Perger 29)
1. Vivace
2. Andantino
3. Finale. Allegro assai

Symphony No. 38 in F major (MH 477/Perger 30)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andantino
3. Finale. Allegro scherzante

Symphony No. 39 in C major (MH 478/Perger 31)
1. Allegro con spirito
2. Andante
3. Finale. Fugato. Molto vivace

Symphony No. 40 in F major (MH 507/Perger 32)
1. Allegro molto
2. Adagio ma non troppo
3. Rondeau. Vivace

Symphony No. 41 in A major (MH 508/Perger 33)
1. Spiritoso
2. Andante
3. Fugato. Vivace molto

Divertimento in G major (Perger 8)
Allegro molto

Notturno No. 1 in F major (MH 185)
1. Allegro
2. Menuetto
3. Adagio
4. Finale – Presto

Three Marches
Marcia in F major (MH 421/Perger 59) Andantino
Marcia in D major (MH 515/Perger 64) Andantino
Marcia in D major (MH 441/Perger 62) Con maestà