Symphony No. 88 (Haydn)

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The Symphony No. 88 in G major (Hoboken 1/88) is written by Joseph Haydn. It is occasionally referred to as The Letter V referring to an older method of cataloguing Haydn's symphonic output.

[edit] Date of composition and scoring

It was completed in 1787. Despite the fact that it is not one of the Paris or London Symphonies and that the symphony does not have a descriptive nickname, it is one of Haydn's best-known works.

The work is in standard four movement form and scored for flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, continuo (harpsichord) and strings.

[edit] Movements

I. Adagio - Allegro
II. Largo
III. Menuetto: Allegretto
IV. Allegro con spirito

The first movement begins with a brief introduction which quickly settles to the dominant chord to prepare for the main body of the movement. It begins with just the strings, playing a very Haydnesque theme which provides all the material for the rest of the movement. The exposition is monothematic and the development continues to make use of that single melodic idea. In the recapitualation, the initial statement of the theme is embellished by a solo flute, and the movement ends very satisfactorily.

The slow movement in D major consists mainly of embellishments of the brilliant oboe theme which opens it, and remains beautifully serene, though every so often is punctuated by disquieting chords played by the whole orchestra. After hearing this slow movement, Johannes Brahms is said to have remarked, 'I want my Ninth Symphony to sound like this'.

The minuet is not paricularly remarkable, though the trio has a very odd feature to it: after stating a rather simple theme, the fifths held in the bassoons and violas shift down a fourth in parallel, an effect typically avoided like poison by the classical composers. This is another example of the creative genious of Haydn.

The finale is a neat sonata-rondo, with the rondo theme first presented in binary form. The first section of this is worth note, for it ends in a very odd cadence--on the mediant. Haydn mounts the tension towards the end and brings this great symphony to a fantastic close.