Symphony No. 46 (Haydn)
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The Symphony No. 46 in B major (Hoboken 1/46) was written by Joseph Haydn.
[edit] Date of composition and scoring
It was composed in 1772 during Haydn's Sturm und Drang period.
The work is written in standard four movement format and scored for two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings and continuo.
[edit] Movements
- I. Vivace
- II. Poco adagio
- III. Menuet: Allegretto
- IV. Finale: Presto e scherzando
The key of B major, highly unusual in the 18th century, sets the tone of the work, which is one of unease, restlessness and searching. The high-pitched horns add a touch of eeriness.
The first movement starts with a four-note motif in unison, reminiscent of the Symphony No. 44, (Trauer). It is developed in various keys, with frequent modulations into the minor and to other remote keys.
The second movement is in B minor. It is a rhapsodic pastorale, rocking along over a running figure in the bass, with a syncopated figure in the muted violins maintaining the tension.
The minuet is more assertive in tone, but its confidence is undermined by a plaintive, almost solemn, trio, again in B minor.
Many of Haydn’s symphonies contain more startling surprises than the one which has made his "Surprise" Symphony famous. The surprise here comes in the final movement. The opening is a typical energetic theme in the violins which is rapidly taken up and developed, with the horns prominent in their high register. The music rushes on only to break off suddenly, interrupted by the closing passage of the minuet, followed by the repeat of the whole of the second half of the minuet. The horns then burst in again with the main finale theme, but fade away and the music stutters almost to a halt. Then, on an underlying pedal on the horns, the strings take the movement and symphony to a rapid and abrupt close.
