List of symphonies by Joseph Haydn

There are 106 symphonies by the classical composer Joseph Haydn (1732–1809). Of these, 104 have numbers associated with them which were originally assigned by Eusebius Mandyczewski in 1908 in the chronological order that was known at the time.[1] In the subsequent decades, numerous inaccuracies in the chronology (especially in the lower numbers) were found, but the Mandyczewski numbers were so widely used that when Anthony van Hoboken compiled his catalogue of Haydn's works, he incorporated the Mandyczewski number into Catalogue I (e.g., Symphony No. 34 is listed as Hob. I/34).[1] Also in that time period, two additional symphonies were discovered (which were assigned non-Mandyczewskian letters "A" and "B"), bringing the total to 106.

"Haydn Symphonies" redirects here. For the album by the Oregon Symphony, see Haydn Symphonies (album).

The symphonies

Hoboken also includes four other works in his "Symphony" category (Hob. I):

  • Hob. I/105 in B♭ major, better known as the Sinfonia Concertante for violin, cello, oboe and bassoon (1792)
  • Hob. I/106 in D major, for which only one part has survived (1769?); sometimes used as the overture to Le pescatrici
  • Hob. I/107 in B♭ major, often known not by a number but as Symphony A (between 1757 and 1760)
  • Hob. I/108 in B♭ major, often known not by a number but as Symphony B (between 1757 and 1760)

Despite this, the number of "symphonies" by Haydn is usually given as 106.[2]

Extensive and complete recordings

Several conductors recorded incomplete runs of the symphonies on LP, including three, Hermann Scherchen, Max Goberman, and Derek Solomons, whose efforts have been reissued in all or part on CD. In the sixties, Leslie Jones conducted some fifty of Haydn's symphonies together with The Little Orchestra of London. Although not using period instruments, Jones may have been one of the first conductors to use small scale forces.[3] Four conductors have recorded the complete symphonies of Joseph Haydn.

Christopher Hogwood was to have recorded a complete cycle of Haydn symphonies with the Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) for Decca's L'Oiseau Lyre imprint in a total of 15 volumes, each containing 3 CDs. Between 1990 and 2000, a total of 10 of these volumes were commercially released on CD; these volumes contain Nos. 1–75, plus the two early symphonies numbered 107 and 108, and are presented in a theoretical chronological order rather than numerical order. The program booklets contained in each of these 10 volumes contain a concordance to the complete contents of the 15 volumes. Prior to the commencement of this project, Hogwood and the AAM had recorded four of Haydn's later symphonies (94, 96, 100, and 104) for L'Oiseau Lyre, which were released on LP and later on CD. The last five of the 15-volume series were never released, although at least Nos. 76 and 77 were recorded and had a limited release on CD through BBC Music Magazine.

Also, in 1990, another attempt at a complete Haydn cycle on period instruments began with the Hanover Band led from the keyboard by Roy Goodman for Hyperion Records. Unfortunately, after releasing 57 symphonies on 17 CDs, this project ran out of funds in 1994.

There are two active attempts to record the complete cycle. As of early 2015, Thomas Fey has passed the halfway point of recording all the symphonies – 57 plus the Sinfonia Concertante in 22 volumes so far – with the Heidelberger Sinfoniker (one volume with the Schlierbacher Kammerorchester) for Hänssler. The first volumes were released in 2000. In 2014, Giovanni Antonini commenced a cycle for Alpha Records with Il Giardino Armonico (Vols. 1–4) and Kammerorchester Basel (Vols. 5 & 6, to date), aiming to perform and record all of Haydn's symphonies by 2032 (the 300th anniversary of the composer's birth).[6]

See also

Notes
  1. Ethan Haimo, "Haydn's symphonic forms: essays in compositional logic", Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-19-816392-4, ISBN 978-0-19-816392-3.
  2. Oxford Composer Companions: Haydn, ed. David Wyn Jones, Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 381. ISBN 0-19-866216-5
  3. Alan M. Watkins
  4. Caryl Clark (24 November 2005). The Cambridge Companion to Haydn. Cambridge University Press. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-521-83347-9.
  5. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article6949003.ece (subscription required)
  6. "Haydn 2032 – The new project of Giovanni Antonini & Alpha". Outhere Music.

Further reading
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