Can you imagine writing 104 symphonies?
It's an astonishing figure,
and one which resulted in Joseph Haydn
being famously acclaimed as "The Father of the Symphony".
Though his productivity was so great,
he was known as "The Father of the String Quartet" too.
But 104 symphonies!
What musician has enough creativity,
enough tunes in their heads to generate such a catalogue?
After all, the brilliant Mozart gave us only 41 symphonies.
Beethoven wrote nine, and Tchaikovsky six.
Haydn composed 104!
And the extraordinary thing is
the 104th is one of his best.
Born in Austria in 1732, Haydn's parents
spotted his talents at an early age,
so they decided to send him away
to live with a relative who was a choir master.
At just six years old, Haydn left home
to be trained as a musician.
After two years of violin, harpsichord
and vocal studies, he was invited to become a chorister
in St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.
Although this was one of the most prestigious
musical institutions in all of Europe,
child welfare was less important.
Young Joseph quickly learned that being invited
to perform outside the cathedral,
to affluent aristocrats, was also a good way to get dinner.
Haydn's fortunes changed at the age of 29,
when he accepted a job with the Esterhàzy family,
one of the wealthiest and most important
in the Austrian empire.
As their court composer, Haydn had a skilled orchestra
at his beck and call, hungry for new music.
With such a secure and luxurious life,
it's no surprise that he worked exclusively for them
for 30 years.
But in 1790, a death in the Esterházy family
resulted in drastic cutbacks,
and the orchestra was disbanded.
Haydn was set free
into the musical centre of the world – Vienna.
Out of respect for him, the Esterházy family
continued to give him a salary;
what an incredible opportunity – to be a freelance musician
with the security of a regular income.
In this new life, Haydn made two trips to London –
each of around a year and a half –
and he caused a sensation.
The high standard of musicians in the city
and the enthusiastic reception he received,
resulted in twelve brand-new symphonies
which are considered to be some of his greatest work.
Symphony No. 104 premiered in 1795 in the King's Theatre –
now Her Majesty's Theatre –
and it was an instant hit.
The symphony opens triumphantly
with a precise rhythm played in unison
by the entire orchestra.
Though after just two bars, everything changes –
the volume drops down and the sound becomes mournful.
In this opening, Haydn reveals a key obsession
of his music,
and that is symmetry.
You see it and hear it in the score,
as what goes up, must come down.
This slow introduction leads us to the main body
of the movement, marked Allegro.
According to the strict rules of classical music,
this section is called the Exposition.
It's where a composer introduces their main ideas
and we meet the first big theme of the symphony.
The central section of the movement, the Development,
is where a composer starts to manipulate,
expand, develop their ideas.
Though the funny thing is,
Haydn seems to focus on just two bars of his theme.
You hear this six-note phrase throughout the development.
In fact, it appears so many times,
it sounds as if Haydn is totally obsessed with it.
The final section of the movement
is called the Recapitulation.
Typically, this is where all the material we heard
in the exposition returns,
creating a nice, symmetrical structure.
Except Haydn doesn't repeat his music verbatim.
Can you spot what's different in the recapitulation?
The theme is suddenly played by the flutes and oboes!
I guess if you have enough imagination
to write 104 symphonies,
then you also have enough courage to break a few rules too!
So Haydn's recapitulation is certainly not a carbon copy
of the exposition.
The second movement, Andante, features a gentle melody
that has a child-like simplicity,
though things are not as straightforward as they appear.
This is supposed to be the slowest,
most expressive moment in the symphony –
but then, this happens.
Notice that the sudden stop
is actually written into the score –
there's a completely empty bar of music.
Haydn loved to play with silence.
In some of his works he even used it
to trick the audience into clapping in the wrong place.
But here, he uses silence for dramatic effect –
to magnify the contrast between the incredibly busy music
and the far simpler theme we opened with.
Haydn starts to transform this theme
through a series of playful Variations.
And so, the elegant melody becomes far more rhythmical.
In another variation, he adds extra notes,
cascading downwards through the orchestra –
but then, he suddenly decides
to stretch everything outwards,
augmenting the melody over a mechanical accompaniment.
The third movement is a lively Minuet –
though this is no ordinary dance.
Notice all the misplaced accents in the score.
Haydn marks sforzando at the end of each bar,
which means players have to force the sound more.
But unusually, he asks them to do that
on the third beat of the bar, not the first.
So, instead of going 1-2-3, 1-2-3,
it goes 1-2-3, 1-2-3 –
which makes the dance feel a little lopsided.
It's a quirky feature, and it's not the only one.
This movement is scored in 3/4 –
which means there are three beats in every bar –
it's just that sometimes it sounds as if there are only two!
And then, just as the waltz stabilises,
Haydn reintroduces his old friend –
silence – back into the score.
Just to keep us on our toes!
All of Haydn's 12 final symphonies
were composed for the same concert series here in London –
yet only this one, 104, is known as "The London Symphony".
Over the years, musicologists
have tried to justify its nickname
by searching for a connection
between Haydn's music and the street songs of London.
Could the fourth and final movement of the symphony
hold the answer?
It's a great tune, and yes, it does sound
a bit like "Hot Cross Buns".
But actually, its true roots lie much further afield
in Croatia, and the folksong "Oj Jelena".
Here's what the original Croatian melody sounded like...
This folk-like simplicity doesn't last very long
in the finale.
Haydn quickly transforms it
into something far more sophisticated.
The most impressive thing about this music
is that after 103 symphonies,
Haydn was still able to craft something
that sounded fresh and exciting.
If you compare that to a typical TV series –
you know, the ones that go on for years and years –
isn't there always a point when you think
"OK, now they've run out of ideas".
But not Haydn.
His 104th symphony is music by someone
who was absolutely at the top of their game.
Aged 63, Haydn was writing with more zest and vigour
than ever before.