# Favorite Haydn Symphony



## licorice stick

This question is aimed at the completists who have listened to them all. But still feel free to chime in if you're not so obsessive compulsive. Which one or two symphonies stick out from the pack and you return to it over and over, cursing the ignorant masses for not appreciating its brilliance? (Try to limit your choice to one or two, although I'm sure many of you will scoff at this restriction.)

Mine:
1. Haydn 93, "Le Fart"
2. Haydn 73, "La Chasse"


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## BaronAlstromer

I was just going to ask about his London symphonies, as I like them all.
Die Uhr is the one I like best, I think.


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## Bulldog

I never scoff at restrictions, only expansions. Anyways, my favorite Haydn symphony is no. 82 in C major "The Bear".


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## mmsbls

There are so many and so many really good ones. For awhile now I've felt that #104 is my favorite. I also adore 94 and 101. Over the past year I listened from 1 - 92 ( I had heard all the London symphonies). I found many that were wonderful. It's really an embarrassment of riches.


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## KenOC

mmsbls said:


> It's really an embarrassment of riches.


Yes, it certainly is. I pretty much confine my Haydn listening to the first hundred symphonies plus a few after that. :lol:


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

52
92


&$:$?&7)2?7&):88?)8?9$:9$9/?9


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## csacks

To me: 
94 (surprise)
45 (farewell)
103 (Drumroll)

All of them are full of creativity and innovation. They are not like Vivaldi´s "one single concert and 500 variations"


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## Haydn man

Tricky one this and I do change my mind but currently
No 92 'Oxford'
No 104 'London'
But I have to say that there is a lifetimes listening pleasure for me in Haydn symphonies and if you want a different choice ask me again next week


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## hpowders

My favorite is 102.


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## BartokPizz

Hornsignal
Farewell
Bear
Oxford
Clock (what a finale!)
102


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## Albert7

I can't seem to choose one but I prefer his London symphonies.

He never composed a bad symphony and was really really consistent composition-wise.


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## Funny

I'll throw in for Symphony #46 here. It's the one where he brings back the minuet theme in the finale. That part is hard to miss, but what a lot of folks, even Haydn enthusiasts, seem to miss is that the theme, when presented in the minuet, is something he's been building out of motives throughout the symphony, starting in the second half of the opening phrase. The work is both intellectually rigorous and extremely accessible on a listening level. More people should listen to #46 more times. ...OK, that said, my all-time fave has still got to be #80.


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## Skilmarilion

Funny said:


> I'll throw in for Symphony #46 here. It's the one where he brings back the minuet theme in the finale. That part is hard to miss, but what a lot of folks, even Haydn enthusiasts, seem to miss is that the theme, when presented in the minuet, is something he's been building out of motives throughout the symphony, starting in the second half of the opening phrase. The work is both intellectually rigorous and extremely accessible on a listening level. More people should listen to #46 more times. ...OK, that said, my all-time fave has still got to be #80.


I've heard so few, but oddly enough #46 and #80 are my favourites too. :tiphat:

I always thought there's a passage in the slow movement of the 46th which may have inspired the theme of the scherzo in Mahler's 4th.

Though not considered among his _sturm and drang_ symphonies, the 80th is great in that dramatic-minor-key-classical-symphony kind of way. The slow movement is quite beautiful also.


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## Lord Lance

Symphonies 93-99


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## jimsumner

No. 88 is my favorite, followed by No. 94


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## DebussyDoesDallas

The first symphonies of Haydn's I fell in love with were the Sturm and Drang, especially the minor key ones. Above all, I never tire of the "Mourning" Symphony, #44. I love all 4 movements equally, which often isn't the case; on the contrary, even my favorite symphonies are often carried by one or two stellar movements while bogged down by a ho-hum one (to me). #44 stands out as one I can listen to all the way through, each movement a knock-out of its kind. And I'm a sucker for classical era minor key works--the right tension of objective, 3rd person form and subjective, 1st person pathos. 

Sure, the London symphonies too. Maybe #93 if I had to pick one. 

My desert island Haydn mix would tend to consist of lots of individual movements--an adagio here, a presto there. Personally I don't mind violating the integrity of multi-movement works and chopping them up for my listening pleasure, especially works not particularly "through-written."


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## DebussyDoesDallas

jimsumner said:


> No. 88 is my favorite, followed by No. 94


Sometimes I think 88 might be the most representative, signature "Haydnesque" symphony to show a curious newbie. The 4th movement is just the definition of an infectious Haydnesque romp. Then play a minor key Sturm and Drang to show his range.


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## geralmar

licorice stick said:


> This question is aimed at the completists who have listened to them all. But still feel free to chime in if you're not so obsessive compulsive. Which one or two symphonies stick out from the pack and you return to it over and over, cursing the ignorant masses for not appreciating its brilliance? (Try to limit your choice to one or two, although I'm sure many of you will scoff at this restriction.)
> 
> Mine:
> 1. Haydn 93, "Le Fart"
> 2. Haydn 73, "La Chasse"


"Le Fart"? I'm unfamiliar with that nickname.


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## geralmar

geralmar said:


> "Le Fart"? I'm unfamiliar with that nickname.


My wife's internet search provided substantiation. I had theorized that perhaps Haydn was simply running out of nicknames for his symphonies.

I remain partial to #88. I learned the first movement from an old appliance store television commercial. The commercial was actually tasteful, featuring an actor/conductor in performance while a narrator praised the store's audio department. I've always suspected the recording used was Dorati's.


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## DebussyDoesDallas

Skilmarilion said:


> I've heard so few, but oddly enough #46 and #80 are my favourites too. :tiphat:
> 
> I always thought there's a passage in the slow movement of the 46th which may have inspired the theme of the scherzo in Mahler's 4th.
> 
> Though not considered among his _sturm and drang_ symphonies, the 80th is great in that dramatic-minor-key-classical-symphony kind of way. The slow movement is quite beautiful also.


Nice to see 80 getting some love. The contrast of the two themes in the 1st mvt.--one tempestuous, the other carnivalesque-- strikes me as comical in the most awesome way possible. Definitely in the top 20 or 30 or so--how to even get your head around 104+ symphonies?


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## Leonius

104 'London'. It is actually one of the few classical pieces that can create a concrete image in my head when I listen to it.


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## Überstürzter Neumann

Very hard to choose only two from all those wonderful works, but I think I will go with No.88 and 103.


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## Guest

I've not heard them all. I've only heard all the London - my favourites are 99 and 101. As I'm now working on the Paris, I can hear some repetition (inevitable I suppose) but what I'd like to ask those who are more expert, what are the significant progressions in his style and technique that I should listen out for? In other words, why should I continue to explore Haydn's symphonies rather than Stamitz, for example, or any other symphonist of the period?


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## Manxfeeder

MacLeod said:


> what are the significant progressions in his style and technique that I should listen out for? In other words, why should I continue to explore Haydn's symphonies rather than Stamitz, for example, or any other symphonist of the period?


Just to start this off, here are some observations from Richard Anthony Leonard:

He combined the open melodic freedom of homophony with a modified counterpoint derived from the older age of polyphony.

He loved melodies and went to folk tunes as a source but refined them with a sense of clarity and spontaneity.

He perfected CPE Bach's ideas of sonata form.

He understood the orchestral instruments and figured out how to put them together: giving horns long, sustained notes with occasional melodic passages easy to execute; trumpets also used to sustain and build tension and volume and to cap climaxes; using woodwinds to relieve the strings or add color to the string tones.


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## hpowders

I would say my favorite Haydn Symphony is a tie: No. 94 ("Surprise") and No. 102.


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## Pyotr

94 for me too............


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## Bayreuth

no. 95, Beecham's version if possible


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## HaydnBearstheClock

very hard question to answer. I guess I'd say 94 for getting me into Haydn's symphonies and the symphonic world in general. I had known Mozart's 40th before and really liked it, but something about those warm melodies in 94 really got me. Then, possibly 100 - what a great symphony, so much creativity, wonderful, accessible melodies, excellent instrumentation and Haydn's signature wit - everything's right in the 'Military'. Then I'd also mention 99, 102, 103 and 104. But then there are all the brilliant Sturm und Drang symphonies! Oh man. 

You have to do this by period, I guess.

Favourite early period: 6, 7, 8, 13.

Favourite Sturm und Drang: 26, 44, 45, 49, 48, 52, 46

Favourite 'transition': 53 and 75 stand out so far, though 69 and 70 are pretty good too. 

Favourite Paris: 84, perhaps - though 85 and 86 are awesome too. Can't forget The Bear either .


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## DebussyDoesDallas

HaydnBearstheClock said:


> very hard question to answer. I guess I'd say 94 for getting me into Haydn's symphonies and the symphonic world in general. I had known Mozart's 40th before and really liked it, but something about those warm melodies in 94 really got me. Then, possibly 100 - what a great symphony, so much creativity, wonderful, accessible melodies, excellent instrumentation and Haydn's signature wit - everything's right in the 'Military'. Then I'd also mention 99, 102, 103 and 104. But then there are all the brilliant Sturm und Drang symphonies! Oh man.
> 
> You have to do this by period, I guess.
> 
> Favourite early period: 6, 7, 8, 13.
> 
> Favourite Sturm und Drang: 26, 44, 45, 49, 48, 52, 46
> 
> Favourite 'transition': 53 and 75 stand out so far, though 69 and 70 are pretty good too.
> 
> Favourite Paris: 84, perhaps - though 85 and 86 are awesome too. Can't forget The Bear either .


We're on the same wavelength. The only thing is I've yet to really get into the Paris symphonies--not quite liking yet. I find myself listening a lot to those exact symphonies you name--an excellent start kit for any curious newbie. Or old hat looking for selected highlights to revisit. Well-chosen, I say.

One of these days I want to start a thread here collecting info and thoughts on the Ernst Märzendorfer LP set--the first complete series recorded as you know, though some apparently don't. This year on eBay I stumbled across a near-complete set for virtually nothing, and over the holidays found that my dad owned the two missing LPs. So now I have the whole set. If I ever find the free time I'd love to rip them into FLACs and share, but probably won't happen. Slowly but surely I'll work my way through listening though.


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## Funny

Just listened to 88 again yesterday and I had to remark that although it's not my absolute favorite, it's such a sturdy symphony - it does just about anything and everything you could ask a symphony to do at the time it was written - and maybe for some time thereafter. It's a shining example of the art form, and always fun to listen to on a moment-by-moment basis.


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## Funny

DebussyDoesDallas said:


> The first symphonies of Haydn's I fell in love with were the Sturm and Drang, especially the minor key ones. Above all, I never tire of the "Mourning" Symphony, #44. I love all 4 movements equally, which often isn't the case; on the contrary, even my favorite symphonies are often carried by one or two stellar movements while bogged down by a ho-hum one (to me). #44 stands out as one I can listen to all the way through, each movement a knock-out of its kind. And I'm a sucker for classical era minor key works--the right tension of objective, 3rd person form and subjective, 1st person pathos.
> 
> Sure, the London symphonies too. Maybe #93 if I had to pick one.
> 
> My desert island Haydn mix would tend to consist of lots of individual movements--an adagio here, a presto there. Personally I don't mind violating the integrity of multi-movement works and chopping them up for my listening pleasure, especially works not particularly "through-written."


Ha, I just recently have been obsessed with 44. Reading Webster's 'Farewell Symphony...' has made me more alert to thematic and motivic connections Haydn made between different movements, and this is another one that deserves extensive commentary more learned than I could provide (does anyone know a source for same? Webster only mentions the work a handful of times in 'Farewell...' and never delves into it).

Although I too love all the movements of this one, the 4th is really just about my favorite single movement in all of Haydn, and that's saying something. I went looking for individual clips of just this movement, and came away with a cautionary tale of determining one's liking for music based on one performance. With no disrespect intended, I found this one to be utterly opaque and mechanical, as though just stepping through note-for-note without any attempt at perceiving or delivering something other than each note where it's supposed to go...





I then sought out one that I felt said the conductor had some idea of what he wanted to do with the music, and this was the one I landed on. Unsurprisingly, I guess, it's Adam Fischer's, which I had not yet heard.





Either way, it's an excellent symphony and deserves to be heard and enjoyed more.


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## Vaneyes

92 Oxford. Recs Szell, Bohm.:tiphat:


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## DebussyDoesDallas

Funny said:


> Ha, I just recently have been obsessed with 44. Reading Webster's 'Farewell Symphony...' has made me more alert to thematic and motivic connections Haydn made between different movements, and this is another one that deserves extensive commentary more learned than I could provide (does anyone know a source for same? Webster only mentions the work a handful of times in 'Farewell...' and never delves into it).
> 
> Although I too love all the movements of this one, the 4th is really just about my favorite single movement in all of Haydn, and that's saying something. I went looking for individual clips of just this movement, and came away with a cautionary tale of determining one's liking for music based on one performance. With no disrespect intended, I found this one to be utterly opaque and mechanical, as though just stepping through note-for-note without any attempt at perceiving or delivering something other than each note where it's supposed to go...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I then sought out one that I felt said the conductor had some idea of what he wanted to do with the music, and this was the one I landed on. Unsurprisingly, I guess, it's Adam Fischer's, which I had not yet heard.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Either way, it's an excellent symphony and deserves to be heard and enjoyed more.


I checked out those links--indeed, Fisher is topnotch on #44, as many, many others (His #39 is unbelievable.) So dynamic, emotive, musical. His is my overall favorite complete set, and I've heard much of all the sets out there. You can grab it pretty affordably online.

The other performance I agree falls pretty flat. Even a bland performance of this piece, however, I can enjoy.

I'm going to seek out this Webster's "Farewell..." Thanks for the heads-up.

The recent bio "Playing Before the Lord" is worthwhile, including in-depth analysis of a couple more obscure symphonies, which are hard to come by. "Exploring Haydn" by Hurwitz can also scratch that itch for learned commentary on rarely discussed pieces.


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## Smileydts

Great recommendation on Fischer's 39--I think that was the first and only time I've heard a real allegro assai!


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## Bridgetower

There are way too many to choose from. I suppose my favorite is his 94th, simply because of how iconic and decadent it is. My complete list of favorites include # 31, 43, 45, 49, 60, 63, 82, 85, 92, 94, 102, and 104. I think I might have missed a few. Or a lot.


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## Bridgetower

Dang, I knew I had forgotten one. I also like 44.


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## hpowders

My favorite Haydn Symphony remains No. 102.


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## Albert7

This is easy.

I love ALL of the Haydn symphonies. No questions asked.

He knew what he was doing in each one.  For that I am blown away.


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## HaydnBearstheClock

Bridgetower said:


> Dang, I knew I had forgotten one. I also like 44.


I've been on a 44 kick recently - Ton Koopman's rendition is excellent! 









It's probably one of his very best. 45 and 49 are also very well done on the disc.


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## jdkeyes

So many great ones to choose from, and still trying to work my way through listening to them all.

Until further listening changes my mind:

Symphony No. 49, _La Passione_
Symphony No. 94, _The Surprise_


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## HaydnBearstheClock

jdkeyes said:


> So many great ones to choose from, and still trying to work my way through listening to them all.
> 
> Until further listening changes my mind:
> 
> Symphony No. 49, _La Passione_
> Symphony No. 94, _The Surprise_


Haydn would've appreciated the symmetry there .


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## hpowders

Haydn 102. Still my favorite. Concertgebouw/Davis.


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## Larkenfield

Symphony No. 91 in Eb by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra—another delightful example of Haydn’s healthy and uplifting creative mastery... He sounds like a man who’s greatly enjoying himself and never at war with the universe. We could use him today


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## Xisten267

I don't know many of them yet, but from those that I do, my preference stays with Nos. 94 "Surprise" and 104 "London".


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## Heck148

can't name just one....some favorites:
#88
#104
#51
#90
#93
so many...
a friend of mine, conducts a small chorus and chamber orchestra - literally knows EVERY Haydn symphony....on demand, he can sing any movement of any Haydn symphony!! knows the key, the structure, the instrumentation...pretty amazing...


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## Brahmsian Colors

Favorites chronologically:

20
31 ("Hornsignal")
84
87
88
92 ("Oxford")
95
96 ("Miracle")
97
98
99


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## Olias

#100 and #104 (especially Mackerras' versions). Also really love the final movement of #63. Its just so catchy.


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## Merl

At the moment 93, 94 and 102. Will change very soon, I'm sure.


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## Brahmsianhorn

100, “Military”

recommendation: Mogens Woldike


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## Ziggabea

Olias said:


> #100 and #104 (especially Mackerras' versions). Also really love the final movement of #63. Its just so catchy.


Similar for me


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## Kiki

Listening to Haydn should be a happy affair.

#94, as done by Marc Minkowski that made the audience burst out laughing! :lol:

The first movement of #103 is brainwashing...


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