# Haydn: The "Tween" Symphonies



## itywltmt

En français

My post today lines up somewhat with my ongoing look at the music of *Joseph Haydn* - cello works last week, and my 3-pat series (finishing Friday) look at the _Paris _symphonies.

In the first post of that series, I spoke of Haydn's contract with the Court of Esterházy and how Haydn, in renewing that commitment, received more freedom to compose for other orchestras and for other sponsors. The Paris symphonies (composed for the Comte d'Ogny) and the _London _symphonies (composed for impresario Johann Peter Salomon) are of course two major sets of works that stem from that newfound freedom.

But there is a set of 5 more symphonies (numbered 88 to 92) that were composed between those two landmark sets - I call those the "Tween" symphonies - that are also worth listening to and discussing in that same context.

One of the sponsors/dedicatees of these symphonies is the violinist (and something of a slimeball if you believe the stories) Johann Peter Tost. Tost played in Haydn's Court orchestra, and was also the recipient of sets of quartets (opp. 54 and 55). The other main dedicatee was Prince Ernst of Oettingen-Wallerstein, a nobleman who had also connections with orchestras in Paris and London.

Among the best known works of the set are the first and last. Symphony no. 88 is known as "The Letter V", a nickname that has everything to do with how Haydn's symphonies were _catalogued _in the early 19th century. Indeed, one of the major catalogs (pre-Hoboken) of the Haydn symphonies was that of the _London Philharmonic Society_, which assigned _letters _to the symphonies in their repertoire. The 88th is simply "V" in that catalog.

The 92nd (which we featured in an early Tuesday blog) is nicknamed "Oxford" and was, indeed, part of a series of concerts held at that institution in recognition of Haydn being bestowed an honorary doctorate. However, the symphony _wasn't _composed specifically for that occasion.

It is likely the 92nd was composed for _les Concerts de la Loge Olympique_ in Paris - the orchestra Haydn had composed his Paris symphonies for. The work was later given in London, and was added to the Oxford concerts as a matter of _convenience _- Haydn hadn't had time to write an original symphony, and the orchestra had already played the work four months earlier.

The remainder of the symphonies are pure Haydn: formulaic maybe, but full of diversity in tone and surprises. The _YouTube _playlist below assembles all five in "live" performances by well-known orchestras and conductors.

Thanks for YouTube channel magischmeisjeorkest [/HTML](who seems to have a soft sport for Japanese anime).

Happy listening!

*PLAYLIST​*
*Franz Josef HAYDN (1732-1809)*

Symphony # 88, in G Major, Hob. I:88, "The Letter V"
[For Johann Tost]
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons, conducting
Musikverein, Vienna, 5 Oct 2008

Symphony # 89, in F Major, Hob. I:89
[For Johann Tost]
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, conducting
Orchestra Hall, Chicago, 30 Sep 2010

Symphony # 90, in C Major, Hob. I:90
[For Prince Ernst of Oettingen-Wallerstein]
Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest
John Eliot Gardiner, conducting
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, 7 mar 2010

Symphony # 91, in E-Flat Major, Hob. I:91
Symphony # 92, in G Major, Hob. I:92, "Oxford"
[For Prince Ernst of Oettingen-Wallerstein]
Wiener Philharmoniker
Simon Rattle, conducting
Musikverein, Vienna, 19 apr 2009

YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6swnss9F7SHBmto8__1LHnAAafZERTJK

*May 24 2013, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will feature a new podcast "The Paris Symphonies - Part 3" at its Pod-O-Matic Channel . Read more May 24 on the ITYWLTMT Blogspot blog.*


----------



## itywltmt

*We are featuring the music from this post on the For Your Listening Pleasure podcast as a pair of episodes I am posting June 28, 2022 (Part 1, Part 2). The following notes are an update with useful links we have created or discovered since the original post.*

The original post discusses a set of five Haydn symphonies, numbers 88 to 92 inclusive, that that “bridge” the six Paris symphonies and the 12 London symphonies. Since we issued the post in 2013, the “live concert” videos have since disappeared.

However, I was glad to find the complete set as a re-issue on YouTube from the Haydn recordings made by Karl Böhm and the Vienna Philharmonic. The playlist includes, as filler, the Sinfomia COncertnte, Hob:

I:105.










*Franz Josef HAYDN (1732-1809)*

[Part 1]

Symphony # 88, in G Major, Hob. I:88, "The Letter V"

Symphony # 89, in F Major, Hob. I:89

Symphony # 90, in C Major, Hob. I:90

[Part 2]

Symphony # 91, in E-Flat Major, Hob. I:91

Symphony # 92, in G Major, Hob. I:92, "Oxford"

Sinfonia Concertante In B Flat, Hob.I:105

(Featuring Oboe – Karl Mayrhofer, Violin – Rainer Küchl, Cello – Robert Scheiwein)

Wiener Philharmoniker

Conductor – Karl Böhm



YouTube - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m0jZtE6x-wO_P7uXXt2W_xM1UDR8TbVm4

Archive Page - Haydn: The "Tween" Symphomnies : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive


----------

