The Paris symphonies are a group of six symphonies written by Joseph Haydn commissioned by the Count D'Ogny, Grandmaster of the Masonic Loge Olympique. Beginning on 11 January 1786, the symphonies were performed by the Olympique in the Salle des Gardes du Corps of the Tuileries, conducted by Saint-Georges.
The symphonies are:
Parisians had long been familiar with Haydn's symphonies, which were being printed in Paris as early as 1764. H. C. Robbins Landon writes: "All during the early 1780s Haydn's symphonies were performed at the various Parisian concerts with unvarying success, and numerous publishing houses – among them Guera in Lyon, Sieber, Boyer, Le Duc and Imbault in Paris, etc. – issued every new symphonic work by Haydn as soon as they could lay hands on a copy." [1]
The works were composed for a large Parisian orchestra called Le Concert de la loge Olympique (Orchestra of the 'Olympic' (Masonic) Lodge). This organization consisted in part of professionals and in part of skilled amateurs. It included 40 violins and ten double basses, an extraordinary size of orchestra for the time. (Haydn's own ensemble at Eszterháza was never larger than about 25 total.) [2] According to Robbins Landon, "The musicians wore splendid 'sky-blue' dress coats with elaborate lace ruffles, and swords at their sides." They performed in a large theater with boxes in tiers. The performances were patronized by royalty, including Queen Marie Antoinette, who particularly enjoyed the Symphony No. 85, giving rise to its nickname.
The individual responsible for commissioning the symphonies from Haydn was Claude-François-Marie Rigoley, Comte d'Ogny (i.e., Count of Ogny), an aristocrat still in his twenties (his life dates were 1757–1790). The Count, who played in the cello section of the orchestra, was the Intendant Général des Postes (postal service superintendent) and grew up in a very musical household. His father kept a great collection of musical manuscripts, used as the library of the Concert des Amateurs dissolved in 1781, and its successor, the Concert Olympique. Patronage of music may have been an extravagance for the Count, since at his death he left a huge debt of 100,000 livres.
The actual negotiations with Haydn were carried out at Ogny's request by Joseph Bologne the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, celebrated conductor of the Loge Olympique orchestra. Haydn was paid 25 louis d'or for each symphony plus 5 louis for the French publication rights; the sum was apparently very satisfactory from Haydn's point of view, since the lack of copyright laws had generally prevented him from profiting much from his popularity as a composer.
Symphonies 85-87 were republished in Britain soon afterwards, in 1788, by the company Longman & Broderip, rededicated to the Duke of York and given opus number 52. [3] [4]
According to the composer Giuseppe Maria Cambini, [5] who participated in the orchestra, the finest musicians in Paris performed in the premieres of the symphonies, and received them with "rapture". Edited by Saint-Georges, the symphonies were published in Paris by Sieber. [6] The works were very popular with public and press, and were soon published in London and Vienna. Haydn's very good friend Mozart called them "concert essentials".
The anonymous critic of the Mercure de France particularly praised Haydn's ability to write "monothematic" sonata expositions (as they are now called; see sonata form): "this vast genius, who in each one of his pieces knows how to draw developments so rich and varied from a unique theme (sujet) – very different from those sterile composers who pass continually from one idea to another for lack of knowing how to present one idea in varied forms". [7]
Modern critics also appreciate the works. Robbins Landon calls them "a remarkable fusion of brilliance, elegance, and warmth." Charles Rosen writes "There is not a measure, even the most serious, of these great works which is not marked by Haydn's wit; and his wit has now grown so powerful and so efficient that it has become a sort of passion, a force at once omnivorous and creative." [8]
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Franz Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led him to be called "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet".
Mannheim school refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of the Elector Palatine in Mannheim in the latter half of the 18th century and the group of composers of the early classical period, who composed for the orchestra of Mannheim. The father of the school is considered to be the Bohemian composer Johann Stamitz. Besides him, two generations of composers wrote compositions for the orchestra, whose reputation was due to its excellent discipline and the individual skill of its players; the English traveler Charles Burney called it "an army of generals". Their performance style included new dynamic elements, crescendos and diminuendos. Composers of the Mannheim school played an important role in the development of the classical period's genres and of the classical symphony form.
Johann Peter Salomon was a German violinist, composer, conductor and musical impresario. Although he was an accomplished violinist, he is best known for bringing Joseph Haydn to London and for conducting the symphonies that Haydn wrote during his stay in England. He also knew and worked with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Symphony No. 103 in E♭ major is the eleventh of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. This symphony is nicknamed The Drumroll after the long roll on the timpani with which it begins. It is from 1795, and his second-to-last symphony.
Joseph Haydn completed his Symphony No. 92 in G major, Hoboken I/92, popularly known as the Oxford Symphony, in 1789 as one of a set of three symphonies commissioned by the French Count d'Ogny. Instrumentation for the symphony is: flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George(s) was a French violinist, conductor and composer. A biracial Creole free man of color, he is considered the first classical composer of African descent to receive widespread critical acclaim. He composed many violin concertos and string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, violin duets, sonatas, two symphonies and six stage works. Saint-Georges was also known as a champion fencer, good athlete and fine dancer.
The Symphony No. 91 in E♭ major, Hoboken I/91, was written by Joseph Haydn. It was completed in 1788 as part of a three-symphony commission from Count d'Ogny for the Concert de la Loge Olympique, a successor to Haydn's series of "Paris symphonies". It is occasionally referred to as The Letter T referring to an older method of cataloguing Haydn's symphonic output.This triptych also includes Haydn's own Symphony No. 90 and Symphony No. 92.
The Symphony No. 82 in C major, Hoboken 1/82, is the first of the six Paris Symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is popularly known as the Bear Symphony.
Symphony No. 90 in C major, Hoboken I/90, was written by Joseph Haydn in 1788 as part of a three-symphony commission by Count d'Ogny for the Concert de la Loge Olympique. It is occasionally referred to as The Letter R – referring to an older method of cataloguing Haydn's symphonic output. This triptych also includes Haydn's own Symphony No. 91 and Symphony No. 92.
The Symphony No. 84 in E♭ major, Hoboken I/84, is the third of the six Paris Symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is sometimes known by the subtitle In nomine Domini.
The Symphony No. 85 in B♭ major, Hoboken I/85, is the fourth of the six Paris symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is popularly known as La Reine.
The Symphony No. 86 in D major, Hoboken I/86, is the fifth of the six Paris Symphonies written by Joseph Haydn, and was written to be performed in Paris in 1787. He wrote it in Esterháza in 1786, but for an orchestra much larger, at the instigation of Count Claude d'Ogney.
The Symphony No. 87 in A major, Hoboken I/87, is the last of the six Paris Symphonies written by Franz Joseph Haydn. It was written in 1786, but performed in 1787 by the Concert de la Loge Olympique, after having been commissioned for performance there by Count d'Ogney in 1785.
The Symphony No. 80 in D minor, Hoboken 1/80, is a symphony composed by Joseph Haydn in 1784 as part of a trio of symphonies that also included symphonies 79 and 81. This symphony, along with the one that follows it, and the one that precedes it, were not written for Prince Nikolaus, but for a Lenten concert performed in Vienna in March 1785. It is one of the relatively few later symphonies by Haydn to begin in the minor mode. Symphony No 80 is highly structured with both outer movements in sonata form. There is a common modulation pattern seen in all four movements.
Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 31 in D major, Hob. I/31, was composed in 1765 for Haydn's patron Nikolaus Esterházy. It is nicknamed the "Hornsignal Symphony", because it gives a prominent role to an unusually large horn section of four players. Probably because of its prominent obbligato writing for the horns, in Paris, the publisher Sieber published this symphony as a "symphonie concertante" around 1785.
Charles Frederick Horn was an English musician and composer. Born in Germany, he emigrated to London with few possessions and no knowledge of the English language, yet rose to become a music teacher in the Royal Household. As an editor and arranger, he helped introduce the music of Johann Sebastian Bach to England.
Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 11 in E♭ major is a symphony which may have been written as early as 1760 but no later than 1762, meaning that it was written for either the orchestra of the salubrious Count Morzin or the noble Paul II Anton, Prince Esterházy's palace in Eisenstadt.
Rebecca (Scott) Schroeter (1751–1826) was an amateur musician who lived in London during the 18th and early 19th centuries. She was the wife of the German composer Johann Samuel Schroeter, and later, during her years of widowhood, a love interest of Joseph Haydn.
Claude-François-Marie Rigoley, comte d'Ogny was a French nobleman, military officer, patron of the arts, Freemason, and founder of the Concert de la Loge Olympique.
The Concert de la Loge Olympique was a concert company founded in the 1780s by the fermier général Charles Marin de La Haye des Fosses and Count Claude-François-Marie Rigoley. The main conductor was Joseph Bologne de Saint-George.
