Easiest Haydn symphony to play

[MISHUGINA]

Hey long time havent been here, how are y'all? I'm conducting a young chamber ensemble and I need them to tackle a not-so-fiendishly-difficult Haydn symphony, but preferably not the "Surprise". Any suggestions?

[greg]

One of the first few he wrote... very light instrumentation and nice, simple music. You could conduct in your sleep.

[Gurn Blanston]

One of the first few he wrote... very light instrumentation and nice, simple music. You could conduct in your sleep.

Welcome back, Mishugina.

Greg, that is only true if you happen to have some virtuosos in your band, since many of the early works have a concerto grosso section of exceptional difficulty because Haydn DID have some virtuosos hanging about, and the master liked to hear them play. Also, in that time the symphony was still being sorted out, and it still resembled the Italian concerto grosso in form and devices, so having a couple of good hornists, for example, is very handy.

But none of them is exactly easy to play, he always had some excellent players and the parts reflect that. I would think that you could get a lot of mileage out of one like #39 in g minor. Very nice work, not often heard, and playable by good players without needing great ones. Dating from 1765, it is one of the very first of the Stürm und Dräng symphonies. They will like it, the audience will like it, and ultimately you will like it.



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Now playing:
A. Karttunen (Cello) & Tuija Hakkila (Fortepiano) - Bia 300 WoO 46 7 Variations in Eb for Cello & Fortepiano on Mozart's 'Bei Männern' from 'Die Zauberflöte'

[MISHUGINA]

Gurnatron, thanks for the tip! I'll be checking that out.