Birth of the Symphony: Handel to Haydn

Featuring

Richard Egarr
Academy of Ancient Music
George Frideric Handel
Franz Xaver Richter
Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Joseph Haydn

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Composition History

Between 1740 and 1800, over 10,000 symphonies were written and performed in diverse locations such as Finland, North Carolina, Sicily, and Poland.

Historical Context

In the early 1700s, vocal music was considered superior to instrumental music, but by the end of the 18th century, instrumental music, particularly the symphony, had gained dominance.

Composer's Artistic Vision

While initially seen as 'pleasant ear-ticklers,' symphonies by the end of the 18th century were considered sophisticated musical genres capable of transporting audiences on emotional journeys.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Ludwig Tieck, a writer, described the symphony in 1799 as a genre that depicts not a single emotion, but 'a whole world, an entire drama of human affects.'

Historical Context

18th-century symphonies were used in various settings, including as background music at courts, curtain-raisers in theatres, to punctuate Mass in Catholic churches, and increasingly in public concerts.

Interpretation

The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) performs on period instruments, inspired by the soundworlds composers would have known, to offer fresh and engaging interpretations of baroque and classical music.

Compositional Technique

By the 1750s, the formal principle later known as sonata form evolved, allowing composers to create works with a strong sense of tonal momentum by recapitulating material in the tonic key.

Alla Hornpipe. Beethoven: Choral Symphony - Handel: Water Music & Ombra mai fu - Wagner: Lohengrin & Tristan und Isolde - Mozart: Ave verum & Requiem - Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique