Symphony No. 67 (Haydn)

Symphony No. 67 in F major, Hoboken I/67, is a symphony by Joseph Haydn. It was composed by 1779. The Haydn scholar H. C. Robbins Landon calls this work "one of the most boldly original symphonies of this period."^[1]

Movements

The work is scored for two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and strings.^[1] There are four movements:

Presto, ⁶
₈
Adagio B♭ major, ²
₄
Menuetto & Trio, ³
₄
Finale: Allegro di molto, ²
₂ – Adagio e cantabile, ³
₈ – Allegro di molto, ²
₂

This is the only symphony where Haydn opens in fast ⁶
₈ time without a slow introduction.^[2]

At the end of the second movement, the entire string section is directed to play col legno dell'arco (with the wood of the bow).^[1]

The trio of the minuet is scored for two solo violins each playing con sordino on single strings. The first violin plays the melody on the E string and the second violin tunes its G string down to F and plays a drone on the open string.^[3]

The closing Allegro di molto departs from the standard finale form. It features its own internal Adagio e cantabile slow movement. The fast music is first interrupted by a solo string trio (two violins and cello) instructed to play piano e dolce.^[1] The rest of the orchestra elaborates on this slow section, including some passages for the string trio's woodwind counterparts (two solo oboes and a bassoon),^[2] before the initial Allegro di molto section returns and Haydn brings the symphony to its conclusion.

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d HC Robbins Landon, Haydn: Chronicle and Works, 5 vols, (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1976– ) v. 2, Haydn at Eszterhaza, 1766–1790
^ ^a ^b Brown, A. Peter, The Symphonic Repertoire (Volume 2). Indiana University Press (ISBN 025333487X), pp. 160-166 (2002).
^ Hodgson, Antony, "The Music of Joseph Haydn: The Symphonies", p. 50–51