Haydn: Symphony No.

94, Surprise, 2nd movement

History of the Composition written by Chad Bandis
MUSIC 1010

This piece by Haydn has an interesting history different from any other symphony
written. It gives the listener a feeling like theyve heard it before, maybe in a movie or at a time
when they danced to it. This piece also really shows the personality of Haydn in the surprise
part of the symphony. It starts out with a soft theme that repeats itself twice, being even softer
the second time. With this the listener has to concentrate more hear the sound, when out of
nowhere the orchestra plays a loud chord making every unsuspecting person jump out of their
seat. In many biographies of Haydn it is stated that he would watch the women in the audience
to see them jump from hearing that. 1Also, on another account, Haydn used the loud chord to
wake up a snoring patron on the front row.
However being an essential part of the Haydns 94th symphony, the surprise was not an
original part of the piece. 2Haydn added the surprise part on a sudden impulse before its
premiere in London on March 23, 1792. 3It was also added in part to compete with his pupil
Ignaz Pleyel who had received the same idea from Haydns other compositions.
As one listens to the symphony it even appears to lead up to the loud fortissimo with a
repeated march-like tune that gets softer the second time. This loud note is played a few times
during the piece, although not as loud as the first, seeming to want to keep the audience awake
as much as possible. The rest of the song feeds off of this sudden change in dynamics from
piano to forte and forte back to piano.
The song continues with the same underlining back ground with the higher strings
playing the melody. At the time 2:14 in the composition the strings start with a sort of call and
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echo melody. The lower strings play their part loud and strong. Then the higher strings play the
same variation, but softer and quieter. They continue this type of music for a few lines of music
before changing.
The melody changes to what seems like slowly going up stairs then sliding down at a fast
pace. After that, a flute comes into play with a light melody with the strings making the song
sound very calming and relaxing. Then before you know it, they hit you again with a loud theme
at forte to make sure youre not falling asleep again. However, in the end, the flute plays the
same light melody as before, but it continues like this to finish the piece.
This symphony seems to tease your brain with many ups and downs not letting your
aching body go to sleep. However, in the end they stop the teasing and finally let the listener
fall asleep right there in the theatre. Haydn was a great composer and really showed how much
he could affect our emotions and worsen sleep deprivation.