| By 1780, the Classical sinfonia/symphony, even taking into account the delightful works of C.P.E. Bach and Stamitz, was still in its embryonic stages, essentially rooted to archaic Baroque compositional techniques. It took the symphonies of Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) to inject a much-needed burst of life into a genre that had reached a point of stasis. Haydn's 104 symphonies, particularly Nos 80-104, finally freed the symphony from the shadow of the Baroque masters. Haydn's symphonies are structurally sound, yet often unpredictable; they are witty and profound at the same time. He is now regarded as the 'Father of the Symphony'. |
 Above: Joseph Haydn. |
 Above: W.A. Mozart |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) perfected the form that Haydn had by then firmly established. His greatness as an opera composer is fully evident in his 41 symphonies, which contain some of the most beautiful melodies in the entire symphonic repertoire, as well as some wonderfully dramatic moments. The Jupiter symphony, No. 41, is arguably his most important contribution to the genre. Its finale is a masterly composition that combines sonata form and fugue in a way that was to remain unequalled until well into the 19th century. Listen to the first movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor (MIDI File, 146k)Courtesy of Minni Ang |
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