Symphony No. 4 (Haydn)

This article is about the symphony by Joseph Haydn. For the symphony by Michael Haydn, see Symphony No. 4 (Michael Haydn).

Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 4 in D major, Hob. I/4, is one of the earliest symphonies he wrote, believed to have been composed roughly between 1757 and 1761.

The work is scored for 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, strings and continuo. As usual for the period, it is in three movements:

1. Presto, ⁶
   ₈
2. Andante in D minor, ²
   ₄
3. Tempo di menuetto, ³
   ₈

The second movement features a syncopated second violin part. The walking eighth-notes of the second violins are offset by half a step (a sixteenth note) from the first violins that play above it.

The finale is marked Tempo di menuetto, but is not in the ³
₄ time of a minuet, but in the ³
₈ time which is typical of Haydn's other early symphonic finales. Also, unlike other minuets, the movement lacks a central trio section.

References

Sources

• Hodgson, Antony (1976). The Music of Joseph Haydn: The Symphonies. London: Tantivy Press. ISBN 0838616844.
• Landon, H. C. Robbins (1955). The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. London: Universal Edition & Rockliff.
• Landon, H. C. Robbins (1976). Haydn: Chronicle and Works. Volume 1. Haydn: the Early Years, 1732–1765. Bloomington & London: Indiana University Press.