The re-tuning moment is not really a joke in itself, and It’s worth remembering the original context. All the music of Symphony 60 (‘Il distratto’) began life as incidental music to a German translation of the French play Le distrait (The Absent-minded Man) by Regnard put on at Eszterhaza in 1774. Haydn later took the overture, four entr’actes, and the finale from the music written to accompany the play and re-cycled it as a six movement symphony. Therefore, most of the music had direct programmatic connections with the stage action which explains some of the oddities like the famous re-tuning incident in the sixth movement which had originally accompanied the eponymous character Leander’s forgetfulness. In a similar way, Mendelssohn’s braying donkeys in his Midsummer Night’s Dream overture is not a joke per se, it is there because it reflects the stage action, as indeed do the deep bass notes in the Jaws movie signify the approaching shark in the modern day movie score. The play with Haydn’s music was a success and was later performed in both Vienna and Salzburg, whilst the symphony today is one of the better-known middle period works outside the sturm und drang symphonies.
The notes say that" the musicians have forgotten that their lowest string has been tuned to f instead of g". The tuning up reflects the character in the play. I didn't know this at first so I can now appreciate the "joke". Before that I didn't like that passage. Shows that music in itself can never be funny, when a composer tries this it is just weird and embarrassing.
When writing K491, it was clearly the opening idea of the first movement of Haydn’s c minor Symphony 78 that Mozart had in mind; a number of other composers noted it as well.
Probably a good reason to enjoy the symphony is the violin tuning joke in the sixth movement.
Great humor, drama and some neat chromatic moments.
The re-tuning moment is not really a joke in itself, and It’s worth remembering the original context.
All the music of Symphony 60 (‘Il distratto’) began life as incidental music to a German translation of the French play Le distrait (The Absent-minded Man) by Regnard put on at Eszterhaza in 1774.
Haydn later took the overture, four entr’actes, and the finale from the music written to accompany the play and re-cycled it as a six movement symphony.
Therefore, most of the music had direct programmatic connections with the stage action which explains some of the oddities like the famous re-tuning incident in the sixth movement which had originally accompanied the eponymous character Leander’s forgetfulness.
In a similar way, Mendelssohn’s braying donkeys in his Midsummer Night’s Dream overture is not a joke per se, it is there because it reflects the stage action, as indeed do the deep bass notes in the Jaws movie signify the approaching shark in the modern day movie score.
The play with Haydn’s music was a success and was later performed in both Vienna and Salzburg, whilst the symphony today is one of the better-known middle period works outside the sturm und drang symphonies.
The notes say that" the musicians have forgotten that their lowest string has been tuned to f instead of g". The tuning up reflects the character in the play. I didn't know this at first so I can now appreciate the "joke". Before that I didn't like that passage. Shows that music in itself can never be funny, when a composer tries this it is just weird and embarrassing.
very lively and witty interpretation! Bravo!
the 3rd movement trio opening notes might have paved the way for Mozart's C minor Piano Concerto (24)
When writing K491, it was clearly the opening idea of the first movement of Haydn’s c minor Symphony 78 that Mozart had in mind; a number of other composers noted it as well.
Have you try to do Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351 score video?
Що значить "corni" та "clarini"?
"Corni" значить валторни та "clarini" значить труби.