Haydn's Farewell Symphony

"Be good and industrious, and serve God continually."

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)


I played Haydn's Farewell Symphony recently and began thinking of the first time it was performed (a dangerous thing to do when you're trying to transpose). When the piece was originally played, it was conducted by Haydn himself, wearing a powdered wig (part of his contract). His musicians (men only, in those days) performed standing up, playing by candlelight.

Haydn was employed for nearly thirty years by Prince Esterhazy, a very rich and influential Hungarian. Haydn and his chamber group went with Esterhazy to his summer palace annually, in order to entertain the prince. In the summer of 1772, Esterhazy kept his musicians beyond the original agreed upon date. The musicians missed their families and wanted desperately to return home, so Haydn composed his Symphony #45 The Farewell with a not so subtle hint. The fourth movement calls for each musician to play a little farewell melody, snuff out his candle, gather his score and instrument, and walk off the floor. Prince Esterhazy's chamber orchestra slowly dwindles until only two violins are left. The prince got the message, and the very next day, finally ordered his musicians to return home.

During Haydn's time, music belonged chiefly to the nobility and there was little in the way of public concerts. Compare that to our lives now. We have access to the greatest of classical music via radio, CDs, and concerts. Here I was, a woman (wearing pants!), playing a piece that premiered 235 years ago. Our audience was populated by "common" people who were able to attend for free (sponsored by a church and funded, in part, from tax monies for the arts). It felt quite strange when it came my time to leave the stage. But, as I thought back to my counterpart who did so for the first time in 1772, I enjoyed my little connection to history.