Haydn 2032, Vol. 16 - The Surprise

‘Joseph Haydn not only loved to surprise his audience, he also loved to laugh,’ writes Christian Moritz-Bauer in the introduction to this sixteenth part of the complete Haydn recording Haydn2032. One example is the false ending of the symphony composed in 1788, No. 90: The music seems to have reached its final chord, but after a pause, the movement resumes and ends with a powerful coda. Another example of Haydn’s mischievous humor is the famous Andante ‘with the drumbeat,’ which provides the ‘surprise’ of Symphony No. 94, a fortissimo chord intended to wake up the audience that had fallen asleep towards the end of his concerts... In this humorous part, Giovanni Antonini pays tribute to one of Haydn’s greatest admirers, Gioachino Rossini, and plays the lively opening overture to “La scala di seta” (The Silken Ladder), a one-act opera from 1812.