Haydn?s Symphony no. 70 marks a watershed for the composer. Composed at Christmastime 1779 in the wake of the great Esterhazy fire, it may be viewed as the positive result of the composer wrestling with his own artistic integrity. The less-than-kind reviews decrying the lack-luster nature of his recent symphonies induced the composer to return to his instincts despite possible disapproval from his patron. This was after all an exception to the norm, given Esterhazy?s usual supportiveness for his chief house musician. In any case, virtually all of the 70s-numbered symphonies are of consistently high quality and inventiveness.



As with its predecessor no. 69, trumpets and tympani have been added to the standard Haydn orchestration for 70 and it commences with a thundering, angular unison theme; this movement, vivace con brio, may have seen its genesis as an overture, given its nature and comparative brevity. The following slow movement is a canon in double counterpoint, possessing a subtle and meditative beauty. The nature of the minuet is premonitory of an early Beethoven scherzo with its stomping emphasis on the first beat.

Even the trio avoids the ballroom in favor of reverie, and a third surpise comes in the form of a separate coda to this movement as a whole. But the brief yet pithy finale is undoubtedly the work?s crown. The main theme is structured around groups of five reiterated D?s and worked into a triple fugue. A jocular touch closes with two reticent string statements of the main theme and a third bellowed by full orchestra, as though to say ?Yes! Enough already!? Haydn was back in fine form.



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