Symphony No. 62 (Haydn)


The Symphony No. 62 in D major, Hoboken I/62, is a symphony written by Joseph Haydn for the orchestra at Esterháza in 1780 or 1781, a good length of time after the writing of Symphony No. 61.

Movements

The symphony is scored for flute, two oboes, bassoon, two horns and strings. There are four movements:
  1. Allegro
  2. Allegretto
  3. Menuetto and Trio: Allegretto,
  4. Finale: Allegro
The first movement contains material which Haydn reworked from an earlier Sinfonia in D, Hob. Ia/7.
The slow movement has a barcarole-like accompaniment, but instead of the typical Venetian gondolier melody over the top, Haydn presents only melodic fragments, teasing the listener into thinking a melody is near always interrupting before one takes shape.
The trio of the minuet features violins and bassoons and frequently loses the downbeat, a trick Haydn would later play to greater effect in the corresponding trio of his Oxford Symphony.
The finale opens piano with ambiguous tonality for the first six measures before the full tutti firmly establishes D major forte in the seventh bar. The finale proceeds in Italian style. The second theme group contains Lombard rhythms which are worked extensively in the development. The ambiguous tonality returns for the six measures of the recapitulation, this time accentuated by counterpoint, before D major returns and symphony drives towards its conclusion.
L.P. Burstein has noted Haydn's use of the VII chord and the VII → V progression in the fourth movement.