Joseph Haydn

Symphony in F major Hob. I:67

Haydn composed his Symphony in F major Hob. I:67 around 1775/76, approximately ten years after his creative period began at the Esterházy Palace. At this time, the opera activities there were in a phase of development, which was accompanied by a small expansion of the prince’s chapel. Haydn was now able to employ two bassoon parts in his symphonies for the first time, thus creating a fuller sound in the woodwinds of Symphony No. 67.

As well as the additional bassoon part, this work is characterised by several peculiarities in the strings: towards the end of the slow movement, they play with mutes and “col legno”, the latter instruction being one of the earliest in music history for this style of playing. In the minuet trio, Haydn writes a scordatura for a soloist in the second violins: the lowest string of the violin must be tuned down a whole tone to “f” and is played as a continuous pedal note.