Listen to this through headphones at high volume at your own peril.
Much of the following is drawn from the Wikipedia reference below.
The nickname of Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 – “Surprise” – did not originate with the Austrian composer himself, but you can hear why it was given that name at 0:46. The surprise arrives in measure 16, when the rest of the orchestra joins the first violins in a sudden, thunderous chord.
It’s like – ‘You’re not sleeping in my orchestra‘! Who would’ve thought jump scares dated back to the 18th century?
Haydn’s music contains many jokes, and the Surprise Symphony includes probably the most famous of them all. The music then returns to its original quiet dynamic, as if nothing has happened, and the ensuing variations do not repeat the joke.
His biographer Georg August Griesinger asked him whether he wrote this “surprise” to awaken the audience.
Haydn replied:
No, but I was interested in surprising the public with something new, and in making a brilliant debut, so that my student Pleyel, who was at that time engaged by an orchestra in London (in 1792) and whose concerts had opened a week before mine, should not outdo me. The first Allegro of my symphony had already met with countless Bravos, but the enthusiasm reached its highest peak at the Andante with the Drum Stroke. Encore! Encore! sounded in every throat, and Pleyel himself complimented me on my idea.
The symphony remains popular today and is frequently performed and recorded. It is perhaps Haydn’s best-known work of the genre. For much of his career, Joseph Haydn was among the most celebrated composers in Europe. He was a friend and mentor to Mozart and a tutor to Beethoven. Who wouldn’t kill to have that on their CV? Haydn was hugely impressed with Mozart’s work and praised it unstintingly to others. Mozart evidently returned the esteem, as seen in his dedication of a set of six quartets, now known as the “Haydn” quartets, to his friend.
Haydn wrote the symphony in 1791 in London for a concert series he gave during his first visit to England (1791–1792). The premiere took place at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on 23 March 1792, with Haydn directing the orchestra from the fortepiano (pictured inset).
References:
1. Symphony No. 94 (Haydn) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
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