Symphony No. 101 in D Major

Haydn’s first visit to London during 1791-92 was such a sensation that he returned to the English capital in February 1794. Over the following 18 months, the music he premiered there was crowned by his six final symphonies, Nos 99-104, works in which he raised symphonic form to the summit of its 18th-century perfection. Each work is acutely characterized, Haydn’s imagination and invention seemingly inexhaustible, their expansive melodiousness making them sound entirely effortless while masking the ingenuity of their construction. Symphony No. 101, first performed only a month after Haydn’s arrival in London, owes its nickname “Clock” to the ticking accompaniment of its “Andante” second movement. The work opens with a louring slow introduction, whose brooding character is swept away by the irrepressible high spirits of the “Presto.” After the “clock” movement, the third movement (“Menuetto – Allegretto”), gilded with trumpets, leads to a central Trio section in which a naive flute melody is accompanied by a drone that seems to get stuck on the wrong harmony—beware of performances in which well-meaning editors “correct” Haydn’s “error”! The finale is a masterclass in fashioning a movement of symphonic weight and gravity from a mere scrap of a theme, bringing the work to a rousing, brass-filled conclusion.