The Symphony No. 102 in B flat major

B flat major

B major or B-flat major is a major scale based on B-flat, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats, B/E .Its relative minor is G minor, and its parallel minor is B minor....

, Hoboken I/102, is the tenth of the twelve so-called London Symphonies

London symphonies

The London symphonies, sometimes called the Salomon symphonies after the man who introduced London to Joseph Haydn, were composed by Joseph Haydn between 1791 and 1795...

 written by Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

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Background

It was completed in 1794

1794 in music

-Classical music:*Joseph Eybler – Christmas Oratorio*Joseph Haydn**Symphonies 100 in G "Military" and 101 in D "Clock"**Piano Sonata in E-flat, Hob XVI:52-Opera:*Luigi Cherubini - Eliza*Friedrich Heinrich Himmel – Il primo navigatore...

. It is now believed by many scholars to be the symphony at the premiere of which a chandelier fell from the ceiling of the concert hall in which it was performed. Fortunately, the audience escaped unharmed, supposedly because they had rushed the stage. It was long believed that this "Miracle" event took place at the premiere of his Symphony No. 96

Symphony No. 96 (Haydn)

The Symphony No. 96 in D major, Hoboken I/96, was completed by Joseph Haydn in 1791 as part of the set of symphonies composed on his first trip to London. It was first performed at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on 11 March 1791. Although it is the fourth of the so-called twelve London...

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Movements

The work is in standard four-movement

Movement (music)

A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...

 form and scored for two flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

s, two oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

s, two bassoon

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...

s, two horns

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

, two trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

s, timpani

Timpani

Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...

 and strings

String instrument

A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...

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1. Largo—Vivace
2. Adagio in F major
   F major
   F major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
   
   
3. Menuetto
   Minuet
   A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
   
   . Allegro
4. Finale. Presto

The second movement is an orchestration of the second movement of the F-sharp minor piano trio, Hob. XV/26 also transcribed from F sharp major

F sharp major

F major or F-sharp major is a major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has six sharps.Its relative minor is D minor, and its parallel minor is F minor. Its enharmonic equivalent is G major....

 to F major

F major

F major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...

. The repeats in the trio are written out in the symphony allowing for changes in the orchestration upon the second hearing. Also, the symphony features the cellos playing a rolling triplet accompaniment whereas in the trio, the cello simply doubles the bass.