Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor "Farewell"

The story behind this symphony is concrete and verifiable: in 1772, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy had extended his court's stay at his remote summer palace well past the time musicians expected to return home to their families, so Haydn composed a protest in music. The first three movements are taut and intense, written in the unusual key of F-sharp minor, which was almost never used for symphonies and gives the opening an unsettled, dark urgency. Then, in the finale, after a driven Presto section, the music slows to an Adagio, and one by one each player stops, snuffs the candle on their music stand, and walks off the stage, until only two violinists are left playing a quiet duet before the piece ends.

What to listen for

The finale is in two distinct sections: keep track of when the fast Presto suddenly gives way to a slow Adagio, because that is where the theatrical conceit begins. From that point, notice how the texture thins with each player's exit, the harmonies becoming quieter and more bare, until the two remaining violins close the work with a hushed, spare ending.

Recommended rendition

The recording by Frans Brüggen conducting the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has been frequently cited for its period-instrument clarity and careful handling of the finale's staged departures.

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