Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 2 in C major, Hoboken I/2, is believed to have been written between 1757 and 1761. The symphony is scored for two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings, and continuo.H. C. Robbins Landon, The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn. London: Universal Edition & Rockliff (1955): 616. "2 ob., 2 cor., str., [ fag., cemb. ]" Like many of the earliest symphonies by Haydn and others of the time, it is in three movements:
In the second movement, the wind instruments are omitted and the violins play in semiquavers from start to finish (a kind of perpetuum mobile) with the pattern frequently broken by the use of trills.H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydn: Chronicle and Works, 5 vols. (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1976–) v. 1: "Haydn: the Early Years, 1732–1765", . The violas in this slow movement double the bass part throughout at an octave above.Landon 1955: 203 (e.g., "col basso," which was common in the period). Also, the first and second violins are the same in the second movement. The last movement is "Haydn's first attempt at a symphonic rondo and is characterized by a preoccupation with imitative processes."William E. Grim, Haydn's Sturm und Drang Symphonies: Form and Meaning. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press (1990): 95 It is the only one of Haydn's symphonies that contains no repeat signs.Antony Hodgson, "The Music of Joseph Haydn: The Symphonies", p. 47. It is also one of his shortest symphonies; performances generally last less than ten minutes.
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