Symphony No. 94
Symphony by Joseph HaydnWikipedia
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Search complete. 4 mentions across 4 episodes found for "Symphony No. 94".
Oct 13, 2026
Eric McIntyreHOST
There are lots of ways to create surprise, including the sonic equivalent of the jump scare, where something loud bursts in from an otherwise quiet environment.
Eric McIntyreHOST
Joseph Haydn famously used such an effect in his so-called surprise symphony with a single startling fortissimo chord and drum stroke in a quiet slow movement.
Eric McIntyreHOST
But what do I mean when I say scary gestures? Well, these are situations where things like the articulations of notes, that is, how they begin and end, or how combinations of notes, both melodic or harmonic, might reflect gestures that we tend to recognize as uncertain, surprising, or even aggressive.
Eric McIntyreHOST
Take, for example, the opening of the second work on this program, Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain.
speaker_1NARRATOR
The last light was extinguished, and even Tomasini disappeared.
speaker_1NARRATOR
Then the prince arose and said, "If all go, we may as well go too." The players meanwhile had collected in the anteroom, and the prince said, smiling, "Haydn, the gentlemen have my consent to go tomorrow." It was the composition which afterward became well known under the name of the Surprise Symphony.
speaker_1NARRATOR
In like manner, Haydn, through his music, so to speak, could reduce his ideas and emotions to practical reality.
speaker_1NARRATOR
The chapter of the cathedral at Cadiz desired some music for Good Friday which should follow at the end of and complete the interpretation of the seven words of the Savior on the cross after they had been spoken and explained by the priest.
Beth CohenHOST
Bam! The split, the breakup, the firing, the lawsuit, the ghosting.
Beth CohenHOST
[tense classical music] Joseph Haydn's Surprise Symphony, anyone? [tense classical music] What happened? What?
speaker_2SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
What the hell happened here?
Beth CohenHOST
I've played Carl Orff's Carmina Burana before.
Marc RibotGUEST
And this may seem counterintuitive, but when you realize that every new iteration of music has been perceived as threatening and violent, then it begins to make more sense.
Marc RibotGUEST
I mean, even Papa Haydn's, you know, the Surprise Symphony, da da da da da da da da da bo bap bo, you know, that high bap was written about at the time and spoken about as something scandalous, outrageous, and that was gonna bring about the downfall of the overthrow of the king and the downfall of civilization.
Marc RibotGUEST
So fast-forward to read the early 20th century writings-
Mark Henry PhillipsHOST
Right, of spring