Joseph Haydn

Symphony in E-flat major Hob. I:22

Joseph Haydn wrote Symphony No. 22 in E-flat major in 1764 as part of his tenure as Vice-Kapellmeister at the Esterházy court. The work is unique because of its instrumentation with two cors anglais: this instrument, which Haydn had used in some divertimenti from around 1760 onwards, does not appear in any of his other symphonies – or indeed in those by other composers at that time. The work undoubtedly represents an experiment which Haydn undertook with the sonority of the symphonic genre – although copies of this composition prove that the cor anglais parts were often replaced by flutes or oboes in performances elsewhere. Another peculiarity of this symphony is its slow, serious opening movement with a wind “chorale”, whose striking character may have earned the symphony its (probably not authentic, only later documented) nickname “The Philosopher”.