Symphony No. 100 (Haydn)

The Symphony No. 100 in G major, Hoboken I/100, is the eighth of the twelve London Symphonies written by Joseph Haydn and completed in 1793 or 1794. It is popularly known as the Military Symphony.

The nickname "Military" derives from the second movement, which features prominent fanfares written for C-trumpets and percussion effects. One reviewer wrote after the premiere that the second movement evoked the "hellish roar of war increas[ing] to a climax of horrid sublimity!"

The work is in standard four movement form and scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, triangle, cymbals, bass drum and strings. In several editions there is only one flute.

The first movement is in sonata form with a slow introduction that hints at motifs that will appear later in the movement. The Allegro begins with a dancing theme which is unexpectedly scored only for flutes and oboes. The strings respond by repeating the theme an octave lower. The tutti then transitions the music to the dominant key for the second subject area, which begins with the first theme transposed to D major. This theme is briefly developed in D minor before a new subject in the dominant is stated with a rocking motif in the violins. Haydn's use of themes and keys here demonstrates an important point about sonata form: the second subject is defined by the new key , not (only) a new theme. The repetition of the 1st subject in the dominant in this movement, at bar 75, is therefore the beginning of the 2nd subject area, even though the new theme does not appear until some twenty bars later.

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