Cinar Atilla

MHST 464
Gregory Smith
12/16/19

A Comparison of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and Haydn’s London
Symphony

Beethoven’s compositions can be classified as visionary, revolutionary, and

unprecedented. Being the composer of numerous works in various forms, he certainly made an
unsurmountable contribution to Western Classical Music. However, his works stand on the
shoulders of his many predecessors; Haydn and Mozart, who practically established the
structure of sonata form on which Beethoven built wonders. In this manner, he can be thought
of as a student of the Classical Era masters, whose works have paved the way for Beethoven’s
ingenuity to go above and beyond.

The changes between the three symphonies begin in the simplest form,
instrumentation. Haydn’s London Symphony employs a standard string section, two flutes, two
oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, and timpani. Similarly, Mozart’s
Jupiter Symphony features the string section, a flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two
trumpets, and timpani. This setup was fairly standard for them, since they worked with the
instruments available to them. But as Western Music evolved and improved, more and more
instruments began to be included in symphonies. But Beethoven’s 9th surpasses even what was
the standard for his time and features the largest ensemble ever required for a Beethoven
symphony by employing a string section, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, a
piccolo, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and a percussion section of bass
drum, triangle, and cymbals, inspired by and adopted from the Ottoman Army Marching Band,
and voices for the first time ever in a symphony.

The comparative sizes of the orchestras, and how the brass and the percussion sections
are utilized in the compositions cause a difference in the respective feelings of the symphonies.
Especially Mozart’s work manages to maintain a feeling of chamber music because of the
relatively lighter touch of the woodwind section compared to brass instruments intertwined
with the strings and the smaller size of the orchestra as a whole. The difference in the
utilization of the brass instruments play a huge role in this feeling since their main role in Haydn
and Mozart’s compositions are as drones or pulses to add rhythmic value to the music.
Beethoven, on the other hand gives the brass section its own melodies and its own voice.

After instrumentation and utilization of instruments, comes the difference in the

general sound of the compositions. Haydn and Mozart both stuck to the guidelines they formed
in their respective compositions, especially Haydn, who was the more classicist of the two.
Their compositions revolve around compact, isolated ideas and reflecting them in different
ways. But always coming back to them time and time again, never straying too far from the
core of the composition either in melodic or harmonic means. mms. 17-18 of the first
movement of Haydn’s London Symphony comes back again and again, so does mms. 1-4 of
Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony. Their compositions are mainly based on antecedent and
consequent phrases, creating a dialogue between voices. Beethoven, on the other hand, takes
the motivic development to an extreme and rediscovers the main idea again and again in the
extremes. Although the basic principal behind them are similar, Beethoven’s motivic
explorations dig much deeper than Mozart and Haydn’s, therefore Beethoven has a much
bolder sound in his composition. Beethoven also does the exact opposite of this extreme
exploration and builds up the Ode to Joy theme by repeating it over and over again on different
instruments starting from mm. 93 of the fourth movement of the 9th Symphony until the voice
parts come in. Beethoven also makes a difference in the conventional fast-slow-fast-fast tempo
scheme of the four movements of a symphony observed in Mozart and Haydn’s works by
employing a fast-fast-slow-fast tempo scheme for the movements of the 9th Symphony.

But perhaps the most important improvement Beethoven brings to the tradition is to
utilize metronome markings in addition to the tempo instructions of a movement. Neither
Mozart nor Haydn employ this rather beneficial marking in their compositions which both
increase the certainty of the piece and more clearly communicate the composer’s intent to the
performers, making their interpretation of the piece more accurate and in line with the
composer’s idea.

In principal, Haydn’s work is a classicist template which is a textbook example of a

sonata form, both methodical and precise. However, his compositions, although brilliant, lack
the adventurous and joyful sense of Mozart. Jupiter Symphony, especially its last movement is
considered to be one of the most brilliant compositions Mozart produced which reflect his style
brilliantly, joyful and effortless. Mozart communicates a childlike joy in his composition in a
graceful and simplistic manner. Beethoven, on the other hand delivers a more adult sense in his
music, especially in the 9th. His music is more of a reflection on the imperfections of mankind
than Mozart and Haydn, and therefore suggests a more sincere form of communication.