Haydn's 'real' Miracle Symphony

Synopsis

On today’s date in 1795, Haydn was in England and about to conduct one of his new symphonies at The King’s Theater in London. An early biographer recounts what happened next:

“When Haydn entered to conduct the symphony, the curious audience left their seats and crowded towards the orchestra the better to see the famous Haydn. The seats in the middle of the floor were thus empty, and hardly anyone was there when the theater’s great chandelier crashed down and broke into bits, throwing the numerous gathering into great consternation.

As soon as the first moment of fright was over and those who had pressed forward could think of the danger they had luckily escaped and find words to express it, several persons uttered the state of their feelings with loud cries of ‘Miracle! Miracle!’”

And thus, one of Haydn’s symphonies, his symphony No. 96, came to be called The Miracle Symphony. It’s a nice story, but it actually occurred just before the first performance of Haydn’s Symphony No. 102. Somehow or another the nickname got stuck to one of Haydn’s earlier London Symphonies, and simply refused to become “unstuck.”

In his book, The Symphony: A Listener’s Guide, musicologist Michael Steinberg suggests an elegant solution: He still lists Haydn’s Symphony No. 96 as The Miracle but give the Symphony No. 102 a new nickname: The REAL Miracle.

Music Played in Today's Program

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony No. 96; Concertgebouw Orchestra; Sir Colin Davis, conductor; Philips 442 611

On This Day

Births

• 1669 - French composer and organist Louis Marchand, in Lyons

• 1813 - Russian composer Alexander Dargomizhsky (Gregorian date: Feb. 14)

• 1873 - Austrian operetta composer Leo Fall, in Olmütz

• 1875 - Austrian-American composer and violinist Fritz Kreisler, in Vienna

Deaths

• 1594 - Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, 68, in Rome

• 1789 - French composer, organist and harpsichordist Armand-Louis Couperin, 61, in Paris

• 1934 - Brazilian composer and pianist Ernesto Nazareth, 70, in Rio de Janeiro

• 1974 - Belgian composer Jean Absil, 80, in Brussels

Premieres

• 1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 83 (Erfreute Zeit im Neuen Bunde) performed on the Feast of the Purification as part of Bach’s first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24)

• 1725 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 125 (Mit Fried und Frued Ich Fahr Dahin) performed on the Feast of the Purification as part of Bach’s second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25)

• 1795 - Haydn: Symphony No. 102, in London at the King’s Theater, with the composer conducting

• 1884 - Loeffler: Fantastic Concerto, by the Boston Symphony, Emil Paur conducting

• 1890 - Dvořák: Symphony No. 8, in Prague, with the composer conducting

• 1900 - Chadwick: Adonais (Elegiac Overture), by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke conducting

• 1900 - Gustave Charpentier: opera, Louise, in Paris at the Opéra-Comique

• 1920 - Stravinsky: ballet, The Song of the Nightingale, at the Paris Opéra, with choreography by Massine

• 1921 - Bretan: opera Luceafarul (The Evening Star), in Cluj, Romania

• 1926 - Cowell: String Quartet No. 1 (Quartett Pedantic), at Aeolian Hall in New York City by the Ralph Henkle String Quartet

• 1977 - Ned Rorem: A Quaker Reader for organ, in New York City

• 1978 - Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 1, in London at Royal Festival Hall, by the Philharmonia Orchestra, Simon Rattle conducting