Haydn - Symphony No. 99 In E-flat Major

After having spent most of his adult life in the employ of  Prince Esterházy, Haydn made two trips toLondon beginning in 1791. London had already taken Haydn's music to heart after the death of Johann Christian Bach in 1782, and he had been approached to go to London before, but had always refused out of loyalty to his employer. When his employer died, his situation changed. His new employer was not as much of a music lover so he disbanded much of the orchestra and gave Haydn his freedom (while still keeping him on salary for bragging rights).  Shortly after Haydn moved to Vienna in 1790, Johann Salomon, a German musician and impresario who had relocated to London, paid him a visit. When Haydn answered a knock on his door, the impresario said (according to Haydn):

I am Salomon of London and have come to fetch you. Tomorrow we will arrange an accord.

Shortly after their meeting, Haydn made his way to the English Channel with Salomon and sailed for England on New Year's Day, 1791.  When he got there  he was feted by London music lovers, made many new friends and participated in many concerts. He stayed in London for two concert seasons and finally made a trip back to Austria in the summer of 1792.

Haydn made his second trip to London in January of 1794 and stayed another two concert seasons. The King and queen of England offered him a suite of rooms at Windsor Castle if he would stay in England, but Haydn went back to Vienna in the summer of 1795.  The London trips resulted in the composition of the twelve London Symphonies, six for each trip. In addition, Haydn also composed quartets, songs, concertos, and other pieces for a total of about 250 compositions. Haydn was now very well off financially as the London trips paid him more money than he had ever earned before, and made him the most famous composer of the time.

The first six symphonies composed for London, Numbers 93-98 were enthusiastically received, along with the second group of six, as can be seen from the excerpt from a review of the February 17th, 1794 concert which included a string quartet and Symphony No. 99 by Haydn as published in the London newspaper The Morning Chronicle on the 19th of February 1794:

...the richest part of the banquet , as usual, was due to the wonderful Haydn. His new quartetto gave pleasure by its variety, gaiety, and the fascination of its melody and harmony through all its movements: and the overture, [a term synonymous with symphony at the time] being performed with increasing accuracy and effect, was received with increasing rapture. The first movement was encored: the effect of the wind instruments in the second movement was enchanting; the hautboy [oboe] and flute were finely in tune, but the bassoon was in every respect more perfect and delightful than we ever remember to have heard a wind instrument before. In the minuets, the trio was peculiarly charming; but indeed the pleasure the whole gave was continual; and the genius of Haydn astonishing [ly] inexhaustible, and sublime, was the general theme. 

Concerts in those times gave a much larger variety of types of compositions. In addition to the string quartet and symphony by Haydn, there was a symphony by a different composer, a violin concerto, and some vocal works thrown in for good measure.

Symphony 99 In E-flat was the first symphony of the second London visit, and it was also the first symphony in which Haydn included parts for clarinets.  It is in four movements:

I. Adagio - Vivace assai -  Eleven of the twelve London symphonies begin with an introduction, with this one being exceptionally rich in modulations; E-flat, B-flat, E minor, C minor, before arriving back at E-flat in preparation for the first theme which is heard in the violins:

The first theme is developed and expanded with additional material, and instead of modulating to a different theme the first theme is repeated in B-flat and the development of the theme continues. Haydn didn't always use a second contrasting theme, but made small changes in the first theme and used it as his second theme. Enough time passes on this variant of the first theme to seem as though this is Haydn's intention, a second theme in B-flat major appears in the violins just before the end of the exposition:

The development begins with the first few bars of the first theme, and as if to make up for the short shrift given to the second theme, there is an extended working out of the second theme with the first theme appearing briefly in the middle of the development. The recapitulation repeats the first theme briefly and transitions to the second theme played in E-flat. With the roles of the themes reversed, the second theme dominates the recapitulation like the first theme dominated the exposition. A fragment of the first theme returns briefly and the movement comes to a close on E-flat.

II. Adagio -  The second movement is also in sonata form and is in the key of G major, a key far from the home key of E-flat. The writing for woodwinds shows Haydn's skill as an orchestrator and the inclusion of the timpani and trumpets in the middle section of the movement shows his ability to use his forces to good effect, for he very seldom included both in any of his slow movements. This middle section foreshadows Beethoven, but Haydn keeps the tension brief and under control.

III. Menuetto e Trio. Allegretto -  This movement is an example of how the minuet continued to evolve in Haydn's symphonies, for with its accents and fermatas it is a direct ancestor of Beethoven's scherzos. Indeed, if the tempo were increased to vivace, the relationship would be even clearer. The trio section is in C major, another key far removed from E-flat.

IV. Finale: Vivace -  A type of finale Haydn was fond of; a hybrid between a rondo and sonata form. The woodwinds pass around snippets of themes between themselves and the strings as the main theme winds through the movement. There is a slowing of the tempo close to the end, but the music picks up speed once again as the woodwinds and strings play a game of tag with motives before this short movement ends in E-flat.