One of my most favorite things in music is those little moments that happen that don’t always get explicitly talked about.
Today’s musical moment is a story that I love to tell students when they learn the theme from Haydn’s Surprise Symphony. It’s in the 2nd movement of Haydn’s 94th Symphony. You see, Haydn wrote music that was quite tranquil and peaceful. At least to the king…because it put him to sleep! Well, Haydn didn’t take too kindly to that, and put in a little surprise for the king. Take a listen and see if you can hear the surprise!
Did you hear it? It kind of jumps out at you, doesn’t it? SURPRISE!!! Dynamics in music can be so powerful in many ways. In this case, it woke the king up from his nap! I don’t know if he ever fell asleep again during Haydn’s compositions, but I would be surprised if he did!
Also, check out the newest podcast episode “Get Out of Your Comfort Zone“!