Symphony No.82 in C major (The Bear) (Hob.I:82) (Full Score)

Haydn Symphony No.82 in C major (The Bear) (Hob.I:82) (Full Score)

Joseph Haydn composed his Symphony No.82 in the early part of 1786.  It is one of the six so-called “Paris Symphonies” that he wrote for the Concert de la Loge Olympique, the leading concert organiser in Paris from 1781, along with the famous Concert spirituel.  Haydn himself never set foot in Paris, and it is not known whether he was informed about the musical taste in this distant city or the large size and high quality of the orchestra he wrote for.  Whatever the case, he did not take these local circumstances into account, but tailored the works entirely to suit conditions at Esterháza Palace, where he also gave the Paris Symphonies their first hearings.

The nickname given to Symphony No.82 “L’Ours” (“The Bear”), did not originate with Haydn nor, depite appearances to the contrary, is it of French provenance.  The first time that the symphony was associated with the image of a bear occurred in May 1788 when Heinrich Philipp Bossler’s Musikalische Anthologie für Kenner und Liebhaber included a piano reduction of the finale under the heading of Bären-Tanz (“Bear Dance”) which comes at the end of the symphony.  Apparently the theme of the finale, with its recurrent twirling figures and pounding bourdun bass, kindled associations with dancing bears of the sort presented at village fairs to the accompaniment of a hurdy-gurdy.

- Large format parts
- Informative Preface (German/English)

- Urtext of the Joseph Haydn Works

- Full score & parts (BA4690) available for sale