The Symphony No. 94 in G by Franz Joseph Haydn - better known as the “Surprise” Symphony - is a work which earned its nickname for pretty obvious reasons. The famous musical surprise is heard in the second movement: a loud, full-orchestra chord interrupts otherwise fairly quiet music. However, this surprise was not always a part of this piece, nor was it a particularly well thought out compositional decision. Rather, it was added on a whim for the composer’s London premiere of the work. Hear it tonight at 7: our Evening Masterwork on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9.
Evening Masterworks: Franz Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G “Surprise” for February 20, 2024
![Franz Joseph Haydn](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1cf3f6b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/720x350+0+0/resize/880x428!/grayscale/true/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe9%2Fb6%2F80d302984c5aa1c757b2a7b2a06c%2Fwsmr-evening-masterwork-images-for-grove-6.png)