TIL Haydn's "Surprise Symphony" was NOT written to wake up sleeping audience members; that was just a myth

Back in school I heard the story that Haydn wrote the "Surprise Symphony" because he was sick of people sleeping through his music, and wanted to startle them awake. It seems like this was a myth.

From the Wikipedia article:

In Haydn's old age, his biographer Georg August Griesinger asked him whether he wrote this "surprise" to awaken the audience. Haydn replied:

No, but I was interested in surprising the public with something new...

Why do all the cool stories from history end up being made up?

pelletbucket ,
@pelletbucket@lemm.ee avatar

it is, however, the reason Emeril Lagasse yells BAM!

apparently he used to be a culinary teacher and he would do it to wake people up.

unreachable ,
@unreachable@lemmy.world avatar

i wish someone made up cool stories about my history

southsamurai ,
@southsamurai@sh.itjust.works avatar

Hey man, you remember that time we went to vegas and had that shootout with some mob goons, banged fifteen hookers, and rescued dogs from a fighting ring?

Great weekend! We gotta do it again sometime

Plopp ,

He can't, as he's currently serving a life sentence for selling grannies.

delirious_owl ,
@delirious_owl@discuss.online avatar

Grannies? Like enslaving old women?

Hildegarde ,

But symphony 45 really was written to resolve a labor dispute. That is true.

FullOfBallooons ,
@FullOfBallooons@leminal.space avatar

Wow, I have such a vivid memory of my elementary school music teacher telling us the exact same story.

delirious_owl ,
@delirious_owl@discuss.online avatar

Throw a citation needed at that bitch

Bougie_Birdie ,
@Bougie_Birdie@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Aw man, in the tenth grade we had to do a music recital and this was the song I chose. Specifically because I knew thirty kids would have to play some music whether they were interested in the course or not, and I thought the whole sleepy thing was a funny bit.

All the cool stories really are made up :(

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