CHAPTER 28
Conversation with a Leader: Haydn and the Classical Concerto
OVERVIEW
This chapter introduces the Classical concerto, focusing on the formal design sonata-rondo form
as presented in Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the Classical concerto as a genre both influenced by and departing from the
Baroque concerto
2. To understand the multimovement structure of the Classical concerto, and to recognize the
cadenza as a new and unique feature of the genre
3. To recognize the rondo as the standard-final movement form of instrumental works of the
Classical era, as exemplified in Haydn’s Trumpet concerto
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. Display for students the movement outline and forms of Vivaldi’s “Spring” from Chapter
23 and ask them to compare this with the layout of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto. After
reviewing the ritornello design of Vivaldi’s concerto, play the first movement of Haydn’s
Trumpet Concerto and ask the class to note the structural differences and similarities
between the two. Students should detect the “ritornello” concept in both excerpts, but
should also pick up on the thematic areas (first and second themes, exposition,
development, recap) of the Haydn concerto that resemble sonata–allegro form. At the end
of the movement, students should also identify the cadenza as unique to Haydn.
2. Repeat the above exercise, but substitute the first movement of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto
with the final rondo movement (Listening Guide 17). Students should again detect the
“ritornello” effect at work, but also recognize in Haydn the distinct theme of the “B”
sections, a “developmental” “C” section, and again the cadenza at the end. Remind students
that the mingling of rondo form with sonata-allegro form elements leads to the label of
“sonata rondo” for this movement.
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
1. In Chapter 23, we explored a violin concerto by the Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi;
here in Chapter 27 a trumpet concerto by the Classical composer Franz Joseph Haydn is the
focus. Thinking more about the textbook’s idea of a concerto as “conversation,” does the
conversation change when a different instrument takes the stage? What kind of
“conversation” is the trumpet having with the orchestra and what is it about the instrument
and its timbre that contributes to this?
2. The cadenza is a new and important feature of Classical concertos. Search for recordings of
some Mozart’s piano concertos, and hone in on the cadenzas that appear toward the
conclusions of the first movements. Do you notice any similarities between the thematic
material of the cadenzas and that of the previous “composed” music? If yes, do these
“thematic” cadenzas add to the effect and meaning of the music? What do cadenzas offer
listeners that Baroque concertos do not?
TEACHING CHALLENGES
1. It might be necessary to review sonata-allegro form, ritornello form, and rondo form to help
students grasp the formal discussions of this chapter.
2. Employing the term “development” when defining the “C” section of sonatarondo form
of the third movement of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto might need some clarification.
Emphasize that this is a “developmental” section, and compared with the development
sections of pieces in sonataallegro form, this “C” section is much shorter and not as
elaborate (especially when compared with later pieces such as Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony).
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major
Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major
SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Heartz, Daniel. Mozart, Haydn, and Early Beethoven, 17811802. New York: W. W. Norton,
2009. This third and final installment of Heartz’s history of the Classical era presents an
authoritative account of the Viennese masters and their music at the very end of the
eighteenth century. Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto is discussed within the context of his later
years in Vienna in Chapter 6 (“Haydn: Late Harvest”).
Roeder, Michael Thomas. A History of the Concerto. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1994. An
expansive historical study of the genre since the seventeenth century, organized according to
composer and representative works. Haydn is treated in Chapter 10, with commentary on the
Trumpet Concerto.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Conversation with a Leader: Haydn and the Classical Concerto (Chapter 28)
I. The Movements of the Classical Concerto
A. Classical era shifted emphasis to solo concerto
1. solo instrument and orchestra
2. virtuoso soloist: strong conversation leader
3. three movements, fast-slow-fast
4. cadenza: virtuosic solo
a. orchestra falls silent
b. improvisational, free-play or fantasy
B. The Last Movement: Haydns Concerto for Trumpet
1. third movement: fast and lively, often a spirited rondo
2. rondo form: recurring musical idea, refrain (A)
a. (A-B-A-C-A) symmetrical, balanced
b. (A-B-A-C-A-B-A) sonata-rondo, combines sonata-allegro form and rondo
3. thirty-five concertos by Haydn, various instruments
4. trumpet concerto: experimental instrument, keyed trumpet
a. highly lyrical melodies, virtuosic passages
b. explores technical possibilities of he instrument
c. 1800 first performance; manuscript lost until 1929
d. Haydn’s last orchestral work
C. Listening Guide 17: Haydn, Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major, Third movement (1796)
1. sonata-rondo form, AB-A-B-A-CA-B-ACoda
2. unexpected harmonies, sudden dynamic contrasts
3. A section: energetic, opens with rising 4th
4. B section: lighthearted theme turns downward
5. C section: developmental, short motivic calls in trumpet
6. contrapuntal coda; ends fortissimo