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D. Chamber music
1. two to ten performers: one player per part
2. smaller ensemble, intimate genre
a. players function as a team: equal participation
b. conversations without words
c. predictable musical forms
3. string quartet: most impor tant chamber music
genre of the era
a. instrumentation: violin 1, violin 2, viola, and
cello
b. composers’ private thoughts, profound
music
c. enjoyed by cultivated music lovers
4. other favored combinations: duo sonata, piano
trio, quintet
III. Haydn’s Joke Quartet
A. Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
1. prolific Austrian composer
2. choirboy at St.Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna
3. Esterházys: patronage system at its best
a. patrons for nearly thirty years
b. Haydn directed orchestra, opera com pany,
marionette theater, chapel
4. successful trips to London, 1790s
5. impor tant in development of the orchestra and
string quartet
6. style: expressive harmony, structural logic, var-
ied moods
7. output: over 100 symphonies, 68 string quartets,
concertos, 14 operas, keyboard music
B. Op. 33 Quartets
1. Op. 33, set of six quartets
2. dedicated to Grand Duke Paul of Rus sia, son of
Catherine the Great
OUTLINE
I. Expanding Musical Ideas
A. Theme: musical idea, building block
B. Thematic development
1. melodic outline, rhythm or harmony varied
2. extension, contraction, repetition
3. motive: melodic or rhythmic fragment of a
theme
4. sequence: repeated at higher or lower level
5. larger forms: clarity, coherence, logic
II. Classical Forms
A. Absolute music: no prescribed story or text
1. form impor tant organ izing ele ment
2. recognizable structures; dependent on listener’s
expectations
3. internal forms bind sections into artistic whole
B. Multimovement cycle
1. three or four separate movements in one piece
2. prescribed forms and tempos:
a. 1stmvt: sonata- allegro form; Allegro
b. 2ndmvt: theme and variations or ternary
(A- B- A); Andante or Adagio
c. 3rdmvt (optional): minuet and trio, or scherzo
and trio; Allegretto or Allegro
d. 4thmvt (last): sonata- allegro (or rondo, or
sonata- rondo); Allegro or Vivace
3. instrumental works: symphonies, sonatas, con-
certos, string quartets, other chamber music
C. The fourth movement: rondo
1. lively, upbeat movement, lighthearted theme
2. recurring main theme (refrain) alternates with
contrasting episodes
3. extension of ternary form (A- B- A- C- A)
CHAPTERfi29 Musical Conversations: Haydn
and Classical Chamber Music
Compare this with the motive of the first movement of
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Play the exposition at
least through the pre sen ta tion of the second theme, and
note, for instance, the presence of the motive in the
basses during the second theme.
2. Introduce the Classical era multimovement cycle by
playing snippets of the openings of the pieces mentioned
in the chart on page 172: Mozart: Eine kleine Nacht-
musik, I, and Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, I (sonata-
allegro); Haydn: Symphony No.94 (Surprise), II (theme
and variations or A- B- A); Mozart: Eine kleine Nacht-
musik, III (minuet and trio—18th c.), and Beethoven:
Symphony No. 5, III (scherzo and trio—19th c.);
Beethoven: Symphony No.5, IV, and Haydn, Joke Quar-
tet, IV (sonata- allegro or rondo or sonata-rondo).
3. Before playing the fourth movement of Haydn’s Joke
Quartet in its entirety, play only the A section (to 1:09).
Guide the students through an analy sis of the a and b
themes, with par tic u lar attention to the opening four mea-
sures of the a theme. Compare the repetition of themes
within this A section to the repetition of sections in a rondo
form and ask students to consider how Haydn manipu-
lates these patterns over the course of the movement.
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
1. How does the idea of fixed formal designs, such as those
in the multimovement cycles of Classical era string quar-
tets and symphonies, resonate with the larger philo-
sophical values of the Enlightenment?
2. Compare the rondo form of the final movement of the
Joke Quartet to the ritornello form of the first movement
TEACHING CHALLENGES
For some students, musical form may still be an abstract con-
cept at this point in the semester. In this introduction to
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
3. new ele ments introduced:
a. lively scherzo replaces minuet
b. order of middle movements sometimes inverted
C. Joke Quartet, Op. 33, No.2, fourth movement
1. named after clever fourth movement
2. refrain established (A section): rounded binary
form (a- a- ba- ba)
3. first violin leads conversation
4. humorous coda, playful treatment
D. LG 19: Haydn: String Quartet in E- at Major, Op.
33, No.2 (Joke), IV (1781)
1. Presto, rondo form (A- B- A- C- A- coda)
2. A section: jaunty rondo theme
3. B section: episode, new key, sforzando downbeats
4. C section: episode, home key, violin in high range
5. coda: sudden Adagio tempo, pauses, surprise
ending
OVERVIEW
This chapter introduces some of the standard forms found in
music of the Classical era and notes the importance of the
theme and thematic development in the music of this time.
The chapter also addresses the importance of chamber music
during this period. These ideas are explored with reference
to Haydn’s Joke Quartet, with special focus on the rondo form
of the fourth movement.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To recognize the importance of theme and thematic
development in the music of the Classical era
4. To recognize the fourth movement of Haydn’s Joke
Quartet as a model of rondo form
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
Beethoven’s Symphony No.5. First play the theme of the
Musical Conversations: Haydn and Classical Chamber Music | 115
friends. There are other moments, however, when the
musicians are focused on their music (sometimes closing
their eyes while they play), which distracts a bit from the
collaborative nature of the music- making.
stage: the two friends are seated at the piano together and
take turns singing the verses of the song, ending with
Ray asking Willie for help finishing the chorus. Perhaps
as a touching testament to their friendship, Willie
released this live per for mance as the official music video
for the song after its recording in 1984.
the entire song. There is a lot of laughter among the
band— created by humorous musical exchanges among
exchanges and not fall apart on the stage as a group. The
audience responds to this by applauding and shouting dur-
ing these moments, which are sometimes generated by the
musicians’ own responses to the musical conversation.
SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Stowell, Robin, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. A collection of
YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE
Look for videos of performers from dif fer ent chamber- music
traditions— from the Classical era, but also jazz, country,
rock, hip- hop, and maybe Indian or Chinese classical/tradi-
MODEL RESPONSES
changes or starts and stops in the music. Often during
these moments the musicians smile at one another, which
from an audience’s perspective gives the impression that
the musicians are enjoying their time playing together as
