String Quartets, Op. 33 (Haydn)
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The Op. 33 String Quartets were written by
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
in the summer and Autumn of 1781 for the Viennese publisher
Artaria Artaria & Co. () was one of the most important music publishing firms of the late 18th and 19th century. Founded in the 18th century in Vienna, the company is associated with many leading names of the classical era. History Artaria & Co. was foun ...
. This set of
string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
s has several nicknames, the most common of which is the "Russian" quartets, because Haydn dedicated the quartets to the Grand Duke Paul of Russia and many (if not all) of the quartets were premiered on Christmas Day, 1781, at the Viennese apartment of the Duke's wife, the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna.Berger, Melvin. Guide to Chamber Music. New York: Dover, 1985. 196–201. Some scholars theorize that the "Russian" quartets were the inspiration for Mozart's six string quartets dedicated to Haydn, but no direct evidence has been found.


Opus 33 No. 1

This quartet in
B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...
is numbered variously as No. 31,
Hob. The Hoboken catalogue is a catalogue of the musical compositions by Joseph Haydn compiled by Anthony van Hoboken. It is intended to cover the composer's entire oeuvre and includes over 750 entries. Its full title in the original German is ''Joseph ...
III:37, and FHE No. 70. The first movement pretends to start in D major before settling in the home key of B minor, Rosen, Charles (1997). ''The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven'', New York: W. W. Norton & Co. . echoed by Haydn's later quartet in B minor, Op. 64, No. 2.


Opus 33 No. 2

This quartet in
E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...
, nicknamed "The Joke" is numbered in variously as No. 30, Hob. III:38 and FHE No. 71.


Fourth movement

The fourth movement implemented a lighter character, originating from Haydn's first shift from the
minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form tha ...
to the
scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often r ...
. It also portrayed some new features in Haydn's compositions, for example, the
Rondo form The rondo or rondeau is a musical form that contains a principal theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes (generally called "episodes", but also referred to as "digressions" or "couplets"). Some ...
, which satisfied audiences since the form was becoming enormously popular at this time. In a letter to Artaria, Haydn boasted about his pieces by saying, they are "a new and entirely special kind". The rondo form of the final movement remains true to its definition by always returning to the tonic in the refrain.Burkholder, J. Peter. (2006). ''Norton Anthology of Western Music''. New York. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.


Form

The "Rondo" results in an ABACA form. Chronologically, the first
refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...
(A) (mm. 1–35) beginning in E major, repeats each section, (a) and (ba), forming (). In the first episode (B) (mm. 36–71) beginning in A major, moves to F minor and finally resolves to E major at the beginning of the second refrain (A) (mm. 72–106), which is almost an exact repetition of the first refrain (aba) with the only change being the omission of the repeats. The second refrain is not only the arrival point of the tonic, but is also the final point of
modulation Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information. The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...
for the remainder of the piece. The piece then progresses to new thematic material in the second episode (C) (mm. 107–140), but, again, does not modulate to a new key. After the new material, the final refrain (A) (mm. 141–147), should be considered A' due to the refrain material being condensed. The 'joke' referred to in the nickname is to be found at the conclusion of this movement. It begins with a
grand pause Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), s ...
that makes the audience wonder if the piece is over. This is followed by a sudden forte sixteenth note in the beginning of the
adagio Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to: Music * Adagio, a tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner * Adagio (band), a French progressive metal band Albums * ''Adag ...
that shocks the audience. After this, the first violin plays the A
theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...
of the opening phrase with rests interrupting the music every two bars. The rests get progressively longer, giving the impression that the piece is over many times in a row, after which the music ends abruptly with a repeat of half of the movement's opening phrase, leaving the work hanging in mid-air.


Opus 33 No. 3

This quartet in
C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...
, nicknamed "The Bird" is numbered variously as No. 32, Hob. III:39, and FHE No. 72. The first movement opens with a melody in the first violin featuring repeated notes.
Grace note A grace note is a kind of music notation denoting several kinds of musical ornament (music), ornaments. It is usually printed smaller to indicate that it is melodically and harmonically nonessential. When occurring by itself, a single grace no ...
s are inserted between the repeated notes which gives the melody a "birdlike quality" and hence gives the quartet its nickname.


Opus 33 No. 4

This quartet in
B major B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equi ...
is numbered in variously as No. 34, Hob. III:40 and FHE No. 73.


Opus 33 No. 5

This quartet in
G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...
, nicknamed "How Do You Do", is numbered in variously as No. 29, Hob. III:41, and FHE No. 74. The first theme of the opening movement begins and ends with the same rising four-note
cadence In Classical music, Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a Phrase (music), phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution (music), resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don ...
that gives the quartet its nickname. When the cadence appears at the end of the movement, it is repeated so as to emphasize the end of the movement and not the beginning of the theme. The second movement is an aria in G minor for first violin over a steady accompaniment in the other three instruments. The melody bears a strong resemblance to the oboe theme that begins the arioso "Che puro ciel" from
Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...
's ''
Orfeo ed Euridice (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning an ...
'', which Haydn had directed at
Eszterháza Eszterháza is a palace in Fertőd, Hungary, built by Prince Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy, Nikolaus Esterházy. Sometimes called the "Hungarian Palace of Versailles, Versailles", it is Hungary's grandest Rococo edifice. It was the home of Josep ...
in 1778.
Heartz, Daniel Daniel Heartz (1928–2019) was an American musicologist and professor of music at the University of California, Berkeley. Heartz studied at Harvard University. He lived in Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of ...
, ''Mozart, Haydn and Early Beethoven 1781–1802'', p. 315, Norton (2009),
The movement contains what is essentially a written-out, accompanied
cadenza In music, a cadenza, (from , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist(s), usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing virtuosic display ...
from mm. 41–50, and soon afterwards ends with a unison
pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as 'pinched', and sometimes roughly as 'plucked') is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument: * On bowe ...
G.


Opus 33 No. 6

This quartet in
D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...
is numbered in variously as No. 33, Hob. III:42 and FHE No. 75. The finale is in
double variation Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
form (A B A1 B1 A2) with themes in D major and D minor.


See also

*
List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn Joseph Haydn wrote sixty-eight string quartets. (The number was previously thought to be eighty-three, but this includes some arrangements and spurious works.) They are usually referred to by their opus numbers, not Anthony van Hoboken's catalo ...


Notes


Bibliography

* Bernhard A. Macek (2012) ''Haydn, Mozart und die Großfürstin: Eine Studie zur Uraufführung der "Russischen Quartette" op. 33 in den Kaiserappartements der Wiener Hofburg''. (Wien: Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.) . *
Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...
(2010). ''Music in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries''. The Oxford History of Western Music 2. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 542–555. . (detailed analysis of the "Joke" Quartet).


External links


BBC Discovering Music
*


A visual analysis of Haydn's Opus 33 Quartet no.1
{{Authority control 33 1781 compositions