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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. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...
in the summer and Autumn of 1781 for the Viennese publisher Artaria. This set of
string quartet The term string quartet can refer 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 violinist ...
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. The "Russian" quartets were some of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
's favorite works by Haydn and in 1785 Mozart dedicated six string quartets to Haydn in admiration of the quartets.


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 (or the key of E) 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 equiv ...
, 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 in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that accompa ...
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 ...
. It also portrayed some new features in Haydn's compositions, for example, the Rondo form, 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 or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the v ...
(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 In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the '' carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informat ...
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 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 that shocks the audience. After this, the first violin plays the A 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 (or the key of C) 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 a ...
, 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 notes 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 (or the key of B) 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 ...
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 (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...
, 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 Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards. Don Michael Randel ( ...
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, he ga ...
'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 in 1778. Heartz, Daniel, ''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 it, cadenza, link=no , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and ofte ...
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 (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : ...
is numbered in variously as No. 33, Hob. III:42 and FHE No. 75. The finale is in double variation form (A B A1 B1 A2) with themes in D major and D minor.


See also

* List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn


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