Author: Benjamin Korstvedt

More than a Sales Pitch: On the Newness of Haydn’s Op. 33 Quartets

            Joseph Haydn claimed on various occasions that his Op. 33 string quartets were composed in a “new and special” manner.  Some scholars have dismissed this phrase, which comes from a series of letters Haydn sent to prospective patrons in Dec. 1781, as a mere sales pitch.  Others contend that this declaration refers to something truly innovative about the style of these quartets.  Since composers of the time made few statements about the nature of their own music, such an unusual comment deserves serious attention.  The context within which Haydn composed Op. 33 is certainly significant; this piece is one of the first works he composed following the lifting of a contractual ban regarding the marketing of his works.  However, we find that Haydn’s claim is best illuminated through exploration of the music itself.  Through critical examination of the music, we will identify a number of musical attributes that make Op. 33 new and special in comparison with his previous collection of quartets, Op. 20.

A particular letter written by Haydn to advertise Op. 33’s quartets includes the “new and special” declaration, but also contains a phrase that deserves attention: “I have written none for ten years.”[1]  It should be noted that ten years is a slight exaggeration, because only nine had lapsed from Op. 20 (1772) to Op. 33 (1781).  However, his mentioning of this suggests that Haydn considered the passage of time an important element, a gap of nearly a decade spent delving into other forms of music. Haydn had started to write operas for Prince Esterházy in 1766, and this trend continued throughout this gap, petering out in the 1780s.  Larsen says that “Haydn’s activities as an opera composer are of a considerable influence on his further development, although initially they did not absorb too much of his compositional power.”  It seems he was conventional in following established opera buffa traditions.[2]  Although Larsen was speaking of the period 1765-72, prior to Op. 20, there is no reason to suspect that opera had any less effect on Haydn’s development in the nine years after 1772.  Rosen states that the quartets in Op. 33 “are informed throughout by the pacing of comic opera.”[3]  Sutcliffe has suggested that further development occurred “In some of [Haydn’s] symphonic slow movements from the 1770s, [where] we encounter a manner that is not necessarily humorous,” but rather “characterized by unusual gestures or oddly timed events.”  Such moments “produce an expressive ambivalence that is in fact one of the strongest attributes of Haydn’s art.”[4]

As previously mentioned, stylistic development was not the only evolution that Haydn endured, for there was a dramatic change in his contract under Prince Esterházy, in 1779.  A significant alteration was the removal of the following statement: “The Vice-Kapellmeister will be bound to compose such music as his Serene Highness shall command, and not let such compositions be communicated to any other party, much less be copied, but they shall remain for his use only and his rightful ownership, and he shall not, without knowledge and permission, compose for any other person.”  The revised contract allowed Haydn to make money by distributing his own manuscripts to whoever wanted them.  For the first time, he could directly reach his audience: the emerging market of middle class musicians who were the “standard bearers of the Enlightenment.”[5]

Existing scholarly views regarding the newness of Op. 33 are contentious.  Sandberger was the first to argue that Op. 33 was indeed “new and special,” and Landon is perhaps his most diehard supporter, or at least the most vehement: “[T]o anyone with a pair of ears it should be obvious that Op. 33 is certainly written in a new and special way.”[6]  Rosen agrees, adding that “[Haydn’s] last series of Quartets, Op. 20. . . had circulated widely and was well known: he must therefore have thought that his claim had some chance of seeming plausible.”[7]

Webster opposes this view, believing “It is high time we abandoned Sandberger’s tale, crisis, trial, triumph, and all.”  He argues that a great deal of Romantic thinking has been projected anachronistically on to the life and works of Joseph Haydn.[8]  Moe disagrees, although his praise for Op. 33 is far more measured than that of more enthusiastic proponents of its newness.  He mentions Op. 33’s “light, popular touch, and the subtle complexities that are hidden behind a false appearance of simplicity.”[9]  Sutcliffe takes perhaps the most inclusive approach, saying “There is. . . no problem in accepting both senses of the phrase [“new and special way”].  If Haydn’s musical technique had advanced in the intervening nine years, then so had his business acumen.”[10]  Regardless, we can see for ourselves within the music.  Sutcliffe says it best: “the claim to a ‘new and special way’ in the writing of these quartets is argued and won within the context of the works themselves.”[11]

Bonds, Mark Evan. “Haydn, Laurence Stern, and the Origins of Musical Irony.” Journal of the American Musicological Society 44 (1991): 57-91.

Grave, Floyd and Margaret Grave. The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Landon, H.C. Robbins. Haydn: Chronicle and Works, vol. 2. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1976.

Larsen, Jens Peter. Handel, Haydn, and the Viennese Classical Style. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1988.

Larson, Jens Peter, Howard Serwer, and James Webster (eds), Haydn Studies: Proceedings of the International Haydn Conference. Washington, D.C. New York: Norton, 1981.

Rosen, Charles. The Classical Style. New York: Norton, 1971.

Schroeder, David P. Haydn and the Enlightenment. Oxford: Clarendon, 1990.

Sutcliffe, W. Dean. “Expressive Ambivalence in Haydn’s Symphonic Slow Movements of the 1770s.” The Journal of Musicology 27 (2010): 84-134.

Sutcliffe, W. Dean. Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 50. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Webster, James. Haydn’s ‘Farewell’ Symphony and the Idea of Classical Style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

Appendix:  the text of Haydn’s famous statement

(by Benjamin Korstvedt)

Haydn’s famous declaration that his Op. 33 Quartets were written in “an entirely new, special manner” appears in a set of letters the composer sent in early December 1781 to several distinguished patrons of music offering them the opportunity to purchase pre-publication manuscript copies of these works.  Three of these letters are extant; apparently several more have been lost.^[1] These letters, which were obviously designed to help sell the quartets, were copied by a scribe, presumably working from Haydn’s own text.  They are signed by Haydn.  The letters are not identical, but each of them contains the phrase “an entirely new, special manner.”  Because of the significance that has been ascribed to this turn of phrase, because the formal eighteenth-century German is slightly obscure, and because the most common English rendering is not quite strict, it seems worthwhile to present the relevant text in the original German (reproducing oddities of spelling and capitalization) together with precise English translations.^[2]

1.  “Derohalben bin ich so frey, deroselben höflichst einen Kleinen auftrag zu thun, weilen mir bekannt, dass in Zürich, Winterthur viele Heern Liebhaber und Groβe Kenner und Gönner der Tonkunst sind, so habe es ohnmöglich verhalten können, dass ein Werck à 6 Quartetten für 2 violin, Alto-viola, violoncello concertante, auf praenumeration à sechs Ducaten correct geschriebener heruasgebe von einer Neue, gantz besonderer Art, denn Zeit 10 Jahren habe Keine geschrieben.”

“Therefore I am taking the liberty of asking you most courteously to place a small order.  Since its known to me that in Zürich [and] Winterthur there are many gentlemen amateurs and great connoisseurs and patrons of music, I certainly cannot conceal [from you] that I am issuing by subscription for the price of six ducats an opus consisting of six quartets, accurately copied, for two violins, alto viola, violoncello concertante, of an entirely new special kind, since I have written none for ten years” (emphasis in the original).

Letter dated Dec. 3, 1781 to Johann Caspar Lavater (Zürich), in Joseph Haydn: Gesammelte Briefe und Aufzeichnungen, ed. Dénes Bartha (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1965), pp. 106-7

2.  “Als hohen Gönner und Kenner der Ton Kunst, nehme die Freiheit, meine gantz neue à quadro für 2 Violin, Alto, Violoncello concertante,  Euer hochfürstlichen Durchlaucht auf praenumeration à 6 Ducaten correct geschriebener unterthänigst anzuerbieten: sie sind auf eine gantz neue besondere Art, denn seit 10 Jahren habe ich Keine geschrieben.”

“As a distinguished patron and connoisseur of music, I take the liberty of most respectfully offering to you, Your Noble Princely Eminence, by subscription for the price of six ducats my entirely new quartets for two Violins, Viola,Violoncello concertant:  they are [composed] in an entirely new special manner, since I have written none for ten years.

Letter dated Dec. 3, 1781 to Prince Kraft Ernst von Oettingen-Wallerstein, in Joseph Haydn: Gesammelte Briefe und Aufzeichnungen, p. 107-8

3.  “Euer Hochwürden und Gnaden, als hohen Gönner und Kenner der Ton Kunst, nehme die Freyheit, meine gantz neue verfertigte à quadro a 2. violin, viola, et violoncello concertante,  auf praenumeration a 6. Ducaten correct geschriebener untertanig anzuerbieten: sie sind auf eine gantz neu Besondere Art, denn zeit 10 Jahren habe ich Keine geschrieben.”

“Your reverence and grace, as a distinguished patron and connoisseur of music, I take the liberty of respectfully offering to you, by subscription for the price of six ducats my entirely newly produced quartets for two Violins, Viola, Violoncello concertant:  they are [composed] in an entirely new special manner, since I have written none for ten years.”

Letter dated Dec. 3, 1781 to Robert Schlecht, Abbot of Salmannsweiler in Baden, quoted in Georg Feder, Haydns Streichquartette: Ein musikalischer Werkführer (Munich: Beck, 1998),  pp. 55-6.  The letter was first published by Georg Feder as “Ein vergessener Haydn–Brief,” Haydn-Studien 1 (1966), pp. 114-16.

Evolving Textures in Op. 33 versus Symmetrical Textures in Op. 20

The four voices of a string quartet exist within complex relationships.  Each instrument maintains a balance by fulfilling primary melodic, secondary melodic, and harmonically or rhythmically supportive roles.  The voices of Op. 20 reside within two types of equally occurring textures.  In the first texture-type, there is a constant melody supported by harmonic accompaniment whereas in the second, the four voices play equal parts in harmony and melody.  In the former type, the violin is usually responsible for primary melodic material while the other three instruments play supportive roles.

The minuet in E♭ major exemplifies the first type of texture.  The first violin is consistently involved in the primary melody, and the bottom three instruments are equally as involved in maintaining harmonic support. This texture is thick, and unchanged. Examples of the violin’s primary role can be seen in Op. 20 no. 2. /iii, 20.3/iii, 20.4/ii and iv, and 20.5/i.

In the second type of texture, the four voices are still of equal with balanced importance, but without the tradeoff among roles.  In some instances, this texture-type appears monorhythmically, in which all four voices harmonically support each other, but are rhythmically in unison, while at other times, the instruments act as a fugue. Each quartet has one movement (Op. 20, No. 1, third mvt, Op. 20, No. 2, third mvt, Op. 20, No. 3, second mvt, Op. 20, No. 4, third mvt, Op. 20, No. 5.second mvt) in which all four instruments play the same rhythm and harmonically support one another, creating a chorale-like texture. In the three fugues, for which Opus 20 is best known, the voices are naturally and completely balanced; they establish and maintain a consistent, symmetrical texture and play the same material.

The unvarying balanced textures provide little in terms of evolving personality to Op. 20’s melodic material. Many themes in Op. 33, on the other hand, evolve in character throughout one movement. They develop as a narrative over time, and Haydn utilizes texture as his main tool of evolution. One clear example of this use is found in the C major quartet’s first movement. Musicians and musicologists today recognize this piece by its nickname, “The Bird.” Although Haydn himself did not coin this nickname, it is quite evident as to its origin.  The moniker refers to the recurring use of grace notes, which create a chirp-like effect.  The chirping is heard again and again, and the technique becomes the movement’s main theme.  Like a storyteller, Haydn establishes a character, one that is an active member of many habitats. This character’s scenery changes and provides circumstances to which this chirping “bird” adapts.  When the character is first introduced, its surrounding elements are thick, like a leafy tree atop which it chirps. The first violin chirps, and the surrounding texture results from the accompaniment of the three remaining instruments. This accompaniment is, at first, quiet and staccato, yet continuous and harmonically strong. The second violin and the viola introduce the “bird’s” surroundings with a stream of unchanging, staccato sixteenth notes in the tonic key. Then, after the first two chirps are heard, the accompanying music crescendos and all three accompanying instruments play relatively slow-moving harmonies to support the melody. (Figure 3.a)

Figure 3.a  Op. 33, No. 3, first mvt, mm. 1-6

The second appearance of the theme (m. 8) is in D minor, but the texture remains the same as its first appearance. The first time we hear the theme in a new setting, in the dominant, and accompanied by only the second violin (Figure 3.b).

Figure 3.b  Op. 33, No. 3, first mvt, mm.43-45

Here the second violin plays a quickly moving accompanying line, providing the theme with more motion than has previously been heard.  Furthermore, the theme’s melody is changed: it is quicker and more fragmented.  Furthermore in measure 43 the first violin again controls the primary role, but the surrounding elements have changed dramatically since the beginning of the movement.  The second violin plays a quickly moving accompaniment, which provides a very thin texture for the first violin’s melody until measure 45.  It is clear that Haydn’s four voices do not play the roles in Op. 33 that they played in Op. 20.  Instead of holding to a repetitive, consistent balanced structure, the four instruments are used primarily as tools for shaping and developing thematic material. This factor is new to Haydn’s quartets, and will be seen throughout Op. 33.

The cello plays an important role in the new textures of Op. 33.  Previous scholars, notably Donald Tovey, have emphasized the cello’s treatment in Haydn’s quartets.  In Op. 20, the cello functions primarily as harmonic support or one as one of four equal voices in a fugue.  The relatively few passages in which the cello assumes a more active role in Op. 20 (for example, its prominent entry in the fourth measure of the first quartet of the set) have been identified by some critics as moments of notable stylistic innovations; however, it is only in Op. 33 that the cello becomes consistently active alongside its four counterparts in developing thematic material, and thus acting as much more than mere accompaniment.  This can be seen in the first movement of Op. 33 no. 3.   When the cello first enters, in m. 4, it plays a fairly conventional accompaniment pattern.  Throughout the first theme (mm. 1-26) its role is as a traditional bass.  Later in the exposition, the cello does enter into thematic dialogue with the other instruments a couple of times (mm. 34-6, 47, 52, and 58).

The cello’s role changes even more prominently in the development section, beginning in measure 60 (Figure 3.c).

Figure 3.c  Op. 33, No. 3, first mvt, mm. 60-69

The section opens with a similar textural arrangement as is heard at the beginning of the piece, but now the cello sounds much earlier, introducing an important dissonance that creates a secondary 4/2 chord.  Six bars later, a motive originally introduced in m. 30 is reintroduced in slightly varied form in m. 66 in the cello’s voice.  Here, the cello may not play a prominent role in melodic terms, but it provides a secondary melody to the first violin’s statement of a melodic line derived from the theme that first appeared in m. 43.  Moreover, by adapting a motive from earlier in the movement and treating it as counter-melody, this passage displays a new aspect of Haydn’s compositional manner, thus exemplifying what Sandberger famously defined as thematische Arbeit, Haydn’s brilliant new method of thematic evolution.  This term loosely translates to “thematic working-out” or “thematic development.”  Thematische Arbeit is established in Op. 33 No. 3, and the moment in measure 66  is a perfect example of the technique.  The cello takes a theme played by the first violin in measure 30 (Figure 3.d), and uses it in a new setting.  This theme is evolving and changing over time, and thus “working out” and “developing” successfully by means of existing within a new texture and taking on a new role.

 Figure 3.d  Op. 33, No. 3, first mvt, mm. 30-31

Suddenly the cello has become something other than the bass as it was earlier in the piece.  It is now active in creating a new texture for the theme, a role it did not possess in its first appearance.  The cello certainly did not play this sort of role in Op. 20.  There, as we have seen, the cello served as either the basis of harmonic foundation or as a community member in the fugal and choral texture-types, but did not enter into the sort of fluid thematic and textural give-and-take that characterizes Op. 33, and that  comprises, we feel, a key element of its “new and entirely special” manner.

Looking ahead to measure 100, the first violin plays this secondary theme that the cello plays in measure 66.  Later in the recapitulation, the second violin actually takes on the “bird” theme, as we’ve seen before (Figure 3.e).

Figure 3.e Op. 33, No. 3, first mvt, mm. 100-102

There is juxtaposition between the first and second violin.  The second violin repeats the first part of the primary theme, which had been played by the first violin previously.  The first violin takes the secondary theme, which we have heard the cello play previously.  Now, it is clear that the changing texture is active in creating a narrative, as the themes have evolved, giving our “bird” a new voice.

Directly before its final appearance, the original theme is played (Figure 3.f) in the second violin.

Figure 3.f  Op. 33, No. 3, first mvt, mm. 161-167

The theme is quickly interrupted before the first violin grasps its title as “prominent melodic leader” and repeats the opening of the movement in its original texture.  Since the chirping has been heard, at this point, in all four voices, and in numerous textural variations, it is difficult for us to hear this finale as a full return of the theme.  The textures have forced a dramatic evolution of the original character to the point that it is impossible to argue, or to hear, this final theme as we did at the opening of the movement.  The last five measures of the C major movement are the “The End” of a narrative about a “bird” who has migrated to many lands, and has returned a changed, matured, “brand new bird.”

Haydn’s captivating, evolving narrative and happy ending serve to entertain the audience in a clever and subtle way.  The thematic development, as seen by Sandberger and other scholars, is a tool to include and interest its listener.  This technique is distinct to Op. 33, and is quite witty and clever. In fact, Haydn’s wit and cleverness are a major part of what makes Op. 33 new and special, and it is to these attributes that we now turn.