127
Haydn often visited Vienna as part
of Prince Esterházy’s retinue. In this
19th-century painting, he is shown (in
light blue) directing a quartet from his
preferred second violin position.contrasting trio sections, this all
changes as a dissonant A-flat note
is repeatedly accented on a weak
beat, sounding like screams of
anguish. The conventional repeat
of the minuet plays a critical role
in restoring an optimistic mood.
The finale, however, produces
the biggest surprise. Instead of the
conventional fast movement, Haydn
presents an adagio with a calm andChamber groups
In the 18th century, as
education widened and the
middle class expanded,
appreciation of music spread
beyond the court and church.
The number of amateur
musicians with money and
leisure time rapidly increased,
and musical friends would
get together in a “chamber,”
or room, to make music at
home. This created a market
for musical compositions
suited to an intimate setting,
especially for strings, which
blended harmoniously and
were more affordable and
widely available, following
improvements in the
manufacture of instruments.
While string quartets were
the most popular form of
chamber ensemble during
the Classical and Romantic
periods, composers also wrote
for quintets, with an extra
viola, cello, or the addition
of a double bass, and
eventually works featuring
other “fifth” instruments,
such as the clarinet, creating
a richer sound. Work for
woodwind quintets (flute,
oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and
horn) also appeared.
As many middle-class
households acquired a piano
in the late 18th century,
composers produced chamber
music for the piano—the piano
trio (piano, violin, and cello),
quartet (piano trio and viola),
and quintet (string quartet
with piano). The piano duet for
two players at one instrument
also became popular for
domestic and concert
performances, and a number
of composers wrote works for
four hands, including Mozart
and Schubert.reassuring melody. Yet even here
the cello behaves unusually,
climbing into the pitch of the first
violin. After a fast interlude, the
quartet ends peacefully.Haydn’s legacy
It is not known how well the
quartet was received, and indeed,
the much less imaginative works
of a fellow Austrian, Ignace Joseph
Pleyel, were more popular in Paris
at the time. However, less than 20
years later, when Beethoven
produced his Op. 18 quartets in
1800, a revival of Haydn’s quartets
occurred. The style of Haydn’s
83 quartets had revolutionized
chamber music. Schumann studied
them before embarking on his three
Op. 41 quartets, and all future
composers of quartets would take
inspiration from Haydn. ■It can safely be
suggested that there is
no more original Haydn
quartet [Op. 54 No. 2], nor
any that contains more
prophetic innovations.
Hans KellerCL ASSICAL 1750 –1820
US_122-127_Haydn.indd 127 26/03/18 1:00 PM