Mediant Studies

HAYDN
SONATA
no.51 in Eb
Hob XVI.52

Resource notes
And
Assignments

Bruce Baker
 CONTENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2
PERFORMERS 3
INSTRUMENTS 3
ENGLISH AND VIENNESE PIANOS 4
HAYDNS STYLE 6
HAYDN IN THE 1790s 8
HAYDNS SONATAS 9
PIANO SONATA Hob. XVI:52 10
First Movement 11
Second Movement 14
Third Movement 16
ASSIGNMENTS ON THE WORK AS A WHOLE 19

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bailie, Eleanor, The Pianists Repertoire: Haydn, A graded practical guide, Novello, 2006
Cole, William, The Form of Music, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, 0001969.
Gordon, Stewart, A History of Keyboard Literature: Music for the Piano and its Forerunners, Schirmer,
1996.
Hutcheson, Ernest, The Literature of the Piano, Hutchinson (undated)
Kendall, Alan, The Chronicle of Classical Music, Thames and Hudson, 1994 & 2000.
Kirby, F. E., Music for Piano: a Short History, Amadeus, 1995.
Landon, H. C. R. and Jones, D. W., Haydn, his Life and Music, Thames and Hudson, 1988
Parakilas, James, and Wheelock, Gretchen A., 1770s to 1820s: The Piano Revolution in the Age of
Revolutions, in Parakilas, James, ed., Piano Roles, Yale University Press, 1999.
Rowland, David, ed, The Cambridge Companion to the Piano, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Rushton, Julian, Classical Music: a Concise History from Gluck to Beethoven, Thames and Hudson,
1986.
Webster, J. and Feder, G, The New Grove Haydn, MacMillan, New York, 2002.
Westrup, Jack, An Introduction to Musical History, a volume in the Hutchinson University Library series,
Hutchinson 1955.
Williams, John-Paul, The Piano: an Inspirational Guide to the Piano and its Place in History, Billboard
Books, New York, 2002.
http://arts.jrank.org/pages/5161/pianoforte-piano.html, accessed 27 July 2011.
http://my.wn.com/image/FortepianoJAStein.JPG, accessed 27 July 2011.
http://www.squarepianos.com/broadwood.htm,

Copyright 2011 Mediant Studies

 PERFORMERS
The sociology and status of the keyboard sonata in mid- to late-eighteenth-century Vienna was
undoubtedly bound up with women, largely amateurs, for whom music making in private and semi-
private venues was a suitable display of feminine accomplishment. Apart from the Esterhazy sonatas
of 1774all the dedicatees of Haydns keyboard works were women. (Parakilas and Wheelock 1999,
p.116) The English pianist Therese Jansen, later Bartolozzi [to whom Hob. xvi: 52 is dedicated], was
perhaps the most distinguished among Haydns dedicatees. A successful piano teacher in London, Jansen
was named, along with John Field and Johann Cramer, as a favorite among Clementis students. Haydn
honored her with several trios in addition to the late solo sonatas, Hob. xvi: 50 in C major and xvi: 52 in
Eb major. These are works that exploit not only the technical abilities of the player but also the new
resources of sound offered by English pianos that Haydn came to know during his visits to London in the
1790s. (Parakilas and Wheelock 1999, p.116-7) Although we do find exceptional women playing
concertos in public, most often [women] performed before semi-private gatherings in the courtly
chambers and music salons of Viennese nobility, foreign diplomats, and well-connected music lovers.
(Parakilas and Wheelock 1999, p.117) Iconography of the period confirms the impression that
historically correct performances of solo sonatas and trios should feature women at the keyboard. The
exceptional portraits of men at the keyboard tend to be of composersand players of four-hand music.
Apart from their didactic useduets might provide a socially sanctioned opportunity for courtship,
especially if two bodies were to be seated at a five-octave instrument. (Parakilas and Wheelock 1999,
p.117)
It is worth noting that Some of the Haydn sonatas we know as solo works were published in their day
with accompaniments added by others the Haydn enthusiast Charles Burney, for one. This practice
reminds us of the social nature of informal music making in the eighteenth century, in which friends and
family could become listeners and players in turn, depending on the instruments and players at hand.
(Parakilas and Wheelock 1999, p.115) In this context it should be noted that late eighteenth-century
violin sonatas were intended as piano sonatas with violin accompaniment, not the other way around.

INSTRUMENTS
Because publishers were eager to sell Haydns music to the broadest possible market, they often
advertised his keyboard works even his latest compositions as suitable for either harpsichord or
fortepiano. (Parakilas and Wheelock 1999, p.113) However it is apparent that this was not Haydns
intention. There is a clear difference between sonatas intended for piano and those intended for
harpsichord or clavichord. It is interesting to study Haydns C minor Sonata, Hob. XVI: 20. It dates
from a period when Haydn was experimenting with more serious and dramatic elements of the so-called
Sturm und Drang style in his quartets and symphonies as well. In the more intimate domain of keyboard
genres, we might speak instead of the empfindsamer Styl the sensitive style associated with C. P. E.
Bach, whose works Haydn knew and admired. His dynamic indications imply that Haydn intended the C
minor sonata for a touch-sensitive instrument, perhaps the clavichord. When he came to publish the
work in 1780, nearly ten years after its composition, Haydn no doubt considered it suitable for the
fortepiano, for by this time the newer instrument was well known in Vienna. (Parakilas and Wheelock
1999, p.114). As a result, he included dynamic markings, which are missing from most sonatas published
earlier.
However Haydn does not appear to have been consistent in this matter. It should be noted that in the
Auenbrugger sonatas (Hob XVI:35-39) with which the C minor sonata was published, some
movements have a bare scattering of f and p markings, whereas in other movements (e.g. the first
movement only of the C major sonata, Hob XVI:35) there is a wide range of expression, including ff and
pp and cresc, as well as fermata (pauses) and changes of tempo. Parakilas and Wheelock (1999, p.115)
see The range and rapid changes of dynamic effect in the first movement of Hob. xvi:35, as well as in
the first movement of Hob xvi:36, as pointing to the touch-sensitive capability of the fortepiano.
 ENGLISH AND VIENNESE PIANOS
Around 1780 there were several piano makers in competition in Vienna. One of these, Anton Walter,
produced pianos which were renowned for their robustness, characterised by a strong tone, especially in
the bass, and a heavier touch than some other Viennese makers. His instruments were comparatively
expensive, but seem to have been preferred by at least some of the leading pianists in the city. Rowland
(1998 p.25) Mozart and Beethoven are both known to have had a Walter piano. However the price
would have deterred many from purchasing one.
In London, the grand piano had been introduced by Americus Backers about 1770. Other makers such as
Joseph Merlin (1735-1803) and Robert Stodard (fl.1775-96) both, incidentally , makers of combination
piano/harpsichords set up in business. Zumpe was enjoying lively sales of his square piano and
John Broadwood began to capitalise on the market for square pianos. Harpsichords were still being
made in 1800, but in the early 1770s pianos began to outsell them. The leading manufacturer was John
Broadwood; by the end of the century his workshop was producing harpsichords, grand and square
pianos, with an increasing emphasis on the piano side of the business. (Rowland 1998 p.26) It was the
Broadwood pianos which impressed Haydn, and led him to compose in a new style, exhibited in the Eb
sonata Hob. xvi:52. However English pianos were exported to the continent, and continental pianos were
being sold in Britain, so it would be unwise to be too dogmatic about who used which instrument.

Broadwood square piano

The very simple trestle stand shown here is
typical, but from 1785 some of Broadwood's
square pianos were supplied with a more elegant
'French frame' stand, with square tapered legs.
Some had a further refinement being handsomely
bordered in satinwood, and inlaid with elaborate
bandings of exotic timbers at an extra charge of
five guineas. Another optional extra (for two
guineas) was a 'swell' pedal, raising part of the lid.
But the common pedal which most pianists look
for, the sustaining pedal usually expected under
the right foot, was very rarely provided on John
Broadwood's square pianos made before 1800.
From 1780 until c.1805 John Broadwood's square
pianos were fitted with brass under-dampers, the
hammers being hinged on pieces of alum-cured
goatskin.
http://www.squarepianos.com/broadwood.htm

Broadwood grand piano

It was in 1785 that Broadwood began
selling grand pianos. Like his square pianos
they had exactly five octaves. But from
1793 five-and-a-half octaves became the
norm for these larger instruments, though
five octave examples were still commonly
supplied. A grand piano of John
Broadwood's make is shown here. From
1795 onwards Broadwood's square pianos
usually had a keyboard of five-and-a-half
octaves too, but simple five octave
examples are known from dates up to
1802.
http://www.squarepianos.com/broadwood.htm
The two late E-flat Major sonatas, Hob.xvi:49 and 52, represent Haydns approach to two very
different kinds of pianos, the Viennese and the English, and the schools of playing associated with them.
(Parakilas and Wheelock 1999, p.117) He specifically notes the unusual lightness and pleasing action of
the Schanz instrument (Parakilas and Wheelock 1999, p.118), which he recommended for playing the
Hob. xvi:49 sonata in a letter to Frau von Genzinger, for whom he wrote the sonata (Williams, 2002,
p.34).
Rowland (1998 p.23f) points out that Viennese pianos were lighter in
construction than their English counterparts. Viennese hammers are
very light and are usually mounted on the key mechanism itself, pointing
towards the performer. English hammers are mounted on a separate
frame and point away from the performer. Dampers in Viennese pianos
cover every string, whereas most English pianos have an undamped
upper register. Viennese pianos have one rail to check the return of the
hammer, whereas English pianos have a separate check for each hammer.
As a result of the complex English action, the pianos have a heavier
touch, and the thickness of wood used gives them a deeper sound.
Viennese pianos are easier to play, so suit rapid passagework, and
produce a more precise sound, so are well suited to the careful articulation
of late classical works. English pianos can produce thicker, deeper
chords. Viennese piano By Schein

Action of an English piano in the 1780s

Action of a Viennese piano in the 1780s

English pianos also had more keys so Haydns English sonatas tend to have a slightly wider range than
his sonatas intended for Viennese patrons. Continental pianos could include a range of other devices. In
addition to the sustaining and una corda pedals, which were the only two normally found on London
pianos, continental instruments also used the moderator. (Rowland 1998 p.33) Parakilas and
Wheelock (1999, p.118) explain that this device draws a piece of felt between the hammers and strings,
producing a somewhat covered, very soft, ethereal timbre. They claim that the device was unique to
Viennese and German pianos, whereas Rowland (1998 p.33) implies that their use began in Paris, where
from around 1800 it became customary for pianos to have four pedals (knee levers being generally
abandoned at about this time. He also points out that On Viennese pianos a bassoon effect was also
made possible by means of a strip of parchment or silk which was placed against the bass strings to
produce a buzzing sound, stating that the una corda was introduced on these instruments only in the
nineteenth century.
In 1788, Haydn wrote to his publisher In order to compose your three pianoforte sonatas particularly
well I had to buy a new pianoforte. He also mentioned that the piano had been bought from the
Viennese Wenzel Schantz, although we do not know what sort of piano it was. Williams speculates that
this may have been a square piano by younger brother Johann Schantz [which] is exhibited in the
Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It has a damper lift and moderator, and the keys are returned to
their rest position by small brass springs fixed to the balance rail and connected to the underside of the
keys through loops.
When he first visited London in 1791, Haydn stayed opposite the Broadwood factory and showroom. He
composed in a private room in the Broadwood building. He was also given a Broadwood grand piano for
concerts. Williams explains that The action would have required a much heavier touch, giving the
instrument a lingering, sustained tone. The bass register, although lush, was buzzy by modern standards,
and the dry middle register allowed the elaborate ornaments to sing clearly. These differences, along with
an enlarged five-and-a-half octave keyboard, may have provided Haydn with inspiration, as his later
pieces feature thick chords and harmonized treble lines. (Williams, 2002, p.34)
During his London visits, Haydn found that the English action was more resistant to the touch than the
Viennese and produced a much fuller sound; the dampers were raised by pedals rather than knee levers,
and a shift pedal allowed the una corda effect, whereby the hammers could be shifted to strike one, two,
or all three strings. Nevertheless, only once does Haydn suggest use of the damper pedal, indicating
open pedal for twopassages from the opening movement of the C major sonata, Hob. xvi:50.
(Parakilas and Wheelock 1999, p.118)

HAYDNS STYLE
Webster and Feder (2002 p.48ff) maintain that In many ways Haydns style can be interpreted in terms
of the duality in his personality between earnestness and humour a duality which they relate to that
between connoisseurs (Kenner) and amateurs (Liebhaber) which distinguishes different elements of
Haydns output, as well of that of the eighteenth century as a whole. They describe some of Haydns
early work as earnest, at times even harsh, citing names as the Surprise Symphony, the Joke Quartet
(op.33 no.2) and the Clock Symphony as indications of the humorous element. They affirm
nevertheless that wit signifies intelligence as well as humour: his inexhaustible rhythmic and motivic
inventiveness, the conversational air of many quartet movements, his formal ambiguity and caprice, his
brilliant and at times disquieting play with beginnings that are endings and the reverse as an example of
the latter citing half a dozen learned exegeses which have been stimulated by the ending of the Joke
Quartet. They refer to the offense taken by some high-minded listeners to elements of Haydns sacred
music, such as the dance-like triple metres in his late masses. They note that a passage may be
deceptive in character or function, pointing to the D major interlude in the Farewell Symphony as
beginning like a minuet, but in fact playing a crucial tonal and psychological role. They conclude that
Haydn usually juxtaposes or contrasts stylistic dualities rather than synthesize them. They find his
closest approach to synthesis when an ostensibly artless of humorous theme later changes in character
(e.g. Symphony no.103, minuet) or is subjected to elaborate contrapuntal development; the latter is
especially characteristic of finales (e.g. Symphony no.99.) This transformation is related to a comment
that authors quote which Haydn made to Griesinger: Once I had seized upon an idea, my whole
endeavour was to develop and sustain it in keeping with the rules of the art.
Webster and Feder find that, in contrast to the general procedure of contrasting first and second subject in
a movement, A Haydn movement works out a single basic idea; the second theme of his sonata forms
is often a variant of the opening theme. For example, the latter may be a minor variant of the former.
One may note here the importance of the major/minor dualism in eighteenth century music such as
having a minor section in a set of themes and variations on a major tune; the way in which a section in a
minor key is followed by one in its relative major (not dominant minor, as was common in the Baroque
period); the tendency of composers (particularly Schubert) to repeat a theme in a major key in a minor
variant; and the popularity of majore / minore pairs. Webster and Feder assert that the second theme is
often replaced by unstable developmental passages. They concede however that where there is a second
theme which is in some way similar to the first theme, it will be worked out with many contrasting
treatments and effects. They compare this use of contrast with chiaroscuro (light and shade) in painting.
The overall effect is that both novelty and continuity are maintained from beginning to end which one
may call an example of Classical balance. Another example is the way in which, as Webster and Feder
put it, Haydn deliberately courted a union of opposites: his popular style that simultaneously
addressed the connoisseur. They point to the way in which Haydn gives some serious treatment to
ostensibly simple or folk-like tunes of wide appeal. As evidence they cite the surprise raised fourth in
the theme of the Andante of the Drumroll Symphony, no.103 and the horn pedal in the finale of
no.104. They see some movements as progressive in form, continually developing (e.g. the first
movements of Symphonies nos. 92 and 103). Indeed, there is a feeling that in such movements Haydn is
master of the surprise, the ability to give the listener not what s/he has come to expect but something
rather different. Yet there is an overall plan, which aims to provide unity within diversity. Webster and
Feder even see tendencies towards through-composition or cyclic organisation in symphonies 45 (the
Farewell) and 46, and in Piano Sonata no. 30 (Hob. xvi: 28).
Haydn cultivated a classical poise with no superfluous ornaments, nothing overdone, no deafening
accompaniment. Nevertheless in his works can be found nervous bass lines, constant motivic-thematic
development and a rhythmic vitality and unpredictability that can become almost manic, as in the finales
of many later string quartets and piano trios. Balancing this is Haydns belief, articulated by Webster
and Feder (2002 p.50), that the primary purpose of a composition was to move the listener. As a result,
many of his keyboard works are affective in an intimate way. They point out that the chief basis of
this effect was song, noting that Haydn insisted to Griesinger that a prerequisite for good music was
fluent melody. (Webster and Feder 2002 p.50)
Webster and Feder see referential associations in many of Haydns symphonies. They emphasise key
associations, citing as example Eb with the hereafter. It is not surprising then that his last sonata (Hob.
xvi:52, composed when he was already regarded as an old man, Papa Haydn) is in this key.
Haydn was also aware of the need to suit the taste of performers and audience. Haydn was conscious
that he was writing for a contemporary public and not, as Beethoven was to feel, for posterity. Landon
and Jones (1988 p.353) As a result, he made his music for London audiences grander and more brilliant
(Webster and Feder 2002 p.53) than music for Viennese consumption and not only that: In his piano
works of 1794 he systematically differentiated between a difficult, extroverted style for Thrse Jansen
and a less demanding, intimate one for Rebecca Schroeter.
This should not, however, lead us to see Haydn as throwing away the heritage of the past in order to
appeal to modern audiences. He himself acknowledged his indebtedness to C. P. E. Bach (Rushton, 1986,
p.90), and it will be apparent from the analysis below that there are clear echoes of J. S. Bachs keyboard
music in the sonata.
Webster and Feder quote Haydn as writing to Griesinger, I was never a hasty writer, and always
composed with deliberation and diligence. He would fantasise at the keyboard to find a viable idea,
then work out the idea, both at the keyboard and in shorthand drafts, then produce a final copy, moving
passages around as he felt necessary.
 HAYDN IN THE 1790s

Haydn at Esterhazy

Kirby (1995, p.93) points out that, working for aristocratic families in an around Vienna, particularly the
Esterhazys, for most of his career, gave Haydn some advantages: money was never a worry, so he was
able to concentrate fully on his work; he was able to form lasting connections, enabling him to get most
of his work published quite quickly; and, having the entire musical establishment of the court under his
supervision, he was able to experiment. Indeed, when the Esterhazys began to spend more and more
time in their isolated summer palace, he was to some extent cut off from the directions music was taking
elsewhere. He was, as he later put it, forced to become original (Westrup, 1955, p.99). However he did
not always find his situation congenial. After his retirement, he wrote to Maria von Genzinger: How
sweet is some degree of liberty! I had a kind Prince, but was obliged at times to be dependent on base
souls. I often sighed for release and now I have it in some measure. (quoted by Westrup, 1955, p.99,
translation taken from Hadden, J. C., Haydn, p.36-39).

The London years (1791-5)

Johann Peter Salomon was a German violinist and impresario who had moved to London. Hearing of the
death of Nicalaus Esterhazy, he negotiated for Haydn to be given a years leave to work in London. This
was no mean feat: Westrup (1955 p.99) notes that the conditions of Haydns appointment at Esterhazy,
which have been preserved, preclude his writing music for any other person without the Princes
permission, let alone being given a year off! It is not surprising that Haydn jumped at the chance: as
Westrup (1955, p.89) points out, public concerts were a rarity in Haydns time, most orchestras being
maintained by rulers. Even Salomons series of concerts were not easy to maintain, and were far from a
permanent fixture. Westrup credits the social and political changes which followed the French
Revolution as bringing about the formation of permanent bodies like the Philharmonic Society in
London (which was not founded until 1813.)

London was the largest and economically most vibrant city in the world, made even more cosmopolitan
by refugees from the French Revolution (Webster and Feder 2002 p.31). Haydn must have been
gratified to be given a very enthusiastic welcome. He was also fully occupied, giving fortepiano lessons
and conducting a brief affair being among his activities. Now in his sixties, he struggled to keep up
with demands on his time, and it was thought he had retired. An ex-student, Pleyel, arrived on the scene
to conduct competing concerts, and being opposed by a (less talented) student riled Haydn at first,
although they made their peace. Haydn proved that he was still very much a lively force with the so-
called Surprise Symphony.

In July 1792 Haydn returned to Vienna, where his wife persuaded him to buy a small house in the
suburbs. There he taught counterpoint to Beethoven for a while, but he had neither time nor inclination
to correct the exercises systematically, and Beethoven switched to Albrechtsberger. (Webster and Feder
2002 p.35) A surgical procedure and the unrest caused by the Napoleonic Wars led him to postpone a
return to London. He took on students although he does not seem to have given them any systematic
musical instruction and set about producing a folio of works (including most of his later symphonies) to
take with him, hiring former Esterhazy copyist Johann Elssler as amanuensis. By the time he arrived in
London in 1794, the opposition had disappeared; his music became more popular than ever, and his
income swelled accordingly. Having written quite a few symphonies in a short period of time, he now
turned to other genres. He produced a number of trios (sometimes known as accompanied sonatas) and
solo piano sonatas, including Hob. xvi:52.
 HAYDNS SONATAS
There has been speculation as to whether Haydns music might be classified into periods as that of
Beethoven has been. Webster and Feder (2002 p.74) believe that from about 1755 on, Haydns music
was technically masterful, generically appropriate and rhetorically convincing. However some
differences between earlier and later sonatas can be observed.

Haydns earlier sonatas

His earliest sonatas, most often called divertimenti or partitas, all include a minuet as one of two,
three, or four short movements that are simple in texture and design, and full of the triplet and trill figures
and Alberti bass patterns typical of Viennese keyboard style in the 1750s and early 1760s. (Parakilas
1999, p.113) Contrasting with this, Haydns sonatas of the late 1760s and early 1770s are more
individual in expression, explore a greater range of keys, and exploit more fully the keyboard idiom.
(Parakilas 1999, p.113)

Haydns later sonatas (c.1784-1794)

Set of three for Maria Esterhzy (composed and published in 1784)
G major (Hob. xvi:40)
Bb major (Hob. xvi:41)
D major (Hob. xvi:42)
Two sonatas published separately (both composed 1789-1790, published 1792)
C major (Hob. xvi:48)
Eb major (Hob. xvi:49, for Maria Anna von Genzinger)
Three London sonatas
D major (Hob. xvi:51, composed 1789-1790, published c.1800)
Eb major (Hob. xvi:52, for Thrse Jansen, composed 1794, published 1798)
C major (Hob. xvi:50, for Thrse Jansen, composed 1794-1795, published c.1800)
Source: Kirby, 1995, p.95)

Style of the late sonatas

Kirby (1995, p.98) describes the style of these sonatas as follows: The seriousness and intensity of the
sonatas composed in the period 1779-1780 or so have given way to something more moderate in which
Haydn struck a judicious balance between affects (seriousness and intensity versus gallant), formal types
(sonata form, song variations, rondo), and textures (homophonic versus contrapuntal) in keeping with the
Classical notion of the reconciliation of opposites although Kirby observes that because only eight
sonatas are involved, this mature Classical style is found in relatively few of Haydns piano sonatas.
He finds the strict thematic development in the first movement of the Eb major (Hob. xvi:49) sonata
written for Maria Anna von Genzinger worthy of comment. He describes the three London sonatas as
the equal of the best quartets and symphonies. Contrasting with these are the earlier three sonatas for
Maria Esterhzy (composed and published in 1784), which Kirby characterises as gallant pieces in two-
movement form, noting that each has a fast movement (in nos. 40 and 42 sets of variations) followed
by a rondo.

Comparison of Hob. xvi.49, 50 and 52

Of the two E flat sonatas (Hob. xvi: 49 and 52), in the earlier one (Hob. xvi:49) Haydn actually specifies
per il Forte-piano. All movements are in triple time, and there are dancelike qualities. In fact,
Parakilas and Wheelock find a dancelike lilt in all movements, although the first two movements have
other elements as well. The first movement seems to vary between the conversational and the rhetorical,
as Parakilas and Wheelock (1999, p.119) in fact concede. The second movement is marked cantabile.
Parakilas and Wheelock (1999, p.119) note that it fits the view at the time that instrumental music should
emulate the expressive capabilities of vocal music.
Parakilas and Wheelock (1999, p.119f) contrast this with Hob. xvi:52, which has a markedly different
profile, obvious from what they term the grand French-overture-style chords of the opening to the
rousing dash of the Presto finales close. They describe it as a fully theatrical work. The fistfuls of
notes contrast with the thin textures of Hob. xvi:39. They relate the sonata to the London School of
virtuoso playing exemplified by Clementi, Cramer and Dussek, whom they describe as celebrated
pianists who cultivated a public bravura style, noting that their often symphonic textures, extremes in
dynamics, and daunting technical demands reflect the more robust sound and greater resonance of
English instruments made by the firms of Broadwood, Stodart and Clementi. These elements are of
course not found in the miniature sonatinas which learner pianists have been asked to play for time
immemorial, but are present in some of the sonatas. Parakilas and Wheelock compare this English
style with the brilliant passage-work, rumbling broken octaves, rapidly alternating hands, and tutti
orchestral textures of Hob. xvi.50
Webster and Feder compare the two virtuoso sonatas for Jansen: no. 50 in C and 52 in Eb. The former
features a remarkable first movement which, though in sonata form, is based on continual variation of a
basic motif; the latter is on the largest scale throughout and features a slow movement in the remote key
of E major (a tonal relation adumbrated in the development of the first movement and wittily cancelled
at the beginning of the finale).

PIANO SONATA Hob. XVI:52

The dedicatee
Thrse Jansen (born about 1770) was a celebrated virtuoso who in 1795 married a son of the engraver
Francesco Bartolozzi (Haydn was a witness). (Webster and Feder 2002 p.36) Haydn dedicated to her a
number of trios, as well as Piano Sonatas Hob. xvi: 50 and 52. Born in Aachen, Jansen settled in
London, received lessons from Clementi and, in turn, became one of the most sought-after teachers in
London. Already the dedicatee of sonatas by Clementi (his opus.33) and Dussek, Jansen was also to
receive the dedication of Haydns last three piano trios, nos. 43-45. The three solo sonatas [Hob. xvi: 50,
51 and 52] contain ample evidence of Jansens technique, including chains of parallel thirds and octave
passages. The latter contribute inestimably to the bold sonority evident in these sonatas, often
reproducing the noisy atmosphere that commentators found in the composers London symphonies.
(Landon and Jones 1988 p.284)

The style
Bailie (2006 p.215) calls this the most imposing and virtuosic of all Haydns Sonatas. Kirby (1995,
p.98f) calls the sonata especially expressive, averring that it emphasizes virtuoso elements much in the
spirit that Beethoven was later to bring to the genre. Haydn was keen to use all his tricks of the trade
to impress his English audiences, and this sonata draws upon a wide range of techniques. One could, for
example, note that each movement begins with a pedal point. Yet its is a serious work that emphasizes
thematic development, is full of contrast, and exploits the potentialities of its medium the piano.
(Kirby 1995, p.100) Indeed, Kirby goes on to claim that Haydn has brought the piano sonata as a genre
to a level that enabled it to rival those other genres in artistic stature: he overcame the light, gallant
character long associated with the genre.
Landon and Jones (1988 p.284) insist that In a few sonatas in the previous decade Haydn had often
shown a willingness to produce a kind of raw bravura in his piano writing; the last three piano sonatas,
perhaps prompted by the stronger sonority of the English fortepiano as well as Jansens technique, sees
the culmination of this trend in Haydns keyboard music.
Hutcheson (p.65) claims that When [Haydn] adds depth of thought to charm he is truly great, and he was
not unlike most later [presumably eighteenth-century] composers in customarily putting his weightier
ideas into his first movements or into his adagios and andantes. In this sonata there is certainly a good
deal of weight in all movements, although in the third movement many would find charm as well.
Haydn is often seen as a poor cousin of contemporary heavyweights Mozart and Beethoven; this sonata
is proof that he can foot it with the best.
 FIRST MOVEMENT

Form
The movement is an allegro in sonata form. The return of the first subject may suggest to us that the
movement is following sonata rondo rather than strict sonata form. However it is in the dominant of the
original key (i.e. B flat major), and it lasts for only a short time before Haydn launches into a passage that
has the hallmarks of a codetta repeated tonic (B flat major) chords in different positions over Fs in
tremolo octaves followed by chords marking out a Ic - V7 progression, then a running passages over a
succession of tonic and dominant chords on a tonic pedal. Also, the whole section bars 1-43 is repeated.
Kirby (1995, p.90) claims that the principal theme also appears as part of the transition and the close.
By transition he is no doubt referring to the appearance of the opening bar transposed into the dominant
key before the bridge to the second section, and the appearance of bars 1-4, again in the dominant key,
although with a changed ending, before the codetta (bars 33-37). In the appearance in the coda, the
relationship is in rhythm only, and may well escape the attention of the average listener. The device of
repeating the opening idea, sketched in different ways, was exploited by Beethoven in the Pathtique
Sonata five years later.
Gordon (1996, p.121) describes the end of the movement as brilliant. Kirby is impressed by the
approach to the closing sections in both exposition and recapitulation a diminuendo in descending
octaves in the bass accompanied in the right hand by thirty-second note figuration in pianissimo dynamic,
which gives way to a brilliant ascending scale-run that leads to the closing theme although one could
point out that the pianissimo marking to which he refers is of doubtful authenticity. However his
insistence on the importance of figuration is certainly justified in this passage.

Style
Gordon (1996 p.120f) believes that the movement combines majesty, virtuosity, and dramatic gesture,
relying heavily on contrasting dynamics, moose, and rhythms. The magisterial (Bailie) thick chords
and dotted rhythm of the opening are reminiscent of the beginning of the French Overture. Beethovens
Pathtique Sonata (written five years later) opens in a similar way. The combination of these
arpeggiated full chords, contrast between forte and piano, double thirds in the treble followed by a
descrescendo into a piano passage in the alto register of the keyboard, is a particularly masterly
integration of medium and message, unrealizable on anything but the piano. (Landon and Jones 1988
p.284) Landon and Jones also compare the opening series of three arpeggiated chords of this sonata with
those which open Hob. xvi:51 and appear in bar 7 of Hob. xvi:50, as well as the opp. 71 and 74 quartets:
it catches the attention in the same way; although Landon and Jones claim that their function here is
never solely introductory as in the quartets.
Kirby (1995, p.90) comments on the rich soundattained by using the extremes of the keyboard range.
This is related partly to the greater range and the firmer action of the English fortepianos.
Bailie (2006 p.xx) remarks that Haydn delights in the deployment of dotted rhythms, in gaiety in
solemnity, or in passages of high dramatic tension. Equally, triplets are freely used, often in combination
with dotted rhythms. Such rhythmic variety can be observed clearly in this movement.

Analysis
Exposition
1 The thick, low chords sound a little heavy on the modern pianoforte, although they would have
sounded quite different on an eighteenth-century fortepiano. The harmony is interesting: the
chromatic harmony in the sonata begins immediately with a chromatic dominant seventh in the
second chord.
3 As was common in classical style, there is an echo of the opening statement, this time at a higher
register and marked p to heighten the contrast. A slur indicates that Haydn wants this melody to
flow in singing style, contrasting with the drama of the opening chords. Notice the rests that
separate it from both the opening chords and the passage that follows. This is a series of rhetorical
 statements in Classical style, not a Romantic flowing melody. The two-note slur in the bass clef is
also a classical feature.
5 While bar 3 echoed bars 1-2, the passage from the end of bar 4 into bar 5 strengthens the idea
announced at the end of bar 3, both in dynamics (f) and in length, although towards the end it
softens for the next passage.
6 Haydn suddenly changes the mood. Classical rhetoric has given way to romantic bel canto, in a
flowing melody which falls to middle C (enjoying this register of the English fortepiano after
exploring the high register in previous bars) and rises again, landing on an expressive two-note slur.
The accompaniment is not an Alberti Bass which Bailie (2006 p.215) points out is rare in Haydn,
the composer preferring the sort of pattern we have here, alternating a low note with a higher note.
Whereas bass lines tend often to have less importance in classical than in baroque works, here
Haydn has the bass line step down a major sixth, so that when the melody rises it moves in contrary
motion to the bass line, producing a swelling effect. The chromaticism also points towards the
Romantic Period about to begin. Notice that, breaking the usual Classical rule that the last beat of
the bar should be the weakest, Haydn accents the last beat of bar 6, as if the Eb7 chord is
announcing a modulation to the subdominant (Ab) major. In fact, the G natural in bar 7 prevents us
from feeling that Ab major is a destination: as the G sinks to F in beat 2, we realise that it is just
chord iib in the tonic key, Eb major.
8 The arioso is brought to a sudden end by two staccato chords (iib V7).
9 Again Haydn changes the register and one of the top notes (the second G is missing) then
plunges into a rapidly falling scale which again Beethoven may have had in mind in the opening
grave of his Pathtique Sonata, op.113 (written five years later in 1799).
10 A very unstable second inversion of the dominant seventh leaves us yearning for a resolution on the
tonic chord although all we get is one solitary Eb held for a crotchet. Haydn is anxious to recall
the arioso, and does not even wait until the first beat of the next bar to do so. This time, however,
the movement (both in the melody in the bass clef and the top notes of chords in the treble clef) is
all down, in fact the movement speeds up in bar 13. Note the syncopation created by starting the
arioso a beat early and by changing the notes on the top on weak beats (the second and fourth beats
of the bar). Again, we look ahead to Beethoven.
14 Haydn now has a tussle between the upper line (the top notes of the broken chords) and the melody,
steadied somewhat by a held F pedal point. The F pedal suggests that we are moving to the
dominant key, although ominous G flats and D flats suggest that it is Bb minor not major that we
are heading for. The tension is increased by the stepwise contrary motion of the two lines.
16 The tension is increased further by the rapidity of notes, as semiquavers give way to triplet
semiquavers. This, along with the continuing F pedal, and the repeated F (and finally F7) chords
have us expecting the second subject in the dominant major (or more probably minor) key.
However, as Cole (1969, p.34) notes, while first subject, transition and second subject were clearly
marked out in early sonatas, in later sonatas there tends to be a flow between them, so that it is
difficult to say where first subject ends and transition begins. He also points out that it was
common for a transition to repeat and develop the first subject-group, perhaps adding new
material, which is what we have here, the new material appearing in bars 20ff. Rushton (1986
p.92) points out that Haydn often introduces the new key with the first, rather than the second,
subject.
17 Haydn restates the opening in the dominant (major) key. Then scalic passages run up and down at
varying speeds, suggesting a roller-coaster ride (except that the downwards movement tends to be
slower, rather than faster, than the upwards movement).
20 The listener may feel that the previous cadenza was announcing the second subject, but this is not to
be. Haydn wants to engage in more pyrotechnics before we get there. First he confuses us with the
key he has in mind. There are hints of C minor and F major (or is it F minor? The D flat in bar 21
makes us wonder). Then, just as a V7 I progression in F major in bar 22 seems to answer the
question, accented E flat major and C major chords (both syncopated) confuse the issue.
24 Rapid demisemiquaver passages speed up the action, awkward seventh leaps creating some tension.
The top notes (G) build interesting V9 and Iadd 6 chords which heat up the mood further, and the
avoidance of any root position chords leave us in limbo.
25 What seems like a strong V7b Ia progression in Eb major may suggest that we have come home
to the tonic key, and Haydn plays with the third of the chord (G) with consecutive F# and A
natural changing notes as if to give credence to this idea, but a strong cadential 6/4 chord announces
the typically Classical Ic V7 - I progression which firmly establishes B flat major.
27 The first clear cadence for many bars (a root position chord on the first beat of the bar followed by a
rest) ends the section. The second subject what Tovey (Essays in Musical Analysis, quoted by
Bailie 2006 p.217) called the most hilarious tune in the world now dances onto the stage
although the cross relation in beat 2 of bar 28 undermines the gaiety a little. However this is
nothing compared with the sudden crash into B flat minor half-way through bar 29. The use of the
harmonic, rather than the melodic, form of the minor in the bass line in bar 31 arouses further
disquiet.
33 The opening reappears, in B flat major. It leads to three two-note slurs in b36f. The first two may
seem typically Classical, but Haydn has a surprise for us: suddenly the dynamic drops to p and the
last slur is of unison Gs and G flats, preparing us for the tremolo dominant pedal (F) in bar 39
which would have sounded quite forceful on the Broadwood pianos Haydn was encountering.
40 The pianists right hand rushes down over two octaves, with an accompaniment punched out by
solid Ic and V7 chords over a B flat pedal, the Gs in the treble clef suggesting dominant ninths.
41 We now move up two octaves, a demisemiquaver cells repeated ever higher and higher over a B flat
major arpeggio in octaves perhaps suggesting one of Tchaikovskys long sequences.
42 I and V7 chords vie for supremacy, but the tonic chord wins the day, and three block chords end the
exposition just as three block chords began it.
Development
44 Haydn begins the development with a modulation to the unlikely key of C major, effected by yet
another progression of three chords, the second of which is an augmented sixth in C, smoothed out
by stepwise contrary motion in the outer notes.
46 The second (not the first) subject appears in the new key. The demisemiquaver passage which
follows is almost sequential. A series of V9 (the ninth included in the demisemiquavers) I
progressions moves down a major third each time (to D minor, B flat major, then G minor).
Movement up or down a major or minor third is known as chromatic mediants. A discussion of
chromatic mediants can be found on the website of the Southern Methodist University, Dallas
Texas, http://smu.edu/totw/chromat.htm (accessed on 20 June 2011), where Robert J. Frank,
explains that A Chromatic Mediant relationship exists between any two major chords whose roots
are a third apart. This not only includes the familiar bIII and bVI borrowed chords, but also a major
III and VI chord. Such progressions are rare in the Classical Period, but became common in the
Romantic Period. In this case, each key change seems to be effected by a V7-VI progression (as in
an interrupted cadence) although in the after the G minor chord appears, the VI is of course an Eb
major chord (I in the tonic key) which may lead us to think that we have come home. However
the addition of C#s at the end of bar 50 reveals that it is actually an Italian 6th in G minor, which is
subsequently resolved onto the dominant in that key. However even then, Haydn creates
uncertainty by a alternating E naturals and E flats in the treble clef.
51 Two contrapuntal lines over a dominant (D) pedal, with some passages repeated (but with a
different harmonisation) and a downwards sequence are reminiscent of Bach. However this nod
towards the Baroque master comes to an end as, having established the key of C minor with a series
of B naturals, the music settles on tonic chord in that key, hovering for a while in a high first
inversion voicing as if awaiting further instructions.
57 The texture thickens as if leading up to something important. This turns out to be a first inversion
chord in F minor (subdominant of C minor), with a suspended G at the beginning of bar 57 creating
a biting dissonance, which is resolved at the last minute onto the tonic, F only to be followed by
another dissonance, when the C at the top rises to a Db in chord ii7 a rasping tritone above the
root, G which, like the G in the previous bar, is accented for further dramatic effect.
58 A cell announced originally in bar 6 is tossed around registers by the left hand, while the right hand
takes up the accompaniment style originally played by the left hand.
61 The demisemiquaver passage which ended the exposition appears again, although this time in the
tonic key. However it has a sting in its tail: broken chords in the accompaniment step down to an
 unexpected F#, suggesting an incomplete diminished seventh chord, which resolves inwards to a G
major chord. Successive C minor and G major on a G pedal suggest a series of ic V progressions
in C minor, ending on a very firm G major chord.
68 The second theme begins in E major (a chromatic mediant relationship). It is then replayed in A
major. In bars 71-72, a progression recalling that in bar 44f brings us to B minor although by a
succession of downward moving cells played by the left hand Haydn manages to give the
impression that we are actually moving down, rather than up a step.
72 A cell from bar 6 makes an unexpected appearance, swapping hands shortly after it begins.
Gradually the pitch sinks down by step, until a series of V7 chords in Eb major (which we would
probably have been expecting) bring us to the beginning of the recapitulation although not before
some unsettling chromatic switching between chords V7 and the submediant minor chord (ivb).
However it should be admitted that the use of the submediant minor chord in a major key was not
new; it had become one of the stock chromatic chords available to the Classical composer like the
augmented sixth, diminished seventh and Neapolitan sixth. What is perhaps unusual is that by
putting it in first inversion Haydn gives the impression that we are rising, rather than falling.

Recapitulation
79 The first eight bars copy the exposition exactly. The passage worked well in its original position,
and there was no need to try to improve on it. However instead of repeating the opening, then
jumping up three octaves as he did in bar 10, Haydn gradually climbs up the higher register; and
instead of repeating bars 11 ff, he harks back to bars 58ff of the development, the pianists left hand
now having to jump three octaves between repetitions of the cell. He ends this passage by repeating
an ominous chord progression which features contrary motion between lines in the upper and
middle register (the upper notes played by each hand), and marks out not the major, or even the
melodic minor, but the harmonic minor of the dominant (Bb).
93 The opening chord progression is given another outing, an octave above, followed by a running
passage which suggests bars 24ff and 48ff but is in fact new. The linking passage from bars 25f is
then trotted out again, leading to the second subject but this time there are no surprises: it is
seated firmly in the tonic key (Eb major). However Haydn has just one more surprise in mind for
us: suddenly we set off rapidly in the tonic minor. The aberration does not last long, though: The
bass line sinks down by step to Bb, then Haydn wheels in the last statement of the opening chords,
followed by a passage which closely resembles the close of the exposition (although in the tonic
key). Two thick tonic chords hammer in the ending.

Assignments
1. In this movement, how does Haydn exploit the possibilities that English pianos offered him?
2. Explain how this movement looks both backward to the past and forward to the future.
3. What challenges might the movement set before the performer?
4. What use does Haydn make of chromatic harmony in the movement?

SECOND MOVEMENT
Form: an adagio in E major. Gordon (1996 p.121) describes it as a cross between a minuet and trio and
a sonata allegro: A (repeated); B (repeated); C; A; B. He notes that the section marked C is
developmental, but is also rhapsodic in its use of cadenza-like runs, rests, and long note values. The final
presentation of A and B is varied from the original, being, in general, more florid.
Kirby (1995, p.99) notes that both tempo designation and relation to main key of the work are unusual.
The key is certainly unusual, but the same can not really be said of the tempo. All of the three movement
sonatas written around that time have adagios.
Landon and Jones (1988 p.284) note that while flanking a movement in E major by two movements in E
flat may seem a blinding contrast of keys, it is nonetheless carefully absorbed into the work as a
whole. To justify this assertion they note that the development section of the first movement had
featured a paragraph beginning in E major, although in that case it comes after a pause on the dominant
of C minor (which, one may recollect, is the relative of the tonic, Eb major). It is Haydns genius that
the ear accepts both crash modulations without difficulty.
Landon and Jones (1988 p.284) see this large-scale integration of two immensely remote tonalities as
fascinating Beethoven. Few will disagree with this statement. Landon and Jones cite Beethovens C
sharp minor quartet, op. 131, as being likewise fashioned to deal with the conflict of keys a semitone
apart.
One could point out that the key structure of the second movement, including modulations to the flattened
submediant (C) major and the tonic (E) minor, is as unusual as the key structure of the work as a whole.
The following modulation from E minor to its relative (G major) is more what one might expect.
Kirby describes the movement as presenting a simple theme cast in rounded binary form that is greatly
embellished in the galant fashion by scale-runs, grace-notes and rapidly repeated notes. The dotted
rhythm with which the sonata begins occurs frequently in the inner (mostly E minor) section, which leads
Kirby to sense the air of a development, although since the rhythm appears almost throughout the
movement one could describe the whole movement as developmental.
Landon and Jones (1988 p.284) claim that the command of harmonic climax, use of decoration and
contrasting of texture between sections in the E major slow movement of [Hob. xvi:52] profits from the E
major slow movement of the Rider Quartet (op.74 no.3)
1 The rhythm and tempo of the opening theme may suggest a French overture, although the piano
dynamic is not what one would expect in that case. Following short notes by longer notes
(crotchets) in the first two bars is an element of syncopation which would also be unusual in an
earlier period. However Gordon sees similarities with slow movements of several Beethoven
sonatas (e.g. op.2 no.3; op.31, no.2; op.81a).
3 Haydn enjoys the rich timbre which Broadwood pianos gave him in these thick chords.
5 The simple harmonies (using only primary chords) of the first four bars give way to more dramatic
chords in the following section, where Haydn binds together a diminished seventh, a second
inversion subdominant chord, and a chromatic dominant seventh by repeating the opening rhythm
and having outer lines move stepwise in contrary motion.
10 The harmony brings more drama, complete with a biting appoggiatura (the C at the beginning of the
bar), which suggests a diminished seventh but then resolves down onto the root (B) of a dominant
seventh chord. This is followed by chord i in the tonic minor key which is in turn followed by a
dominant ninth (in the unlikely key of C major), which is given extra force by being placed at the
beginning of the bar and being played fortissimo.
12 Haydn deftly adds an A# to the C major chord, creating an Italian sixth in E. This could be
succeeded simply by the dominant (B major) chord, although Haydn decides to squeeze just a little
more tension into the situation by suspending the E and A# of the Italian sixth before they resolve
comfortably only D# and B respectively, over a dominant pedal.
13 The opening chords return, although a brief cadenza shoots us up a couple of octaves for another
chromatic progression, founded on a bass line steadily plodding upwards, until a jump up to a high
syncopated E, placed tellingly two octaves above the accompanying C chord, suggests another
Italian 6th (although the A# is actually just briefly suggested in the preceding demisemiquaver). One
final dissonance is left to us: a three note suspension (a tried-and-true Classical trick), in which a
final dominant seventh resolves at last onto the tonic chord.
19 Now begins a cadenza-like passage which moves back and forth across the keyboard, as if Haydn
was enjoying the range of timbres that the various registers produced. G and C naturals indicate
that the key has switched to the tonic minor. A move to its relative, G major, ends resolutely on a
cadential 6/4 and dominant seventh, the latter again suspended over a tonic pedal.
25 The figure which opened the movement resurfaces in the bass clef, under repeated Ds as binding
notes. A dominant seventh chord at the end of bar 25 is transformed into a dominant seventh in B
 (the repeated Ds giving way to D#). Haydn then extends the rhythm slightly by following the
double-dotted quaver by two hemidemisemiquavers rather than one demisemiquaver, then changes
the rhythm again with the addition of acciaccaturas. (They are written as appoggiaturas that is,
with no cross through the beams but this would not be unusual for Haydn.)
29 The figuration from bar 19 is repeated. This leads to a succession of major 6th/diminished 7th
jumps, and a dominant 7th arpeggio which becomes a diminished 7th as the initial B is replaced by
Cs. An edgy staccato ending followed by a sudden rest leaves us wondering what Haydn will
present to us next.
33 We jump back to the opening section, livened up by arpeggios, slides, passing notes and
acciaccature as was usual during the eighteenth century when repeating a section. (This can be
seen quite clearly in passages which Bach notates with ornaments (such as the Sarabande in his
second English Suite in A minor, BWV807.
50 A short coda on a tonic pedal ends the movement.

Assignments
1. Looked at from an eighteenth century point of view, which harmonic liberties has Haydn taken with
this movement?
2. How has Haydn used rhythm to gain structural adhesion in the movement?
3. How effective is Haydns use of silence in the movement?
4. Would you regard the movement as monothematic?

THIRD MOVEMENT
Form: a presto in sonata form a brilliant sonata-allegro movement that presents Haydn in his most
good-natured, virtuosic mood.
Like the second movement, the opening theme of this movement outlines the tonic and dominant triads
[in fact the latter are dominant seventh chords without the root, which some analysts would call chord
vii] over a pedal-point, a combination which Kirby (1995, p.99) believes suggests folk dances.
Certainly many folk tunes are built on tonic and dominant or dominant seventh chords, and the use of
drone instruments (e.g. various kinds of bagpipes) was common in Europe. One could note as well that
the rhythmic simplicity and repetitiveness of the theme are also common in European folk dances
although Bartoks research into the folk music of the country area to the southeast of Vienna would imply
that many of the rhythms were considerably more complex.
However one should not expect that the gaiety of the opening will be upheld throughout the movement, as
is the case in many Haydn finales. Gordon (1996 p.120) notes that although the mood of the movement is
less serious than that of the opening movement, the movement is, nonetheless, just as substantial and
important.
Landon and Jones (1988 p.284) go so far as to state that the beginning of the finale is a remarkable
exercise in tonal disorientation. To support this statement they claim that when the eight-bar period is
heard above a tonic pedal in fact the very beginning suggests E minor rather than E flat. Not all
listeners may hear this suggestion. The period is then heard a tone higher, which, Landon and Jones feel,
in normal circumstances, would have enhanced the tonic but here only adds to the confusion. They
conclude that finally, in desperation as it were, Haydn resorts to a forte passage of alternating dominant
and tonic harmony with bravura passage work to successfully establish the tonic. Whether Haydn in fact
felt any desperation is for the listener to decide, but it is certainly true that Haydn does establish the key
very firmly. It is also true that before Haydn modulates to the dominant key (Bb major) he has a brief
sojourn in the relative minor, then plays with the listener while before he eventually sounds the dominant
chord (F major) of the dominant key. Some may find this a little more disorientating tonally.
Landon and Jones (1988 p.67) draw attention to the so-called supertonic gambit, pointing to its use in
the first movement of the Notturno in G, II:30, as well as in Beethovens First Symphony, and his
aborted Violin Concerto in C), and noting that in the 1760s it had not yet been invented.
In Kirbys words, the movement continues with fast sixteenth-notes over a triadic leaping bass [by which
he appears to mean the broken chord accompaniment in bars 18-24]. The pace then slows in the
transition, with its syncopations and chromatic elements. (Kirby, p.100) Kirby finds that sudden full
chords [which might impress an English audience conditioned by Handel to appreciate musical drama]
and rhythmic drive characterize the movement generally. He is particularly impressed by a passage just
before the recapitulation featuring a full stop on a dominant seventh chord and a brief adagio in the style
of a cadenza, although that too may be part of Handel (and Bachs) legacy.
There is a multiplicity of themes in the movement, as if Haydn was constantly thinking of new ideas
which he could not resist including. He did not have this on his own, though; speaking of C. P. E. Bach,
Rushton finds particularly significanthis inclusion within one movement of a multiplicity of contrasted
ideas, often of very short duration. A flurry of different motives may introduce the key of the piece (or
something that proves not to be the key A new idea in sequence can bring about a modulation, yet
more ideas will bring the section to a close.
1 The movement begins with a triadic melody which marks out tonic and dominant seventh
(technically vii) chords, repeated exactly a tone above. Both passages end with a pause (as was
common in the Sturm und Drang style).
17 This scalic passage contrasts with what went before, although the harmony is similar (if laid out in a
different texture).
29 Haydn has another idea for us, this time in the relative minor. This leads to yet another idea, this
time creating syncopation by putting the melody a half-beat behind the accompaniment (what in the
jazz world would be called layback). The technique was quite common in the eighteenth century
in fact Bachs sixth Two-Part Invention (BWV777) begins in just such a way. We weave through
a succession of chromatic chords, the syncopation and chromaticism producing a slightly more
ominous tone, before finally alighting on an F major chord (the dominant of the dominant key, Bb
major).
45 Haydn is working up to the second subject. However he does not approach it with the traditional
perfect cadence followed by a rest. (The first movement of Sonata no.43 in E minor, Hob. XVI: 34,
is a good example.) Instead, he extends the syncopation through off-beat accented chords which
gradually thicken until a series of tonic chords played fortissimo makes it abundantly clear that we
are in the dominant key.
50 In this passage the accents are on the main beat of the bar, which may give us a false sense of
security: each chord is a dominant seventh, topped by the leading note (A) which wants to rise to
the tonic (Bb). The fact that the tonic chord comes on a weaker beat (what were traditionally called
feminine cadences) hints that the scene is not quite as rosy as may have been thought. Any
misgivings prove well grounded when a diminished seventh chord is held for two beats (bar 53),
leading to a surprising flattened leading note chord (Ab), which then sinks to another dominant
seventh chord. We expect a tonic chord to restore order, but are instead given a submediant (G
minor) chord, creating an interrupted cadence. This may not surprise students who are used to
recognising interrupted cadences in grade examinations, but would be been quite novel in the
eighteenth century, when even plagal cadences were uncommon.
56 Haydn has two more surprises in store for us, in the form of augmented triads. Admittedly these, to
an extent, arise from the movement of parts the chords consist of three lines which step upwards
but they create an unmistakeable sense of insecurity. Haydn builds on this by confronting us with a
series of appoggiaturas in the middle line, then from bar 61 joins the two upper lines (a third apart)
in a line which winds about through auxiliary and passing notes until in bar 63 a cadential 6/4
brings us to more familiar territory, and is followed by a comforting perfect cadence.
65 However Haydn will have no complacency: instead of having a strong tonic chord to emphasise the
cadence he presents us with a series of broken chords, some in the form of hockets (bars 69-76, in
which pairs semiquavers in call and response patterns). Again, echoes of Bach (for example the
early preludes in Book One of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier) are unmistakeable. At first these are
 content to limit themselves to the sort of succession of tonic and dominant chords with which the
movement began; then they rise up the scale around a tonic pedal (hidden in the middle of the
texture). Finally they become more adventurous, widening the intervals between the notes, and
marking out a German sixth (bar 73f), which resolves, as would be expected, onto a dominant
chord. They swoop down to F an octave below the bass clef, which might be beyond the range of
many Viennese instruments but was certainly achievable on the wide keyboard of a Broadwood
piano.
78 Haydn has no intention of ending the section yet. There is a rather unsettling passage which,
although it bears some resemblance to the passage which led up to the second subject (bars 45ff),
takes as its pedal not the dominant but the subdominant, which serves as the seventh of a dominant
seventh chord, so putting the chord in a very unstable third inversion. As if this is not enough, the
harmony is confused by a series of auxiliary notes, contrasting markedly with the big jumps which
come between the slurs. This is no sooner resolves onto the tonic (now Bb, of course) than the
process is repeated, with the parts swapped around, in a lower register.
91 Even then, once the tonic is reached (at the beginning of bar 91), Haydn produces yet another series
of tonic and dominant seventh chords (this time on a tonic pedal).
96 To return us to the tonic, Haydn uses the same progression as at bar 83f , although this time it is
strengthened with thick, partly arpeggiated, chords. However even then we have still not reached
home base. A combination of wandering thirds and trills finally leads us to a firm B major chord.

Development
103 The development opens with the figure from bar 78ff, made more edgy with staccato notes and
changing harmonies, and followed by rising, then falling, progressions of chromatic chords, which
settle on the dominant of F minor recalling the way in which the opening passage was repeated in
F minor. The crossover passage in bars 120ff, in which the pianists right hand is required to cross
over the left hand in order to repeat a passage the previous two bars three octaves below.
123 Suddenly we take off again in A flat major. This may seem a crash modulation, although since
Ab major is the relative of F minor as well as the subdominant of Eb major, it should not really
surprise us. In this key, we launch into the opening subject.
128 Haydn extends the semiquaver run with a slightly different figuration (which, whether deliberately
or otherwise, combines those in bars 61ff and 63ff of the first movement). The harmony is still
limited to tonic and dominant seventh chords, with the exception of 135ff, where Haydn repeats the
gambit he had used in bars 77ff of the first movement (alternating the dominant seventh with the
minor subdominant chord in first inversion).
146 There is an extended passage of hockets including a repetition of the v7 / ivb gambit referred to
above at bars 149-151 using primary triads (including V7), until in bar 163 the Bb in a Bb7 chord
(V7d in Eb major) is raised to B natural, while the Ab falls to G, creating a G major chord. This is
repeated, alternating with diminished 7th chords, until finally the pianist has to have the right hand
dive over the left hand to strike a very low G with a pause for emphasis.
170 The G turns out to be dominant of C minor, in which key bars 45ff reappear, slightly modified. The
passage is repeated a fourth higher, although it leads not to F minor but to its relative, Ab major or
at least so we assume; in bar 184 we are suddenly tossed into F minor.
184 A full bars rest leaves us wondering what will happen next. What in fact happens is a chromatic
passage, repeated sequentially a tone lower in the key of Eb minor, as happened in bars 100ff of
the first movement. We may reflect that Haydn also used the tonic minor in the second movement.
We may also compare it with Beethovens sudden leap into Eb minor in the first movement of his
Pathtique Sonata op.13 although on this occasion it serves as a chromatic mediant.)
190 Another sequence follows, this one also stepping down a tone.
194 A partial chromatic scale, either rising or falling, which was first heard in bars 28ff, appears
throughout bars 185ff, in this case falling each time. When it appears at 193ff, it at first stands out
alone, then pauses over a seventh chord, then (after a break) sets off again, then (very slowly) starts
off again, pausing on an Eb, which acts as an accented passing note before the D in bar 203
completes the V7 chord.
Recapitulation
204 Having played around with nearly all of the exposition during the development, Haydn has no
need of any further development, so this is largely an exact repetition of the exposition. The
obligatory change, in order to remain in the tonic key, begins in bar 236. There are further changes
in ensuing bars, although the differences are minor (such as replacing the repeated notes in bars 87ff
with a trill in bars 291ff). There is not even an extended coda, as would be likely in sonatas by
Beethoven (where the coda can sometimes almost be another exposition, or can even introduce new
material); the hard work has been done during the development, and Haydn is content to allow
the rest of the movement to take its due course.

Assignments
1. Comment on Haydns use of cadential formulae in this movement.
2. What elements of surprise are there in the movement?
3. Triadic and scalic melodies are common in classical works. Describe their role in this movement.
4. Many of Haydns finales have the character of a dance. Is that the case in this finale?

ASSIGNMENTS ON THE WORK AS A WHOLE

1. Beethovens Pathtique Sonata, op.13, written five years after this work, repeats the introduction to
the first movement at various places in the movement, and the way the third movement of his fifth
symphony picks up the rhythmic cell which fills the first movement is often cited as an early example
of cyclic form. Do you see any comparable formal innovations in this sonata?
2. The English public in the late eighteenth century was used to the drama of Handelian operas, and
expected from its music something more exciting than the elegance of a typically Viennese sonata.
To what extent has Haydn obliged them in this sonata?
3. Composers in the second half of the eighteenth century aimed at a simplicity which would both suit
the enlightened mind and provide easy access to the music for performers from the emerging middle
class. To preserve interest, they tended to pepper their music with changes of texture. Do the
frequent changes of texture in this work create an episodic feel, in which we lurch from one idea to
the next, or has Haydn bound them into a concerted whole which follows in a logical manner?
4. How important is rhythm in developing and maintaining interest in the sonata?
5. Describe Haydns use in the work of traditional compositional techniques such as pedal point,
sequence, counterpoint and walking basses.
6. In many ways Haydns style can be interpreted in terms of the duality in his personality between
earnestness and humour Webster and Feder (2002 p.48ff) Is this contention borne out in the sonata
Hob. xvi: 52?
7. Is it possible to speak of a mature keyboard style when referring to Haydns late piano sonatas?
Illustrate your answer with quotations from Hob. xvi: 52.
8. Justify the assertion that Haydn has brought the piano sonata as a genre to a level that enabled it to
rival those other genres in artistic stature: he overcame the light, gallant character long associated
with the genre. (Kirby)
9. Haydn insisted to Griesinger that a prerequisite for good music was fluent melody. (Webster and
Feder 2002 p.50) To what extent has he fulfilled this prerequisite in the present sonata?