November / Month of the Sonata – 14
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Tag: Joseph Haydn
November 1, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 2
“Joseph Haydn“ (1791)
Thomas Hardy
________
Haydn, profoundly underrated, was the
other pillar of Classical music during that
period, Beethoven, with half a foot only
in that era, uses its elements to yank us,
yelling and screaming, into the next, the
Romantic Era, 1800 to 1870 more or less,
more about which later
if Haydn sounds a lot like Mozart, it’s that
this piece was also written in 1789, both
were catering to the aristocracy, courts,
salons, music was therefore frivolous,
meant to be entertaining, not inspirational,
trills, a lot of decoration, technical agility,
prestidigitation over profundity
Beethoven will change all that, stay tuned
meanwhile, listen to, enjoy, Haydn’s Piano
Sonata in A-flat major, no 31, Hob XVI-46,
today’s prescribed apple
R ! chard
November 1, 2023
November / Month of the Sonata – 1
“Still Life with Seven Apples“ (1878)
Paul Cézanne
_____
a sonata is to the concerto what an apple
is to an apple pie, its essential component,
after which the rest is decoration, however
inspired
sonatas existed before Mozart, but he’s
the one, along with Haydn, as well as
early Beethoven, who put them on the
musical map, 1750 to 1800, more or
less
it seems to me appropriate, therefore,
to start my Sonata Month then
here’s something by Mozart, 1789, his
last piano sonata, No. 18, in D major,
K. 576
three movements, fast, slow, fast – allegro,
adagio, allegretto – a perfect example of
the sonata as it was establishing itself
then, a piece of music consisting of
several distinct sections, movements,
meant to highlight contrasts, musical
agility in the artist, compositional
imagination
listen, enjoy
R ! chard
March 4, 2023
how to listen to music if you don’t know your Beethoven from your Bach, X
“Joseph Haydn” (1791)
Thomas Hardy
_______
though I’ve focused especially, during
this introduction to Classical music,
on Mozart, a second great pillar of
that era is Haydn, 1732 – 1809
here is one of his 62 piano sonatas,
which expresses more than anything
you’ve heard here yet the definition
of what music was at the time, or
should be, tonality, as I’ve earlier
said, tempo and repetition were
tantamount
listen for or the rigidity of the tempo,
the consistent melliflousness of
the melody, and therefore tonality,
and the repetition of all the
component tunes
I remember going to a drum recital
once, here in Vancouver, a guy was
expressing his artistry in a formal
venue, I was sitting in a forward
row, saw him set up his music on
his music stand, and I thought,
he’s going to have to turn the
pages, which he did, a drummer
that’s all I remember of the
presentation, but that was enough,
an entire revelation
in this Haydn sonata, the pianist
turns the pages of his score, back
and forth, an interesting visual
expression of the imperative of
repetition in that era’s music,
having to return to what had
been written on the previous
page
also note that trills abound
note too in the second movement,
the adagio cantabile, the sudden
introduction of arpeggios,
transcendent, as though angels
had just appeared
which prefigures the metaphysical
aspirations of the Romantic Period
which ensued, see, for instance,
Chopin
note also that we’re on fortepiano
here, a period instrument, a cross
between the harpsichord and the
modern instrument
thoroughly enjoy
R ! chard
February 11, 2023
how to listen to music if you don’t know your Beethoven from your Bach, Vll
“The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog” (1818)
Caspar David Friedrich
_____________
by now, if you’ve been listening,
you’ll probably easily tell your
Chopin from your Mozart, even
without looking
if not, the one who isn’t Mozart
is Chopin, the one who isn’t
Chopin is Mozart, cause you’re
likely to recognize the one if not
the other
here’s Mozart’s Piano Sonata
no 16 in C major, K. 545, from
1788, which even Mozart
deemed “for beginners”, but
its very elementary qualities
suit, here, my purposes
here’s Chopin’s Piano Sonata
no 3 in B minor, Op. 58, 1844,
some sixty years later, the
epitome of the Romantic Era
Mozart is Classical, the foundation
of the shape and sound of music
in the West, think of Oriental music,
Chinese, for instance, opera, as an
alternative inspirational direction
he sets, along with Haydn, incidentally,
the parameters of Western music, I
call it its grammar, tempo, tonality,
and repetition, its hallmarks, its sine
qua non, as we say in Latin, its trinity
of imperatives, its without which there
would be no Western music as we
know it
Romanticism, after two revolutions,
the French and the American, comes
along to turn all of that into literature,
prompted by the spirit of democracy,
the first expressions of it since Caesar,
Ancient Rome, where earlier,
everywhere, kings had ruled, and by
extension, even more autocratically,
the Church, for monarchs had
received, morally, and consequently
politically, from it, their mandates
from God
one man, one vote, even theoretically,
upended that entire metaphysical
construct, therefore Romanticism
everyone had a voice, everyone had
a story, the birth of the individual,
and of, by extension, human rights,
for better or for worse, see above
therefore Chopin
listen, Chopin is the new Jesus,
prophet, but for a new age
stay tuned
R ! chard
February 14, 2018
an interjection – Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no 3, opus 30
Rachmaninoff in 1921 (photographed by Kubey Rembrandt)
______________
for Barbara
a friend wrote today about memories of her
uncle, a violinist, insisting on the right
pronunciation of Rachmaninov, “with a soft
ch, as the c in cello. It drove my Dad crazy“,
she said, which led me in a response to both
his Second Piano Concerto, which she’d
specifically mentioned, and to what I
think is like comparing oracles with
oracles, his Third
it seemed a wonderful time to shed light
on some of the things I’ve been explaining
about Haydn
I spoke, even in a recent transmittal, about
the idea of extending tempi, from its
Classical four, to, through variations in a
single movement, more than four, and
found Haydn to be awkward, as he
experimented, unimpressive
listen to what Rachmaninov does, however,
in every movement here, take it from its
base through variations in tempi to leave
you reeling with emotion
the adagio, the middle movement, for
instance, starts off slowly, continues apace,
then finds itself embroiled in a whirlwind of
sentiment it finds difficult to control, before
returning, with a nearly audible sigh, to its
distressed slower, and defining, rhythm
there’s a story here, a narrative, and all the
permutations of a drama, a reckoning
watching also the performer, Cyprien Katsaris,
the soloist, and marvelling at the speed of his
fingers, I wondered, should a performer be
impeded by hir conductor, for not acquiescing
to untoward advances, for instance, a recently
significant consideration, raise the beat by one
point merely on the metronome, a novice might
be undone in a very minute, in a blur of
distraught acciaccaturas, arpeggios, and
discombobulated trills
a great player must consequently play the
piece in practice at a quicker pace to ensure
an immaculate, ever, presentation, the work
of a consummate, and immutable, artist
think about it, and watch, indeed marvel,
at this extraordinary performance
R ! chard
January 26, 2018
String Quartet no. 14 in G major, K. 387, (“Spring”) – Mozart
“The Musical Contest“ (c.1754 – 1755)
____________
right about this time, 1782 to 1785, Mozart
was writing his Haydn Quartets, six of
them, in the very fashion, not incidentally,
of Haydn, as a tribute to the master, the
father, the very originator of the string
quartet
here’s the first of them, a not at all
unimpressive tribute
Mozart follows the master in kind, the
number of movements, the selection
of tempi, there’s even again a minuet,
an aristocratic prerequisite, note even
the delicate, the deferential, endings,
to all, not just one, of the movements,
a trait indicative of Haydn, his courtly,
courteous reserve before any too
personalized spotlight, however
manifest his brilliance – noblesse,
in other words, oblige
Mozart follows immaculate suit
you might find it difficult to distinguish
between Mozart and Haydn, I do, the
differences are so subtle as to be
nearly, for the most part,
indistinguishable, their periods overlap,
their contexts were not at all dissimilar,
just even Vienna as their musical core
the aristocracy was still, evidently, in
charge, however henceforth briefly,
and paying the bills, and the mood
required remained respectful, polite,
unpolitical, which both composers
dutifully obliged, neither subjecting
himself to any constraints around
his higher manifest destiny, his
irresistible muse, the pursuit of
pure, and unadulterated, music
this will unfurl, see, for instance,
Shostakovich
R ! chard
December 30, 2017
on string quartets – Opus 76, no 1 – Joseph Haydn
“Joseph Haydn“ (1791)
______
to not consider other musical forms of
Shostakovich would be unfair, his
symphonies are mostly propaganda,
however often, though somewhat
culturally specific, riveting
my favourite works of his, works I
consider iconic, are mostly chamber
pieces, piano solos, string quartets
a string quartet, after a symphony, is
like sitting down to dinner with four,
at the very least, acquaintances,
rather than being a guest at a party,
the conversation is more intimate,
every person plays hir part, everyone
is heeded, if even only with courtesy,
a social, a Classical, an aristocratic,
prerequisite
movements can be compared to
courses, distinct and identifiable for
their particular culinary, musical,
propriety
later variations on this reflect the
variations in social mores, where
restaurants, the modern way of
socializing, allow for disparate
choices, often superimposed,
throughout the meal for any,
every, occasion
dim sum, tapas, celebrate this, not
unhappily
but string quartets can be tricky, I
thought I’d start from the beginning,
with some Haydn, their recognized
Father, you’ll understand when you
hear this, his Opus 76, no 1, an
outstanding string quartet to live
up to
Haydn set the standard for string
quartets when the norms of Western
music were being established, Bach
had given us the alphabet, the
well-tempered clavier, Mozart, the
grammar, the structure of music,
tempo, tonality, repetition, Beethoven
gave us the literature, the poetry, the
philosophical, the transcendent
Haydn is somewhere between these
last two, but decidedly, still, the king
of the string quartet, though Beethoven
does a good job of trying to best him,
and so does Shostakovich, you’ll have
to pick
but first, let’s start with Haydn, that’ll
be already, you’ll see, or hear, enough
later, I’ll get into it
R ! chard
September 17, 2017
on the origins of the waltz
“Waltz“ (1891)
____________
had the waltz been confided to any
other but the Johann Strausses,
father and inveterate son, we may
never have distinguished it from
the polka
at the start, this amorphous new
dance was deemed shameless,
even shocking, by a scandalized,
apparently, aristocracy, used to
the more discreet, less conjugal,
minuet
some nobles, sowing wild,
irresistible oats, however, at the
festivities of their more irreverent
servants, brought the new dance
back home to their more informal,
less stuffy, entertainments, avidly,
though surely under their hats
to Belvedere, Schönbrunn, even
Schloss Esterházy, Haydn‘s
stately old stomping haunt
thus was the waltz born, whirling
indiscriminately like a polka at first,
with indefinite still, however, timing
which then was reduced to only ever
3/4 time, by the Strausses, the metre
in which this comment, coincidentally,
is written
read it aloud, you’ll want to wrap
your arms around the nearest
partner, I assure you, and whirl,
twirl, deliriously surrender
had we not had the Strausses, neither
had we had Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers,
“Shall We Dance” from the glorious
“The King and I”, nor the irrepressible
“So You Think You Can Dance“ either
nor me, for that matter, writing in 3/4
verse, essentially, dactylic poetic metre,
about these celebrated accomplishments,
something I deem eminently worthy of
reporting
such is the impact of veritable art, I
warrant, the waltz was not inevitable
listen to Strauss Jr’s’ “Wiener Blut”,
“Viennese Blood“, or “… Spirit“
in English, for instance, for
corroborating confirmation, and
corresponding, however inadvertent,
even, inspiration
ever
R ! chard
March 25, 2015
the cadenza, from Mozart to John Mayer
“Dancing Senegalese Figures“ (1967)
_________
ain’t no sunshine since you’ve gone,
I wrote Apollo, who’s been in Mexico
for already nearly two weeks, turned
my yearning into thereby something
groovy, listen
again I was reminded of the role of
art in our lives, to not only entertain,
inspire, but to even comfort, heal,
invigorate
note the Classical structure of the
piece, a driving and inflexible
rhythm, repetition of the theme, a
tonal melody, something you can
sing along with, Classical music’s
foundational Trinity
except for the cadenza, the solo
part, now described as a riff, but
which was already part of
concertos even by Mozart, which
is to say the late 18th Century,
listen to his 20th piano concerto
for instance, with cadenzas by no
less than Beethoven – between
11:50 and 14:15, then again between
30:05 and 31:30 on your time strip –
characteristically deep, intensely
personal and probing
the cadenza allowed the soloist in
a concerto to extrapolate, take
off in any direction singly,
sometimes written in by the
composer, but just as often not
in his cadenza, John Mayer breaks
two of the Classical imperatives,
tone, repetition, his cadenza is one
unrepeated riff, no repetition at all
but his rhythm remains unswerving,
categorical, Classical, get your cue
from the dominant drums,
irrepressible here as clockwork
for atonal similarities compare
Berg’s Violin Concerto throughout
for music, in other words, we’re still
reacting to the Classical framework
established by Haydn and Mozart,
variations on these rules are still
what we think of as music, we’re
standing on their shoulders,
working according to their
parameters, only the instruments
have changed, the guitar has taken
the place of the piano
but that’s another story
Richard
Richibi's Weblog 