It is well regarded that Haydn grandfathered the now ubiquitous string quartet genre. Of course there have been great strides made in the genre by numerous other composers -including Mozart - but even Haydn’s fingerprints can be found on some of Mozart’s quartets: especially those dedicated to the great Joseph Haydn. We want to examine how these quartets differ from the ones Mozart wrote in his own style.
Though any of his 6 dedicated quartets do Haydn’s work great justice, we chose to focus on the first (Quartet No. 14 in G major, K. 387, “Spring”) and the third (Quartet No.17 in Bb Major). The second movement of the Spring quartet is what really pays direct homage to Haydn’s style. It can be compared to the third movement of Haydn’s String Quartet No. 64 in D major, as both are minuets (a dance in ¾). Haydn had something of a musical sense of humor; often his minuet movements would technically be in the correct meter, but the heavy beats would be off kilter to what a dancer would expect.
In Haydn’s quartet, after the introduction of the first minuet theme the parts begin to accent every 2 beats, though it remains in the ¾ time signature.
In Mozart’s Spring quartet, the accents happen on the unstable third beat as opposed to the first (which is usually accented to give the dance rhythmic flow).
We also compared the fourth movements of Mozart’s quartet no.17 and Haydn’s No.64. The first thing we noticed was a similarity in how the first themes are introduced. Again, Haydn’s flamboyant, childlike, style takes center stage as the theme comes in with the instruments playing in unision. It is slightly unexpected sounding, and takes off with a sense of urgency. The same happens in the beginning of Mozart’s No.17.
Mozart Movement IV
Haydn movement IV
The differences between Mozart’s and Haydn’s compositions become very evident after Mozart composed multiple string quartets in dedication to Haydn. If you compare the previous string quartets to pieces Mozart composed without the Haydn dedication, you can hear more of Mozart’s distinct voice come through. Take a listen at Mozart’s String Quartet No.20:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFA-7IfvBAg
String Quartet #20
Haydn composes with a theme in mind and it is very evident to the audience what that theme is and when it happens. Mozart not only has multiple very contrasting themes, but will even flutter between keys, all within the first movement. Haydn’s quartet themes were definitely no less brilliant, but did not have the same contrasting nature. Mozart composed music for all sorts of different audiences and patrons. This specific piece was written for a music publishing company in Vienna. With a closer observation we can see the subtle differences and changes Mozart makes to his musical voice based on who he is writing the piece for. In some cases it is far more evident than others, for example, the pieces he wrote in dedication to Hayden greatly differ from every other piece of music he composed.
In his novel, Peter Gay mentions how the Mozart family had a number of different patrons all of Europe. It is evident that Wolfgang made changes to his music depending on where his patron was from or what their specific tastes in music were. The most dramatic changes that Mozart made to his music, however, was the six string quartets he wrote in dedication to Haydn. Mozart was paid for a lot of his work, but these six compositions were written as a thanks and a declaration of how influenced and inspired he was by Hayden. Although Mozart was a child prodigy and unarguable a musical genius, he would not have been the same musician and composer if it weren’t for Haydn and Mozart was very well aware of that. Through Mozart’s dedicated string quartets were are let in on the relationship that Haydn and Mozart shared and just how much they influenced and respected one another.
Hannah: Writing and Media (Haydn string quartets)
Brian: Writing and media (String quartet 20).
Brian: Writing and media (String quartet 20).
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