Blog #ANALYSIS

This Sonata is by far one of the Sonatas composed by the great composer Joseph Haydn which manifests the most delicate and elegant melodic lines, the perfect challenge for any intermediate piano student.

The Classical period serves any piano tutor to impart in their students the necessary perfectionism to achieve an impeccable piano technique.

Why is it essential to study Haydn Piano Sonatas specifically?

Many reasons exist that answer this question. The main one is that Haydn developed his pianistic technique along of his compositions, so it is relatively easy for any piano teacher to pick the pieces for their students, follow the order within the timeline!

Secondly, and especially true in this Sonata (or also called "Divertimento" by the author himself) there are original ideas in his compositions, many attributed to one of his pupils, L. V. Beethoven, that surprises any musician. Alvaro Sisti explains an example of this original twists in his article: 

"We can find some unusual things for a sonata, like the lack of a proper recapitulation (something very appreciated in this period), or the secondary theme first showing up in a minor version of the necessary key, or even a quite long development (53 bars against 62 of the Exposition, for instance). These things are more likely in the Post-Beethoven period than in this early Haydn's composition stage."

Another moment in this piece that we can observe Haydn's legacy in Beethoven is in the third movement "Presto". Maestro Sisti comments "The most unusual thing happens towards the end of the development. When we finish the development in a classic sonata, usually we lean on the fifth grade, or we insinuate the come-back to the root. However, in this situation, Haydn finishes the section in a Third degree, the minor relative. Furthermore, without further preparation, we go back to the main theme in A major. Again, this seems more likely to happen in Beethoven's work than in Haydn's."

It is clear now upon the observation of this Sonata the huge influence Haydn had in Beethoven, and today we make a little justice bringing to light many of the "original ideas" attributed to Beethoven are in reality, Haydn's. 

If you need to read the full analysis, please click here and read all about this Sonata on WKMT Blog.

Without a doubt, Joseph Haydn was one of the most influential composers of the Classical period. The Classical period is said to start on the same ear of Johann Sebastian Bach's death, 1750 and its prolonged until 1820. During this time many composers contributed to the development of the Classical style, but Haydn was the most important one as he was the leading creator of the Sonata form. 

Among the piano students, Haydn Sonatas are a must in their repertoire. For piano tutors, his Sonatas are the favourite ones to teach as they, within themselves, show the evolution of Haydn as a pianist himself, turning these pieces into a useful pedagogical material as we can observe how his skills improved dramatically over the years.

In this Sonata, we can see how still Haydn was influenced by the Baroque period as this piece has three movements, commonly used on an earlier period, not four movements, which became the norm during the Romantic period.

Even though he composed his first Sonata at the age of twenty-seven, we can recognise his musical maturity. The mastery and control of the motives, the clear and robust structure and the definition of his style, even in this early work, defines Haydn's craft entirely.

More inside the piece, Georgios Kommatas, author of the analysis, explains: "The layout of the Movements is very standard. All the composers have unanimously used the 'Allegro' to begin the Sonata. The Second Movement is usually slow, as in this piece, an 'Andante', which means "at a walking speed". The 'Menuet-Trio' is a usual finale for Haydn as seen in his next Sonatas (e.g. HOB XVI: 2, 3, 4, 11 and others)

All three Movements are in C major. A shared tonic key can be traced from the Baroque Suite, which was customary to have all the Movements in the same key. 

During the Classical period, this tendency changed slowly towards different keys through the movements in a Sonata. This tendency can reveal how Haydn was still composing upon the Baroque style.

If you are interested on reading the full analysis of this first piano sonata, click on the link below mentioned. With WKMT, you will gain access to the analysis of all Haydn piano sonatas. WKMT is the only piano studio analysing Haydn works.

https://www.piano-composer-teacher-london.co.uk/post/haydn-sonata-in-c-major-hob-xvi-1-first-movement