Blog #MUSIC ANALYSIS

In this analysis, Maestra Gisela Paterno gives us valuable insight into how this piece is structured: 

Click here to read the full analysis:

https://www.piano-composer-teacher-london.co.uk/post/haydn-sonata-in-c-major-hob-xvi-7-divertimento

If you are a piano student, you might have played a Haydn Sonata before. If you would like to inform a little bit more about this particular piece, this is the best article as it provides not only a thorough analysis but technical advice specifically targeted to pianists that are interested in approaching this music.

If you are a piano teacher, this is a very useful material to have at hand when teaching this piece to your piano students as it will save you lots of time of the lesson by having a written material to ask your students to read at home. 

The analysis uses the terminology and vocabulary taken from the book of Arnold Schonberg "Fundamentals of Musical Composition" regarding the initial exposition divided into "sentences" and "periods", later taken and expanded by William Caplin in his book "Analyzing Classical Forms" in which the system of analysis is also based.

Without getting in more details, as you can read it directly from the author of this article, Gisela Paterno, we can say that the most striking feature of this Sonata is that the first movement does not follow the form of a Sonata, but the third movement instead!

As an earlier Sonata, we can still observe that Haydn had not yet developed the polyphonic texture in full as we can see in his later pieces. However, the form is taking shape, although the development section is still more dependant of the material of the exposition, and he even does not dare to go much further away from the home key.

This analysis also contains an exceptional feature for pianists: a specific section that provides technical advice for pianists. The technique employed is the one called "Scaramuzza technique". If you are interested in this, you can see the streamed online lessons for WKMT teacher's staff. It is entirely free and happens every week along with more classes such as musical analysis, composition, Harmony and Counterpoint by Juan Rezzuto and Gisela Paterno. 

This is the link:

https://www.piano-composer-teacher-london.co.uk/free-music-college

If you are a fan of Haydn's work, you will find this Sonata a pure delight to play. No matter if you are a piano student or piano teacher, either way, you will find this specific piece of work a masterpiece.

Why is this Sonata so unique among all Haydn's pieces?

The first reason is that it is in a minor mode. Usually, all classical first movements are in Major, being this one an exception.

The other reason is that all three movements have an Allegro di Sonata form, which is mostly uncommon, as the second and third movements are in Minuet or Rondo forms.

That brings us to a related topic: the importance of analysing a piece of music thoroughly before playing it. As performers, it is impossible to truly grasp the structure of a piece without having a proper analysis first. If we don't do this, our artistic decisions will be only based on intuition, which is not a bad thing in itself. Still, the expression cannot solely rely on feelings but also in analytical thinking as the work of the great masters sometimes hides things in plain sight. It is our job to seek the pure core of the music given to us to build a profound interpretation of the piece.

Be ready to embark on a beautiful journey with this Sonata. Maestra Gisela Paterno guides us from the beginning to end providing from a broad overview to the minute details and the specific technical and pianistic tips to offer an insight into the piano performance through the eyes of the Scaramuzza technique, which WKMT studio specialises on.

In summary, every pianist should look in the architecture of the music before playing a single note, as the study of this Sonata will be more profound, giving the understanding of it firstly.

Click here to read the full Analysis 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