During the classical era, chamber music continued to thrive. Wealthy patrons commissioned works that would be played to entertain their guests. Composers developed genres for a variety of instruments, including trios, quartets, quintets, and so forth.
The principal chamber ensemble of this era, however, was the string quartet. After this ensemble were the various string and piano groups. The piano trio, the piano quartet, and the piano quintet also became well-established genres.
Franz Joseph Haydn was the first recognized master of the string quartet. He is often considered the “Father of the String Quartet” because of his mastery and influence. Although he didn’t invent the genre, he seems to have become aware of its potential
before anyone else.
He was born in 1732 in Rohrau, Austria, a rural village near the Hungarian border. His peasant-class parents enjoyed music and encouraged his interest. He was provided with lessons from a relative, Johann Franck, who lived in the nearby town of Hainburg. As young as age six, Haydn was singing in Franck’s church choir and playing the clavier and violin.
In 1740 he was accepted into the choir of St. Stephen’s cathedral in Vienna, where he spent the next nine years. During this time, he received voice and violin lessons, but very little else. He was largely self-taught in theory and composition. In 1749, when his voice began to mature, he was dismissed from the choir.
Rather than return home, Haydn remained in Vienna. He earned a meager living by giving music lessons during the day and by playing in street bands during the evenings. This was a very difficult time for him, but eventually his reputation as a fine performer and teacher spread.
In 1759 he was appointed Kapellmeister in the employ of Count Morzin, a Bohemian noble. Two years later Haydn was hired as assistant music director to Prince Anton Paul Esterházy, one of the wealthiest and most powerful nobles in Hungary. Soon Haydn was promoted to musical director. He spent the next thirty years in the employ of the Esterházy family, working for Anton’s brother Nikolaus after Paul Anton died. When Nikolaus died in 1790, Haydn was retained only nominally as music director. His duties were very limited and he was allowed to remain in Vienna year round.
These last years were quite rewarding for Haydn. He resumed his friendship with Mozart and began tutoring the young Beethoven. His most pressing concern, however, was his collaboration with the impresario Johann Salomon. This collaboration resulted in two trips to London during which Haydn composed and conducted his London Symphonies.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
1. Haydn’s rural upbringing exposed him to a great deal of Bohemian folk music. Many of his themes have a very simple, folklike character. His theme to the second movement of the “Surprise” Symphony is a case in point. Likewise we find a great deal of good humor in almost every work he created. The surprise in his “Surprise” Symphony was a good-natured poke at the prince and his friends, who would often nod off during a concert. The “Farewell” Symphony gently hinted at the musicians’ desire to return to Vienna and their families.
2. The opus 33 quartets were for all intents and purposes the first real string quartets as chamber music--music that allows all performers an equal footing. Up to this opus, Haydn was exploring the possibilities of the genre, and most of the earlier quartets were treated as a solo sonata for violin with string accompaniment. With the opus 33 works (a group of six quartets), all members participate in thematic development and balanced interaction.
3. Haydn was basically self-taught as a composer. His training as a chorister at St. Stephen’s involved vocal lessons and some music theory. Composition lessons were unnecessary. The boys sang the soprano and alto parts in liturgical music (only male voices were used). Once the boys’ voices changed, they were no longer needed.
4. As a member of the Esterházy establishment, Haydn was a servant and had to wear a uniform that denoted his rank. Musicians were among the higher-ranking servants, Kapellmeister being the highest rank among musicians. You should point out to students that freedom of movement was severely limited, unlike currently in the United States. Once you were employed by an aristocrat, you had to ask permission to leave or to seek another job; you might also be expected to perform other duties as requested. Haydn and his musicians had to spend a good portion of the year at the Esterházy estate, which was some distance from Vienna. The musicians could not bring their families with them, but had to wait until the winter and the return to Vienna (where many European aristocrats spent the winter months).
5. The string quartet is unequaled as a chamber group. A perfect balance is achieved through the bass voice of the cello (rather than the double bass) and the two violins, with the viola filling the inner range. They can be treated as a single instrument with an incredibly broad pitch range or a heterogeneous ensemble through the use of differing articulations, bowing techniques, and other idiomatic devices.
FURTHER TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. How do chamber musicians perform precisely without the help of a conductor?
2. What was the role of patrons in classical era music? Who were they? Why did they spend large amounts of money to have musicians on hand?
3. How does the string quartet differ from the symphony?