The six string quartets comprising Joseph Haydn's Opus 20 (composed in 1772) are the first works in the genre to have received consistent critical attention from writers on music. The twenty-two quartets Haydn wrote before this date, though rarely discussed by historians and theorists and seldom performed in public, are nevertheless fundamental to the development of the quartet and thus inseparable from Opus 20 itself. This thoughtful discussion provides a basis upon which to study the quartet by showing how the relationship among the four players can best be understood as a musical dialogue. A methodology is developed for analyzing these quartets by focusing on the characteristics of string instruments that inform not only the style of the music, but also the materials of the composition. The changing relationships among the instruments reveal the level of sophistication evident in Haydn's early works and attest to the affinity these works have with his later masterpieces. Music scholars and educators will appreciate the generous musical examples and clear prose that explains the more detailed analysis of the Opus 20 set.
By:
William Drabkin
Imprint: Greenwood Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: No. 1.
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 482g
ISBN: 9780313301735
ISBN 10: 0313301735
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 30 October 1999
Recommended Age: From 7 to 17 years
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Introduction Anatomy of the Quartet Fugue Quartet in F Minor, Op. 20, No. 5 Quartet in A Major, Op. 20, No. 6 Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2 Quartet in G Minor, Op. 20, No. 3 Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4 Quartet in E flat Major, Op. 20, No. 1 Epilogue Bibliography Index
WILLIAM DRABKIN is Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Southampton in England. He has written books on Beethoven and Schenkerian analysis and serves on the editorial board of two journals, Music Analysis and Beethoven Forum.
Reviews for A Reader's Guide to Haydn's Early String Quartets
Drabkin provides insightful observations about Haydn's early quartets....[Recommended] for music collections at all levels. -Choice
