Mozart And Haydn Comparison

Society is obsessed with categorizing and finding order, to help reach an understanding of eras before our own. It comes as no surprise therefore, that even something as compassionate and prolific as music, is placed in boxes. We understand music through periods; baroque, classical, romantic, neo-classical, modern and post-modern. However, these musical styles can encompass many different features, nationalities, ideologies and composers. Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) were both prolific composers of the classical era. Many would argue that these two individuals are archetypical classical composers but with increasing curiosity surrounding the music of our predecessors it is becoming evident that the archetypical

His earliest string quartets are thought to have been composed in the early part of the 1750s, however they were published a decade later in the 1760s. There is speculation that some of the ‘early’ quartets were written in the 1760s due to the high level of musical craftsmanship. (Grave and Grave, 2008). However due to the cemented style of the ten quartets it has been deemed unlikely that there would be such a long timeframe between the first and tenth. His early quartets display some degree of symmetry, most of them having 5 movements with the beginning and ending movement in the similar, if not the same tempos. For example, ‘Hob III:1 - String Quartet Op. 1 No. 1 in B flat major’ begins with movement 1 ‘Presto’ and ends with movement 5 ‘Finale: Presto’. In these works varying phrase lengths and syncopation propel the melody to its finale. In these fast-paced sections Haydn mostly opts for simple time signatures 2/4 and 3/8, however in Opus 1 ‘Presto’ he uses the compound metre 6/8 giving dance-like qualities to the piece. He also makes use of triple stopped chords on the violins4 which shows he had access to virtuoso players presumably as he was working on a freelance basis at the Court of Vienna. The final fast movements of each opus have significantly less thematic material than their opening counterparts which becomes a staple of Haydn’s music creating a more complete sense of finishing. Another staple of Haydn’s string quartets is the fact that they were written not just to be appreciated as musical pieces but to entertain the listener. Mozart himself commented that Haydn could “amuse and shock, arouse laughter and deep emotion, as no one else” which is especially evident in the ‘String Quartet in E flat Major Opus 33, No. 2 'The Joke' movement