Mozart & Haydn

Dissonance

I'm constantly inspired by meetings of specific people, in specific places, at specific times, and the incredible art that often comes out of such encounters. Such is the case with Mozart's Dissonance String Quartet. Here is a brief exploration of the six “Haydn String Quartets” that Mozart composed between 1782 and 1785 and the impact that composer Joseph Haydn had on Mozart’s work.

In 1781, Mozart.became acquainted with Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn and they attended various quartet parties together.

Wolfgang Mozart and Joseph Haydn

In 1784 there was a quartet party hosted by composer Stefan Sorace.This particular event is chronicled in a book published in 1826 by Michael Kelly, entitled Reminiscences. He recounts how magical this evening was. Imagine this! Haydn and composer Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf playing violins, Mozart playing the viola, Jan Vanhal playing the cello, along with other musicians and composers. What a meeting of minds! I would have loved to have been there and just listened to discussions that were going on, in addition to the music making.

These quartet parties were something of a tradition. On February 16th, 1785, at a quartet party during a ten week visit to the Mozart household in Vienna, Haydn approached Mozart's father, Leopold, and relayed what has become one of Haydn's most well known quotes, specifically about Wolfgang's composition:

“Before God and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me, either in person or by name. He has taste, and furthermore, the most profound knowledge of composition.”

Joseph Haydn playing quartets – anonymous artist before 1790, Staats Museum, Vienna

The year 1785 was a productive and pivotal time, in terms of Mozart's output and the development of the string quartet as the incredible chamber music platform and expressive platform that it is.

I would call attention to the six string quartets that Mozart composed between 1782 and 1785 that dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It's notable that they were indeed dedicated to Haydn and not one of Mozart's patrons which would have been expected during this time period.

I think that, to a great extent, these quartets resulted from the influence of Haydn's Opus 33 String Quartets, which were published in 1781. Haydn’s quartet writing occurred at a time that had a significant influence on Mozart's maturation as a string quartet composer. Haydn’s Opus 33 begins a process which explores the string quartet medium as an opportunity for a more equitable discourse among the four instruments, further breaking away from the 18th century Baroque trio sonata mold and into full fledged quartet writing, especially using counterpoint as a means of intensifying emotions.

During this period of time, in Germany and Austria, the ‘Sturm und Drang’ (Storm and Stress) movement in musical composition was significant. ‘Sturm und Drang’ related music, championed by C.P.E. Bach, involved the exploration of primarily minor keys in order to reach new depths of musical expression. The string quartet medium was not immune to this influence and both Haydn and Mozart were a part of this period of emotional expression which would later come to fruition in 19th century Romanticism.

Mozart's Vienna home

Mozart, being the ever-observant musician, was very aware of the confluence of Haydn's exploration and deepening of compositional techniques using the string quartet amidst the changing musical currents of the time. Bearing in mind Sturm und Drang related ideals, I would like to focus on the sixth and final of Mozart’s “Haydn Quartets”, also known as the Dissonance Quartet K. 465, The first movement opens with a wonderful Adagio in C minor. I can't help but hear the parallels between the opening of the Dissonance Quartet, and the opening of Mozart's C Minor Fantasy K. 475.

I'm wondering if perhaps Mozart used the opening of the Dissonance Quartet as something of a study, a precursor to what he was going to do in his C Minor Fantasy. Or perhaps he was composing the two simultaneously side by side because we have similar iconic openings in both works. The C Minor Fantasy’s more extended opening is replete with drama, beauty, and foreboding, recalling the opening of the quartet.

C minor is a ‘serious’ key and lends itself to an effective exploration of a sense of suspended animation in the Fantasy. Mozart does a similar thing in the opening of the Dissonance Quartet, where he's simply layering sounds on top of each other, creating dissonances that then marginally resolve, but not fully. When we finally reach the end of this Adagio, Mozart presents us with a tremendous mood shift when we go into the Allegro, the main body of that first movement in C Major.

Decades later Franz Schubert, another melodically-driven composer in the vein of Mozart, would further explore the use of alternating major-minor harmonies in the creation of varying degrees of light and shadow.

1785 was a crazy period in the Mozart household. During that year he appeared in twenty concerts, ten of which were actually arranged and facilitated by Mozart himself. In addition, he was present and helping to facilitate three house concerts, two of which were Masonic lodge performances. Let's not neglect the fact that Mozart was a very active Freemason, as was Haydn and most of the creative and influential men in Vienna at that time. He also composed a series of operatic scenes for vocal trio and string quartet, three piano concertos, two string quartets, including the K. 478 Piano Quartet, a piano sonata and the C Minor Fantasy, as well as K. 477 Masonic Funeral Music.

Mozart also maintained a crazy social calendar during this period. There were often times days where there was so much going on socially that Mozart would go to one event and his wife, Constanza, would go to a different event. Things were hopping! It appears likely that it was around this time that Mozart first came across and read the famous novel by the French writer Beaumarchais, Le Mariage de Figaro (Marriage of Figaro), and then started to work with librettists Lorenzo da Ponte on the opera of the same name. This was such a musically rich period of time for Mozart.

I would certainly invite you to explore any of the wonderful six Haydn Quartets that Mozart wrote during this period. What a compelling time! I’m inspired to know what came from these initial meetings between Haydn and Mozart and then how, as a result, both composers contributed to the development of the string quartet as an art form.

I want to acknowledge a couple of very valuable books that I found to be really helpful in mu explorations. One is a book entitled Mozart in Vienna, 1781-1791 by Volkmar Braunbehrens. Stanley Sadie's wonderful work in the New Grove Dictionary, “Mozart”, also has some really helpful information and context. The new Grove Dictionaries have all listings of a composer's works which are as accurate as possible at the time of publication.

This video includes Mozart's Dissonant String Quartet, K. 465 performed by my student quartet members. Championing my students and having the opportunity to explore some of this incredible music and then go into a little bit more detail is such a gift.

Please like, subscribe, and comment on the video to let me know what you're interested in!

Rick Ferguson