A Reevaluation of Haydn’s Keyboard Sonatas of 1773

Abstract

This essay focuses on Haydn’s set of 6 Esterházy Piano Sonatas, composed in 1773. These deceptively original sonatas, I will argue, have not been awarded their due by musicologists or theorists. Since Charles Rosen set the beginning of the Classical style at roughly 1780, others have described Haydn’s earlier works as “stylistically unformed”. This essay thus argues against such assessment and periodization, especially in the light of the innovations heralded by the Esterházy Sonatas, as well as other works of this period. Therefore, a case shall be made for their being eminently Classical. To argue this, specific formal, harmonic, melodic features from individual movements are analyzed and assessed; several striking characteristics, demonstrating radical innovations usually recognized in Beethoven shall be revealed. In so doing, and also by engaging broader issues of perceptions of musical style, the essay endeavors to position the Esterházy Sonatas as influential works in their own light, as they point to the formal and stylistic sprouts rooted in the efflorescent Classical tradition.