The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn

A monumental accomplishment of the classical music era, the string quartets of Joseph Haydn hold a prominent place not only in his oeuvre, but also in our modern conception of late 18th-century instrumental form, style, and expression. Here, well-known music historians Floyd and Margaret Grave present a comprehensive survey of the works from a fresh perspective. This thorough and unique analysis offers new insights into the creation of the quartets, the wealth of musical customs and conventions on which they draw, the scope of their innovations, and their significance as reflections of Haydn's artistic personality. Each set of quartets is characterized in terms of its particular mix of structural conventions and novelties, stylistic allusions, and its special points of connection with other opus groups in the series. Attention is drawn throughout to the boundless supply of compositional strategies by which Haydn appears to be continually rethinking, reevaluating, and refining the quartet's potentials. The authors also lucidly describe Haydn's famous penchant for wit, humor, and compositional artifice, illuminating the unexpected connections he draws between seemingly unrelated ideas, his irony, and his lightning bolts of surprise and thwarted expectation. Approaching the quartets from a variety of vantage points, the authors correct many prevailing assumptions about convention, innovation, and developing compositional technique in the music of Haydn and his contemporaries. Going beyond traditional modes of study, The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn blends historical analysis and factual information with critical appraisal in a way that will benefit all Haydn enthusiasts.

About the Author :
Floyd and Margaret Grave have worked both independently and together on a variety of research projects, centering mostly on problems of eighteenth-century music sources, theory, criticism, and analysis. Floyd Grave currently teaches in the Music Department at Rutgers University, where he has served as director of the graduate programs in musicology, music theory, and composition. He has also taught at New York University and the University of Virginia. Both Floyd and Margaret have received numerous research grants and contributed articles to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, first and second editions.

Review :
"With this latest book, they have produced yet another comprehensive and thoroughly documented addition to the Haydn literature.... Signs of the Graves' bibliographic acument are manifest. The text is meticulously referenced, directing the reader towards much of the relevant recent literature on the subject.... The main contribution in the Graves' study is their discussion of large-scale integrative elements in Haydn's quartets.... It should be noted that the analyses, which make up the main bulk of the book, are astute, inspiring, and nicely integrated into the contextual material. In addition, they are generally very well written."--Nancy November, Notes "The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn, by Floyd and Margaret Grave, is the first to combine the fruits of modern musicological research with a broad study of the entire repertory, underpinned by modern textual scholarship and secondary literature. It can serve as a reference work for the entire corpus, and students interested in individual works or sets can dip into the relevant sections. As the previewers of this book imply on the dust jacket, the authors' comprehensive--almost encyclopedic--knowledge of the repertory and its background is evident on almost every page.... I warmly welcome the publiction of this book for its authority, accuracy, and completeness."--William Drabkin, Music and Letters "Inevitably this new book by the Graves will be a standard from some time. It represents a new generation of expertise; it offers an excellent survey and a reasonably detailed discussion of the sixty-eight scores from several aspects, well informed in the scholarly literature, sensitive and inventive in the argumentation, richly documented, carefully illustrated.... This can serve as a splendid textbook in teaching Haydn's stlye, his string quartest oeuvre, the sonata fro mand other structures of the classical period.... The merits of the book can best be discovered when you read it or select subchapters, exceprts, diagrams, music examples for use in your class--this way it is indeed a goldmine."--Lázloó Somfai, Ad Parnassum "A comprehensive, eclectic introduction to historical, stylistic, and analytical perspectives on Haydn's string quartets--a repertoire central to the classical style. Readers new to this music will find much to think about, scholars will encounter provocative thoughts on longstanding issues, performers will be inspired to rethink their approaches, and experienced listeners will enjoy the encyclopedic resources."--Joel Lester, Dean, Mannes College "The book's central purpose is to share with us the authors' understanding of the music, and in many ways this aim is brilliantly achieved. I can't imagine anyone reading the book, even with a previous extensive knowledge of the quartets, and not feeling a new surge of astonishment at Hayden's extraordinary resourcefulness. The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn can be thoroughly recommended to players and listeners-anyone with a degree of musical knowledge and an interest in this wonderful repertoire, one of the greatest contributions to one of the most illustrious genres."--Journal of the Haydn Society of Great Britain "Both of them eminent scholars, Floyd and Margaret Grave bring to this undertaking not only a comprehensive knowledge to the existing literature but also an admirable ability to present their material coherently and to supplement it with their own analytical insights The scholarly value of this book is enhanced by the high quality of its presentation. Numerous carefully prepared musical examples, analytical graphs and tables illustrate the argumentThe volume supplies a comprehensive and attractive guide to Haydn's string quartets, presenting an image of this repertory that emerges from the most recent scholarship."--Danuta Mirka, Early Music "In depth, insightful, and wonderfully readable, this book will satisfy the needs and concerns of Haydn scholars and specialists as well as of music lovers who love the string quartet genre. The Graves have richly illustrated their discussion with musical examples, and their well-chosen words will at once explain, fascinate, and entertain all readers. This is a magnificent accomplishment, and it will assume a lasting place in the literature on Haydn."--Paul R. Bryan, Professor Emeritus of Music, Duke University "A comprehensive, eclectic introduction to historical, stylistic, and analytical perspectives on Haydn's string quartets--a repertoire central to the classical style. Readers new to this music will find much to think about, scholars will encounter provocative thoughts on longstanding issues, performers will be inspired to rethink their approaches, and experienced listeners will enjoy the encyclopedic resources."--Joel Lester, Dean, Mannes College "The book's central purpose is to share with us the authors' understanding of the music, and in many ways this aim is brilliantly achieved. I can't imagine anyone reading the book, even with a previous extensive knowledge of the quartets, and not feeling a new surge of astonishment at Hayden's extraordinary resourcefulness. The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn can be thoroughly recommended to players and listeners-anyone with a degree of musical knowledge and an interest in this wonderful repertoire, one of the greatest contributions to one of the most illustrious genres."--Journal of the Haydn Society of Great Britain "Both of them eminent scholars, Floyd and Margaret Grave bring to this undertaking not only a comprehensive knowledge to the existing literature but also an admirable ability to present their material coherently and to supplement it with their own analytical insights The scholarly value of this book is enhanced by the high quality of its presentation. Numerous carefully prepared musical examples, analytical graphs and tables illustrate the argumentThe volume supplies a comprehensive and attractive guide to Haydn's string quartets, presenting an image of this repertory that emerges from the most recent scholarship."--Danuta Mirka, Early Music "In depth, insightful, and wonderfully readable, this book will satisfy the needs and concerns of Haydn scholars and specialists as well as of music lovers who love the string quartet genre. The Graves have richly illustrated their discussion with musical examples, and their well-chosen words will at once explain, fascinate, and entertain all readers. This is a magnificent accomplishment, and it will assume a lasting place in the literature on Haydn."--Paul R. Bryan, Professor Emeritus of Music, Duke University