Page 153 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

The rondo is typically light, quick, and jovial in nature. Classical compos- ers most often chose the rondo form for the last movement, the finale (Italian for “end”) of a sonata, quartet, or symphony. The carefree tune and the easily grasped digressions lend to the rondo finale an “upbeat” feeling, the musical equivalent of a happy ending.
Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E♭ major (1796),
Third Movement (Finale)
Listening to Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E♭ major (see Listening Cue) makes us think about the construction of the trumpet—and the French horn as well— around the turn of the nineteenth century. Before 1800 both the trumpet and horn were natural instruments, without valves (Figure 8.8). They could play suc- cessive intervals of an octave and fifth, and even those of a triad, by “overblow- ing” (as you can overblow an octave on a recorder, for example). But even great virtuosos had difficulty playing all the notes of a scale perfectly in tune. More- over, because over blowing produces only higher pitches, not lower ones, the trumpet could play very few low notes.
To remedy these deficiencies, a Viennese trumpeter and friend of Haydn, An- ton Weidinger (1767–1852), came up with a new design for his instrument. He had the brass of the trumpet pierced with holes that could be covered with movable keypads, anticipating the approach used on woodwinds today. In 1796 Haydn wrote a concerto for Weidinger and his new trumpet. Judging from the reviews of the first performance, the sound of Weidinger’s instrument was muffled and unpleasant. In fact, this “covering keypad” approach was soon abandoned; the trumpet thereafter remained “natural” until around 1830, when a wholly new
listening Cue
Figure 8.8
A natural trumpet fabricated
in Germany around 1800. Such an instrument could play a full scale only in the higher part of the register—and even then only with difficulty.
Franz Joseph Haydn, Trumpet Concerto in E♭ major (1796) Download 24 Third movement, Allegro (fast)
Genre: Concerto
Form: Rondo
what to listen for: Who can miss the constant return of the rondo theme as it gradually forms an ABABACABA structure?
read . . . a detailed Listening Guide of this selection online.
listen to . . . this selection streaming online.
watch . . . an Active Listening Guide of this selection online.
watch . . . a trumpeter play the cadenza of this selection—and interrupt to propose marriage to his girlfriend. do . . . Listening Exercise 8.2, Haydn, Trumpet Concerto in E♭ major, online.
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Courtesy Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments; Collection purchase, 1957; Accession No. 3650.1957
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