Helping Developing Pianists Prepare for the Sonatas of Haydn and Mozart: A Sequenced Approach to Technique and Artistry

by

Xiao Yang, BA, MM

A Dissertation

In

Piano Pedagogy

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

Approved

Dr. Carla Davis Cash Chair of Committee

Dr. Lora Deahl

Dr. William Westney

Mark Sheridan Dean of the Graduate School

August, 2019

Copyright 2019, Xiao Yang Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to extend my most sincere appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Carla Davis Cash, for her tremendous help and patient guidance throughout my D.M.A. study. Her passion in educating young musicians sets an outstanding example of a true piano pedagogue, which has inspired me all the time.

This work could not be finished without her professional guidance and unwavering support.

I am also truly thankful for my other committee members: Dr. Lora Deahl and

Dr. William Westney, for their contributive guidance and suggestions. The classes taught by Dr. Deahl and Dr. Westney are crucial for me to develop my own teaching philosophy.

And this four-year journey would not have been possible without the support and love from my family and friends. I cannot tell how much I am indebted to them.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... iii

ABSTRACT ...... v

I. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

II. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MUSIC OF HAYDN AND MOZART ...... 4

2.1 Life and Keyboard Characteristics of Haydn and Mozart ...... 5 2.2 Similarities between the Music of Haydn and Mozart ...... 8 2.2.1 Dynamic Effects ...... 10 2.2.2 Use of Articulation ...... 10 2.2.3 Virtuosity at the Keyboard ...... 11 2.3 Differences between Haydn’s and Mozart’s music ...... 12 2.3.1 Texture in the Left-Hand Figures ...... 12 2.3.2 Melodic Motives and Phrase Lengths ...... 14 2.3.3 Influence of Opera and Vocal Works on Mozart’s Music ...... 14 III. REVIEW OF PIANO TECHNIQUE: THE PLAYING MECHANISM ...... 16

3.1.1 Shoulder ...... 19 3.1.2 Upper Arm ...... 20 3.1.3 Forearm ...... 21 3.1.4 Wrist ...... 21 3.1.5 Fingers ...... 22 IV. USING PREPARATORY SONATINAS TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR THE SONATAS OF HAYDN AND MOZART ...... 24

4.1 Overview ...... 24 4.2 The Music Characteristics of Haydn’s Piano Sonatas ...... 25 4.2.1 Projected Left-Hand Lines ...... 25 4.2.2 Short Motives ...... 29 4.2.3 Harmonic Thirds ...... 32 4.3 The Musical Characteristics of Mozart’s Piano Sonatinas and Sonatas ...... 37 4.3.1 Alberti Bass ...... 37 4.3.2 Lyrical Themes ...... 41 4.3.3 Double-Octave Opening Statements ...... 44 V. CONCLUSIONS ...... 48

iv Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

ABSTRACT

The aim of this document is to help piano teachers guide their students in developing a better understanding of the works of Haydn and Mozart even before they reach their works. Pieces written by Haydn and Mozart are appealing to many young students, but they also can be quite challenging in aspects of technique and artistry. To help students effectively prepare for Haydn’s and Mozart’s sonatas, I provide this guide that, first, reviews the characteristics of the music of Haydn and Mozart, briefly explains the functions of each part of the body in piano playing, and provides an overview of pedagogical techniques employed in teaching the physical approach to the piano. Afterward, I discuss level-appropriate sonatinas that can be used during the earlier years of piano study to help students perform Classical piano music stylistically. With this training, students can develop the fundamental understanding of the defining characteristics of Haydn and Mozart and produce them in ways that are appropriate, informed, and efficient.

v Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Haydn’s and Mozart’s works represent the pinnacle of music created during the Classical period.1 As contemporaries, they were inspired and influenced by one another, both achieving “the perfect blend of form and content. . . wealthy in textural and emotional depth.”2

As a piano teacher, I notice that my students find the music of Haydn and

Mozart interesting and exciting. Not only do they enjoy the melodies while listening, they also consider playing a whole piece by one of these composers as a major accomplishment. Despite their enthusiasm for Haydn and Mozart, students’ grasp of the music of these composers is naturally limited. Students can readily capture the similarities between the pieces composed by Haydn and Mozart (e.g., range of the sound, rhythm, tempo, etc.), but they may fail to recognize the subtle differences in texture, phrase organization, or use of thematic materials that set these two composers’ works apart. In many cases, these differences are what make these composers’ expressions unique. Missing these compositional features in the Classical period may hinder students’ comprehension of the music in both learning and performance.

The goal of this project is to help piano teachers guide their students in developing a better understanding of the common characteristics found in the piano works of the Classical period and, in particular, the sonatas of Haydn and Mozart. In

1 James Peter Burkholder and Donald Jay Grout, A History of Western Music (New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 2001), 466. 2 Ibid., 465-495.

1 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 my opinion, this is accomplished by an examination of the Classical period sonatina and sonata repertoire. By choosing a variety of level-appropriate sonatinas during the earlier years of study and sequencing this repertoire intelligently until sonatas are reached, teachers can mold students who perform Classical piano music stylistically and who can also identify and appropriately bring attention to unique qualities of the composers of this musical form. My belief is that employing many opportunities for students to explore all of the characteristics of the Classical period can prepare them to distinguish between, approach, and perform the more sophisticated repertoire of the masters more confidently and musically later on.

This document contains a review of Haydn’s and Mozart’s lives and music characteristics in order to provide a historical background for young students in understanding and learning Haydn’s and Mozart’s sonatas. I include a review of pedagogical schools of thoughts regarding the technical/physical approaches to playing the piano. And, because I reference different parts of the playing mechanism, primarily the shoulder, upper arm, elbow and forearm, wrist, and fingers, in discussing technique later on in the document, I provide brief general descriptions of how each of these component is used in piano playing.

Selected musical characteristics of Haydn’s and Mozart’s piano sonatas, previously identified by scholars or by myself, are discussed. I provide examples of

Classical sonatinas, considered preparatory material for the later learning of more complex sonatas, that can be used to prepare students to effectively execute these characteristics found more often in either Haydn’s or Mozart’s later works. I outline

2 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 physical approaches to learning and performing the music with ease, including steps that teachers and/or students can adopt in teaching and practice.

3 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

CHAPTER II

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MUSIC OF HAYDN AND MOZART

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) were among the most prominent figures in music history, as they were essentially the incarnations of the artistic era that was later known as The First Viennese School.3

Although they were born and raised in completely different environments — Haydn grew up in rural Austria4 and Mozart was born into a middle-class family in the city of

Salzburg5 — they both shared intensive experiences of music of the Baroque era and ended up developing a close relationship in the late 1700s.6 Their similar music background and their close relationship were often attributed to as major sources of stylistic similarities in their music; the differences of each composer’s personality and music learning process influenced their compositions as well.

This chapter aims to help piano teachers and young pianists in identifying similarities and differences in Haydn’s and Mozart’s keyboard repertoire, so that piano teachers and young pianists may better choose specific preparatory pieces in preparation for the more easeful learning of sonatas later on.

3 Charles Rosen, The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (New York: WW Norton & Company, 1997), 19-20. 4 David Wyn Jones, The Life of Haydn (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 6. 5 Ernst Fritz Schmid and Ernest Sanders, “Mozart and Haydn,” The Musical Quarterly 42, no. 2 (1956): 145. 6 Ibid., 145-161.

4 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

2.1 Life and Keyboard Characteristics of Haydn and Mozart

I examined each composer’s general biographies and their instrumental works from a variety of sources, including Dent (1913), Mann (1977), Rushton (1981),

Geiringer (1982), Downs (2004), Gordon (1996). These sources offer a look into

Haydn’s and Mozart’s lives, works, and compositional processes.

Franz Joseph Haydn was born in March 1732 to a poor Austrian peasant family in a small village called Rohrau.7 Although the young Haydn demonstrated intriguing music talents at a very young age (singing beautifully with perfect intonation), his family could not afford a proper music education. Later on, one of

Haydn’s cousins offered an opportunity to take Haydn to Hainburg to receive proper music education. In Hainburg, Haydn’s voice earned him a chorister position at the

Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna. Yet, as Haydn approached puberty, his voice changed, and he was eventually ousted from St. Stephen. Over the next eight years,

Haydn struggled to make ends meet by taking various odd musical jobs to improve his musical knowledge. According to Geiringer, this period was likely the time when

Haydn developed his life-long goal of becoming a composer.8 The dedication and commitment in learning music finally paid off as Haydn was appointed as a music director in 1758. Soon after, in 1761, Haydn finally found an even more secure position as he was appointed as kapellmeister at the Esterhazy court in Eisenstadt.9

7 Jones, The Life of Haydn, 10. 8 Karl Geiringer and Irene Geiringer, Haydn: a Creative Life in Music (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1982), 27. 9 Jones, The Life of Haydn, 6-26.

5 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

In comparison with Haydn’s life, Mozart’s life could not be more different.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756 to a middle-class family in Salzburg.

His father was a highly educated and well-respected court musician and his mother came from a family of Salzburg officials. Mozart grew up in a handsome residence in the center of the city. Similar to Haydn, he exhibited music talent at an early age, yet probably far more extraordinary. At the age of six, Mozart had already composed a minuet. Such unique music talent prompted his father to take the young Mozart on a harsh and difficult grand tour of France, Italy and Austria to show off his talent, which resulted in Mozart quickly assimilating music from different regions across Europe.10

As John Gillespie comments, “Mozart’s Italian style became more Italianate than the

Italians.”11

Despite the different environments in which Haydn and Mozart were raised, they both rose to prominent positions in music history with their own unique characteristics. Those distinguishing feathers have been studied by a number of musical scholars:

In Gordon’s Keyboard Literature, he considers that Haydn “commanded a full complement of moods and emotions in his music, from the joyous and gay to the tender and passionate.”12 The characteristics of his compositions varied over time. In his keyboard music, for instance, folk-like melodies were used, simply stated at first and then developed throughout whole movements (e.g., Hob. XV: 25 in G major).

10 Maynard Solomon and Gordon Gould, Mozart: A Life (Harper Perennial: Hutchinson, 1995), 3- 12. 11 John Gillespie, Five Centuries of Keyboard Music (North Chelmsford: Courier Corporation, 2013), 165. 12 Gordon, Keyboard Literature, 93.

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Ornamentation in slow movements were used as a means of sustaining tones in the manner of a wind instrument (e.g., Hob. XVI: 52 in E-flat major).

Haydn’s early sonatas were composed as teaching pieces, most of them in three or more short movements,13 influenced by the Empfindsamkeit style that features sudden contrasts of mood. After 1781, Haydn’s sonatas went through a period of artistic change, evidenced by the presence of experimental features.14 He expanded the use of unusual keys to express the music; he used the high degree of register contrasts in both hands or one hand; and he expanded the contrasts of dynamic, influenced by the orchestral repertoire at the time. The final group of his sonatas is considered mature and refined, representing the balance between skill and inspiration,15 such as in his final three sonatas, often referred to as brilliant, virtuosic, and with well-organized structure and profound mood.16

On the other hand, the art of Mozart has been described as “entirely spontaneous.”17 As Gordon states, Mozart’s “creative ability was the most spectacular known to music, with consummate achievements in such different fields as opera, symphony, chamber music, and solo literature — both vocal and instrumental.”18

In his early keyboard sonatas, written between 1774-1775, “the light and cheerful style associated with the Galant movement in Italy” is apparent.19 For example, Sonata K. 284 in D major begins with a joyful opening, described as light,

13 Ibid., 95. 14 Karl Geiringer and Irene Geiringer, Haydn: a Creative Life in Music, 279. 15 Gordon, Keyboard Literature, 96. 16 Ibid., 120-122. 17 Edward Lowinsky, “On Mozart’s Rhythm.” The Musical Quarterly 42, no. 2 (1956), 162-163. 18 Gordon, Keyboard Literature, 124. 19 Ibid., 125.

7 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 energetic, and spirited with quickly executed short rhythmic motives, accompaniments of broken octaves and repeated notes, and simplified harmonic progressions. In particular, Mozart’s early sonatas (K. 280, 281, 282, and 283) are considered to be influenced by Haydn’s six sonatas published in 1774.20

2.2 Similarities between the Music of Haydn and Mozart

As Gordon noted: “the similarities between Haydn’s and Mozart’s works are apparent in the keys, rhythmic patterns as well as the contrast and treatment of the material.”21 For instance, in Mozart’s second movement of Sonata K. 280 in F major

(Example 2.1), the uses of the key of F minor and the rhythmic pattern to express slow melodic material are strikingly similar to Haydn’s second movement of Sonata Hob.

XVI: 23 (Example 2.2).

Example 2.1: Excerpt from Mozart’s Sonata in F major, K. 280, II. Adagio

Example 2.2: Excerpt from Haydn’s Sonata in F major, Hob. XVI: 23, II. Adagio

20 Ibid., 126. 21 Stewart Gordon, Keyboard Literature (New York: Schirmer Books, 1996), 95.

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The triplet chromatic passage in the first movement (Example 2.3) of the same sonata of Mozart is said to be influenced by Haydn’s use of chromaticism as a transition in the first movement of Sonata Hob. XVI: 23 (1773) in F major (Example

2.4). In Sonata K. 281 and K. 282, Mozart extended the last movement with more development of the thematic idea, which influenced by Haydn, foresees Mozart’s mature writing later on.22

Example 2.3: Excerpt from Mozart’s Sonata in F major, K. 280, I. Allegro assai

Example 2.4: Excerpt from Haydn’s Sonata in F major, Hob. XVI: 23, I. Allegro

Haydn and Mozart shared other similar characteristics as per the use of musical forms, instruments, dynamics, articulations, ornamentations, and virtuosity in their music, both within and outside the keyboard repertoire.

22 Gordon, 126-127.

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2.2.1 Dynamic Effects

Both composers were influenced by the Mannheim School, which dictated a style predicated on dynamic contrasts and effects.23 Bailie summarizes that, in

Haydn’s works, the sudden forte or piano is one of the important characteristics24 in his symphonies, string quartets, and piano sonatas. Some big contrasts in dynamic create sudden shifts in mood, such as in Haydn’s Piano Trio Hob. XV: 28 in E major—the first movement contains dramatic dynamic shifts from soft, calm melodies to suddenly louder and faster material.

Mozart also used dynamic contrasts prominently throughout his works25 as seen in his keyboard, vocal, and symphonic repertoire. In Mozart’s Sonata K. 309 in C major, the opening of the first movement presents a brilliant motive in octaves with rapidly contrasting dynamics between the first and the second theme, which appears charming and sweet.

2.2.2 Use of Articulation

As Gunn states, eighteenth-century style requires delineation by grouping, separating, and accenting articulating ideas.26 During the Classical period, articulation in keyboard music was described with four different types of touch: the staccato, legato, portato, and ordinary touch,27 all of which Haydn and Mozart expected in the

23 Edward Joseph Dent, Mozart’s Operas: a critical study (New York: McBride, Nast & Company, 1913), 38-39. 24 Eleanor Bailie, Haydn: A Graded Practical Guide (London: Kahn & Averill Publishers, 2006), xi. 25 Mario Raymond Mercado, The Evolution of Mozart's Pianistic Style (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992), 39. 26 Donna Louise Gunn, Discoveries from the Fortepiano: A Manual for Beginning and Seasoned Performers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), 141. 27 Bernard Harrison, Haydn's Keyboard Music: Studies in Performance Practice (Oxford: Oxford

10 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 performances of their keyboard works even though they only wrote a few articulation marks early in their careers. Even in the more precisely notated later works, pianists still need to supplement the composers’ markings in their score study and practice.28

Bailie’s opinion can be a good basic suggestion for beginners: “It is a safe generalization to say that articulation, in fast movements at any rate, was less legato, and more detached and defined… In slow movements longer legato lines are often implied.”29

2.2.3 Virtuosity at the Keyboard

Both Haydn and Mozart employed virtuosic features in their keyboard sonatas,30 especially in final movements. Haydn’s rhythmical figuration is often complex. It is said that he delighted in the use of dotted rhythms in lively or elegant passages of high dramatic tension.31 Even in slower second movements, Haydn’s expectation of virtuosity is apparent. For example, in the second movement of Sonata

Hob. XVI: 52 in E-flat major, Haydn presented a short and slow dotted rhythm motive, which continuously develops via a variety of ornamentations and cadenza-like runs throughout the rest of the movement. The third movement is an ambitious finale at an uninterrupted pace with “hectic turns of mood and rhythm every few bars.”32 It calls upon dramatic gestures and relies heavily on dynamic contrasts.

University Press, 1997), 33. 28 Ibid., 36. 29 Bailie, Haydn: A Graded Practical Guide, xviii. 30 Gordon, 120 and 125. 31 Bailie, Haydn: A Graded Practical Guide, xiv. 32 Bailie, Haydn: A Graded Practical Guide, 165.

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Mozart was one of the greatest keyboard virtuosos of his time.33 He emphasized sonority, the legato touch, and a virtuosic flair that sought to emulate the orchestra sound. For instance, in his Sonata K. 284 in D major, a brilliant resonance in the octaves invokes the spirit of the first movement. Mozart tended to use rapid passages, fast triplets, chromatic changes, countermelodies, and double octaves to produce an orchestral feel in piano works.

2.3 Differences between Haydn’s and Mozart’s music

Of the different characteristics between Haydn and Mozart, I selected three techniques to discuss. After practicing these techniques, students will acquire basic understanding of skills needed to be better prepared for playing the pieces listed in

Chapter Four.

2.3.1 Texture in Left-Hand Figures

Haydn’s basslines are generally far more complex and thematically rich than

Mozart’s.34 As Parrish noted, in Haydn’s early sonatas, he followed closely in the

Bach tradition,and retained many characteristics of Bach’s keyboard style, such as contrapuntal writing, throughout his long career.35 Bailie suggested, “Attention to clarity of texture in performance is vital, particularly in Haydn’s many passages of contrapuntal writing,”36 such as in Haydn’s Sonata Hob. XVI: 8 in G major (Example

2.5), in which the left-hand plays an important role in interplaying with the right-hand

33 Gordon, 125. 34 W. Dean Sutcliffe, “Haydn’s Musical Personality,” The Musical Times 130, no. 1756 (1989): 341- 44. 35 Carl Parrish, “Haydn and the Piano,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 1, no. 3 (1948): 27-32. 36 Eleanor Bailie, Haydn: A Graded Practical Guide, xvi.

12 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 melody. Three distinct lines should be heard: the right-hand, the left-hand sustained bass note D, and the important left-hand middle voice.

Example 2.5: Excerpt from Haydn’s Sonata in G major, Hob. XVI: 8, IV. Allegro

The Badura-Skodas state that Mozart, often contrasting to Haydn, enjoyed employing a continuo part in his symphony, concerto, and piano works.37 For instance, the piano was to play chords to fill out the harmony. The Alberti bass, which is a device that become one of Mozart’s favored forms of accompaniment,38 is a typical pattern of broken chords. Mozart usually assigned accompanimental figures like this, as seen in the second movement of Sonata K. 545, in which Mozart fully developed the expressive possibilities of this accompaniment formula (see Example 2.6):

Example 2.6: Excerpt from Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, K. 545, II. Andante

37 Eva Badura-Skoda and Paul Badura-Skoda, Interpreting Mozart on the Keyboard, 197. 38 Mario Raymond Mercado, The Evolution of Mozart's Pianistic Style, 9.

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2.3.2 Melodic Motives and Phrase Lengths

Compared to Mozart, Haydn’s motives are often short and frequently irregular phrase lengths.39 For instance, in Sonata Hob. XVI: 8 in G major and Hob. XVI: 49 in

E-flat major, both contain short and lively motives at the opening of the movements.

As well, the characteristic of irregular phrase lengths is shown in Haydn’s Sonata

Hob. XVI: 23 in F major: the first theme is made of 4 bars followed by 8 bars of music, rather than the regular symmetric phrases of 4 plus 4. To help young pianists better recognize such irregular phrases, Bailie suggests singing them to see how and when they begin and end and how they are shaped and subdivided. Compared to

Haydn, Mozart’s phrase structure is generally more symmetrical,40 which can be recognized more easily by young pianists.

2.3.3 Influence of Opera and Vocal Works on Mozart’s Music

The characteristics of opera make Mozart’s music moving, expressive, and dramatic.41 In the same ways he managed to highlight the beauty of the human voice,

Mozart wrote delightful pianistic melodies with natural, graceful, and emotional lyricism. As Badura-Skoda noted, for an expressive sound, a pianist must be in control and command of his fingers in order to play in the cantabile and expressive style required of Mozart’s melodic line.42 To achieve this, young students should imitate vocalists in singing lyrical melodies at the piano. As an example, in Mozart’s Sonata

K. 310, the melody in the second movement is presented as a slow-moving, lyrical

39 Ibid., xiv. 40 Lowinsky, “On Mozart’s rhythm.” The Musical Quarterly 42, no. 2 (1956): 176-181. 41 Edward Joseph Dent, Mozart’s Operas: a critical study, 24. 42 Eva Badura-Skoda and Paul Badura-Skoda, Interpreting Mozart on the Keyboard, 146.

14 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 song, simple and yet full of emotion requiring the pianist to execute it with precise attention to how time, coloring, and balancing of the voices achieves utmost expressivity.

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CHAPTER III

REVIEW OF PIANO TECHNIQUE: THE PLAYING MECHANISM

To truly master Haydn’s and Mozart’s music, it is essential for pianists to develop control of their physical technique at the keyboard. While coordinated body movement has been the norm in piano pedagogy in many western countries, it is not the case for some piano teachers in China, who still rely on the “fingers technique method” in piano teaching without explaining the use of arm, shoulder, and other body parts. Speaking from my own experience, this phenomenon is more prevalent in many rural cities, such as Daqing, Harbin, Changchun, and Dandong. Teachers who still keep this method expect their young piano students to achieve finger independence through increasing finger strength, and to produce all notes with equal loudness and depth by using only fingers whether they are playing scales, arpeggios, exercises, and even sonatas.

Therefore, this chapter aims to provide another teaching strategy for piano technique for the group of teachers who have not realized the importance of efficiency of movements for young students at the piano and to facilitate for the group of teachers who already know the importance of coordinated physical movements of the large and small limbs but have no clear ideas or systematic method for how to teach students to achieve it successfully.

In this chapter, ever-evolving pedagogical approaches to teaching piano- playing technique are discussed. References to the usage of different body parts in

16 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 playing are discussed as well. With this review, I aim to help students acquire a fundamental understanding of the functions and proper uses of the separate levers of the pianist’s performance mechanism, which can be beneficial to teachers and, specifically, students seeking out specific musical effects through the use of efficient technical approaches at the keyboard. This knowledge and skill will assist pianists in the teaching, practice, and performance of the easier and progressively more difficult works of the Classical period, in particular, sonatinas and the later sonatas of Haydn and Mozart.

For hundreds of years, piano pedagogues have strived to develop the techniques to achieve beautiful tone quality and minimize difficulty in playing.

Despite sharing similar goals, pedagogical philosophies evolved over time and at some points even contradicted each other. The gap between different pedagogical philosophies mainly stemmed from the diverging perspectives over how to achieve a beautiful tone.43

Before the 1800s, keyboard teaching and technique was based on performance practices of the harpsichord and clavichord. Clementi, Czerny, Hanon, and other scholars stressed the idea that “all fingers were to be equally strong while keeping the wrist immobile”44 or that fingers were to be “raised high and dropped forcefully with minimal hand assistance.”45 Hanon recommended that “if all five fingers of the hand were absolutely equally well-trained, they would be ready to execute anything written

43 John Love Norman, “A Historical Study of the Changes in Attitudes Toward the Teaching of Piano Technique from 1800 to the Present Time.” (PhD diss., Michigan State University, 1968), 39-45. 44 Ibid., 2-6. 45 George Kochevitsky, The Art of Piano Playing: a Scientific Approach (Van Nuys: Alfred Music,1995), 2.

17 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 for the instrument.”46 Also, the idea of “hours-long daily practices” was deemed necessary to achieve perfect tone quality.47 However, in the 19th century, a more modern piano gradually began to replace the fortepiano. The “weight technique” led pianists to start incorporating more of the arm to play the instrument. The incorporation of the arm, described at length in Kochevitsky’s The Art of Piano

Playing (1964), influences many current piano playing schools of thought, such as that of Ludwig Deppe.

Ludwig Deppe (1828–1890) noted the importance of coordinated body movement rather than only using the fingers in piano performance. Deppe was among the earliest pedagogues who integrated the rising arm and hand weight in piano performance.48 Gerig writes about weight control in piano playing and states that,

“with the technical teachings of Deppe, we come to the true beginnings of the modern era of piano technique.”49 His idea was adopted by many influential American pedagogues, such as Amy Fay, Almon Virgil, Otto Rudolph Ortmann, among others.

This transition from excessive emphasis on fingering technique to coordinated movements between larger and smaller parts of the arm allowed pianists to play with less fatigue and strain on the body, even in the most virtuosic of settings.

The purpose of the following section is to review what influential piano pedagogues in the 1900s wrote regarding the teaching of technical concepts. While

46 Charles Louis Hanon et al., The Virtuoso Pianist (Leipzig: Edition Peters, 1987), 2. 47 Ibid., 7. 48 C. A. Ehrenfechter, Technical Study in the Art of Pianoforte-playing: Deppe's Principles (London: W. Reeves, 1891), 22-26. 49 Elisabeth Caland, Artistic Piano-playing as Taught by Ludwig Deppe (Chicago: Olympian Publishing Company, 1903), 15.

18 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 there are a number of comprehensive reviews of pedagogical techniques by different authors, the following section intends to focus on the functions of different body parts, such as the shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist, and fingers during performance at the piano.

The section is written with the aim of helping teachers better understand the references to these body parts in the next chapter, in which I describe the approaches young pianists might take in bringing to life important musical characteristics of the sonatinas and sonatas in the Classical period.

3.1.1 Shoulder

In piano playing, the importance of shoulder movement was often overlooked in the early 1900s since such movement was trivial when compared to other more apparent moving body parts.50 In the 1920s, Ortmann pointed out that the shoulder plays a crucial role in all arm movements, acting as a fulcrum during the descent or rise of the upper arm.51 The importance of shoulder movement in piano performance was further championed by Sandor, who stated that shoulders carry full weight of the arms and also assist in lifting the arms — carrying, guiding, and controlling their weight.52 Additionally, when pianists perform at the piano, the power conveyed through the arm often begins at the shoulder (or upper back) and is transferred to the fingertips through the movement of the shoulder joint. This interplay between

50 Ibid., 26. 51 Otto Ortmann, The Physical Basis of Piano Touch and Tone (Redditch: Read Books Ltd, 2013), 10. 52 György Sándor, On Piano Playing: Motion, Sound and Expression (Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1981), 24.

19 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 shoulder and fingertips provides yet another example on the importance of shoulder in piano playing.

3.1.2 Upper Arm

According to Whiteside, the upper arm is the second most important body part in piano playing next only to shoulders.53 The upper arm, which moves via the shoulder joint, plays a crucial role in tone production. By pulling the torso (a movement of the shoulder girdle), the upper arm triggers a downward action in the elbows and depresses fingers to keys to produce different tones. Whiteside concludes that the upper arm is the prime agent in combination touches, serving as the impetus for a series of two or more notes played by the hand or fingers while providing a source of additional strength and endurance.54

As noted by Sandor, the movement of upper arm is also crucial to accommodate the free movement of fingers when pianists play scales or arpeggios.55

The ideal position for each finger is properly aligned with the hand and forearm above it, relying on proper movement of the upper arm in achieving such ideal positions. As an example, in Mozart’s Sonata K. 545 in C major, the arpeggios of the right hand can be executed more effectively by moving the upper arm slightly away from the body when playing the fifth finger. This helps align the finger with the hand and forearm in a straighter line to allow for a more supported attack that minimizes strain. Further,

53 Abby Whiteside, Abby Whiteside on Piano Playing (Cleckheaton: Amadeus Press, 1955), 26. 54 Ibid., 28. 55 Sándor, On Piano Playing, 60.

20 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 moving the upper arm outward assists right-hand-ascending or left-hand-descending scales be executed freely and with evenness.

3.1.3 Forearm

Ortmann noted that the forearm is the source for all rotatory movement in piano performance.56 A free forearm movement is central to all melodic accentuation and phrase releases. Whiteside largely shared Ortmann’s view on the forearm, stating that the forearm’s greatest asset is the turning action in fast and powerful alternating passagework. In additional to rotation, the extension and flexion of the forearm guides the hand horizontally, making the forearm the prime mover of the hand to different locations across the keyboard.57 In some cases, such as in repeated fast notes or in the arpeggios in staccato articulation favored by Haydn, the forearm can guide the hand horizontally to help produce powerful and relaxed sound.

Whiteside also points out that the forearm houses the muscles that control the fingers. While those muscles exhibit superior dexterity and flexibility, they are much thinner and smaller than the counterparts found in the upper arm or shoulder.58

Therefore, students need to know that the forearm must be utilized effectively to transfer the energy to the fingers in order to avoid overusing the muscles.

3.1.4 Wrist

Ortmann identifies two major functions of the wrist at the piano: the hand staccato through flexion and extension of the wrist, and the action that facilitates the

56 Ortmann, The Physical Basis of Piano Touch and Tone, 33. 57 Whiteside, Abby Whiteside on Piano Playing, 30-36. 58 Ibid., 39-42.

21 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 crossover of the hand over the thumb in scales. Ortmann suggests that the wrist has both high and low positions. When high, the wrist should move in synchronization with the fingers as they depress keys. When low, the wrist should often ascend as the finger descends to create a warm tone and to also release tension in the arm.

In contrast, Whiteside argues that the wrist joint does not produce any action.

Instead, she suggests that it simply allows the hand to move to the desired location through up and down motions of the forearm and that the wrist is more of a poised, lightly balanced extension of the forearm rather than the powerful originator of the hand depressing the keys. Similarly, in Sandor’s On Piano Playing, the author proposes that the movement of the wrist in both vertical and horizontal directions is only to accommodate the alignment of the forearm muscles with hand and fingers.

3.1.5 Fingers

As concluded by Ortmann, tone quality is closely related to the speed of hammer that hits the string, which in turn amounts to the momentum that is transferred from the musician’s fingers.59 He states that each finger is controlled by one single strand of muscle, which is the biological reason why beginners often find the separate articulation of fingers difficult. To efficiently achieve finger independence, young pianists can begin to practice by lifting and dropping their fingers on undepressed keys in order to feel the position of the keys first instead of striking the keys with pressure.

Whiteside agrees with Ortmann’s perception of picturing the fingers as levers.

She believed that the fingers do not initiate the key depressing action. Instead, they are

59 Otto Ortmann, The Physiological Mechanics of Piano Technique (Boston: Dutton, 1929), 341.

22 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 the primary agent through which the power from the arm muscles is transmitted to the keyboard. The bony structures in hand and fingers facilitate this energy transition.60

The importance of fingering technique has been widely acknowledged; however, modern piano pedagogues clearly oppose the tedious and routine finger exercises stressed by piano pedagogues for centuries. According to Sandor, the independence of fingers should be achieved through coordinated, synchronized, and interdependent development of muscular movement, rather than excessive and strenuous muscular use that goes against the nature of human anatomy.61

60 Whiteside, Abby Whiteside on Piano Playing, 35-39. 61 Sándor, On Piano Playing, 52.

23 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

CHAPTER IV

USING PREPARATORY SONATINAS TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR THE SONATAS OF HAYDN AND MOZART

4.1 Overview

In this chapter, I will integrate information shared in the previous two chapters in the highlighting of several important musical characteristics in Haydn’s and

Mozart’s piano sonatas, most of which are found in the music of both composers but are typically more prominent in the output of one or the other. The selected characteristics require techniques that are comparatively challenging to most young piano students and which I feel deserve more attention in the pedagogical literature, particularly in the manner in which these musical characteristics are introduced and taught to be executed technically. Keeping in mind that the learning of Haydn’s and

Mozart’s music should include attention given to these special characteristics, this chapter will also provide examples of preparatory sonatinas that can be used by teachers to guide the learning and practice of common and unique musical features of the Classical period earlier in the learning process. These sonatinas are meant to provide students materials needed to sufficiently prepare them to future performance of similar, yet more advanced pieces. Sonatinas composed by William Duncombe

(1736-1819), Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), Matthew Camidge (1764-1844), Theodore

Latour (1766-1837), Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832), Anton Diabelli (1781-1858),

Heinrich Lichner (1829-1898), and Frank Lynes (1858-1913) will be introduced and compared directly with sonatas composed by Haydn and Mozart. It is expected that

24 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 students can gain substantial experience as well as musical understanding from studying these sonatinas. Through such systematic practice, students are expected to become physically ready to execute the signature characteristics in the master works of Haydn and Mozart.

4.2 The Music Characteristics of Haydn’s Piano Sonatas

4.2.1 Projected Left-Hand Lines

It seems evident that left-hand lines were important to Haydn. As summarized by scholars, “Haydn’s bass lines are generally far more complex and thematically rich than Mozart’s.”62 This can be seen in Haydn’s Sonata Hob. XVI: 1 in C major and

Sonata Hob. XVI: 8 in G major (Example 4.1 and Example 4.2):

Example 4.1: Excerpt from Haydn Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: 1, II. Andante (Level 7)

62 W. Dean Sutcliffe, “Haydn's Musical Personality,” The Musical Times 130, no. 1756 (1989): 341- 344.

25 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

Example 4.2: Excerpt from Haydn Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI: 8, I. Allegro (Level 7)

Both excerpts from these sonatas have left-hand lines that are aurally interesting and should be brought out by the performer. Pianists’ goals should include the balancing of both hands so that the quicker moving right-hand feels supported in sound by the slower moving left-hand lines. In the left hand, pianists will need to aim for a strong and clear tone and shape groupings of notes in relation to their harmonic connections or pitch relationships.

To give students practice in learning to bring out active left-hand lines, I would use the Sonatina in C major by Duncombe and the Sonatina in G Major by Clementi

(Example 4.3 and Example 4.4). In these works, lines in the left-hand are very much like those in Haydn’s sonatas, yet not as challenging, making them appropriate preparatory material.

26 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

Example 4.3: Excerpt from William Duncombe Sonatina in C major (Level 3)

Example 4.4: Excerpt from Muzio Clementi Sonatina in G Major, Op. 36, No. 2 II. Allegretto (Level 5)

In the studying of Duncombe’s and Clementi’s sonatinas shown above, students can develop their left-hand technique to bring out and shape supportive lines.

Several components need to be in place for students to effectively and efficiently project. In the case of the left-hand lines in these two sonatinas, students should be reminded to sit tall with relaxed shoulders. Students should feel how gravity assists in the drop of their left arm to the keyboard. There should be little tension in the arm except for when the arm begins to move assisted by the shoulder. In both works, when the left-arm starts moving, the shoulder brings power to the upper arm muscles; at the

27 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 same time, the relaxed wrist and hand are guided by the arm. The wrist should remain flexible in order to help the fingers in the legato connection of the notes in most efficient and tension-free way possible.

In Duncombe’s and Clementi’s sonatina, the process of releasing tension should begin with strong fingers at the keyboard with left arm hanging loosely.

Students should feel the long-short rhythmic pattern of the line with the help of valuable tools: the relaxed, flexible wrist and solid fingers. After students acquire this technique, the forearm and wrist movement should be transferrable to Haydn’s sonatas.

Students can be directed to practice these left-hand lines for optimal sound and style in the following way:

1. At a slow tempo, sing the left-hand line while shadowing with

fingers on lap or at the keyboard. Students should pay most attention

to how the line is dynamically shaped and how articulation will

influence physical attack and subsequent sound.

2. Play the left-hand line alone with a forte dynamic and legato

articulation; repeat 3 times.

3. Sing the right-hand part and play the left-hand line simultaneously.

4. Practice hands together slowly until both lines are projected clearly

and distinctly.

28 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

4.2.2 Short Motives

Haydn’s musical works demonstrate that, in many instances, he preferred short motives. The arrangements of the motives are well-ordered by Haydn. As Downs states, “These short motives show a cohesiveness and expressive power.”63 Haydn’s

Sonata Hob. XVI: 3 in C major and Hob. XVI: 23 in F major (see Example 4.5 and

Example 4.6) illustrate how Haydn used repeated short motives to create his themes.

Example 4.5: Excerpt from Haydn Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: 3, I. Allegretto (Level 7)

Example 4.6: Excerpt from Haydn Sonata in F Major, Hob. XVI: 23, I. Allegro Moderato (Level 9)

Both musical examples demonstrate brief three- or four-note motives at the opening of the music, which Haydn reworked throughout the sonatas. Identifying how the motives are grouped to create longer phrases in the repertoire should be one

63 Downs, Classical Music, 219.

29 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 important goal for the learning of these sonatas. Also, the ability to produce these with tonal clarity and rhythmic integrity is important in performing Haydn’s music stylistically.

To gain experience in projecting short motives appropriately, students might benefit from learning Sonatina in C major by Lynes and Sonatina in F major by

Diabelli, as presented in Example 4.7 and 4.8. Both are more similar to Haydn’s

Sonata Hob. XVI: 23 (see Example 4.6) in terms of the use of the three-note motive in the opening theme, yet they are less technically demanding allowing students to focus their attention on attaining the physical ability to produce this musical characteristic securely.

Example 4.7: Excerpt from Frank Lynes Sonatina in C major, Op. 39, No. 1, I. Allegro (Level 4)

Example 4.8: Excerpt from Anton Diabelli Sonatina in F major, Op. 151, No. 3, I. Allegro moderato (Level 6)

30 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

For lively execution of the short motives in Lynes’ sonatina above, students should use the “drop – lift – drop - lift” motion of the arm, which helps in enlivening phrases shaping and the contrasts in articulation. Students should feel the impulse from the shorter sixteen-notes, towards the longer eighth-note. This feeling of onward movement is important to the shaping of the phrases. The first note of the piece will require students to drop the arm into the keyboard with a supportive hand position and strong fingers. Subsequent staccato eighth notes on the strong beats should be produced with a quick lift of the hand and arm made possible through a moveable wrist. The lifts will not only facilitate the staccato articulation but also will allow for a confident drop with the 5th finger into the next sixteenth note. A successful touch will be apparent with a projected tone, contrasting articulations, and rhythmic accuracy.

In Diabelli’s sonatina, which can serve as a motivational preparatory piece for

Haydn’s very similar Hob. XVI: 23., the theme should be energetic, clear, and articulated. As in Lynes’ sonatina, the dotted rhythmic motive calls on the young pianist to use the “drop – lift – drop - lift” motion of the arm, which also highlights the contrast between legato and staccato articulations. In Diabelli’s sonatina, the theme moves up to a higher register requiring more upper arms support to provide both ease in playing and a source of additional power for the gradual crescendo.

Teachers can practice with students in the lesson for optimal sound and style in the following way:

1. Play the right hand of opening phrases for the student, having the

student feel the strong beats with swinging arms.

31 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

2. Ask student to sing the melody, making clear distinctions in

articulations.

3. Ask student to play the opening motive slowly. Encourage him to

keep strong, supportive fingers and relaxed forearm and wrist for the

drop-lift motion and optimal sound.

4. Have student play consecutive three-note groupings, at first with

pauses in between them to exaggerate lift and drop motion. When

ready, connect with the groupings without pauses at a slow tempo

focusing on how a secure and supported attack matches the resonant

sound produced.

4.2.3 Harmonic Thirds

In Haydn’s piano works, performers encounter a variety of uses of the harmonic interval of a third, such as in Sonata Hob. XVI: 7 (see Example 4.9) and

Hob. XVI: 10 (see Example 4.10).

Example 4.9: Excerpt from Haydn Sonata (Divertimento) in C Major, Hob. XVI: 7, II. Minuet and Trio (Level 7)

32 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

Example 4.10: Excerpt from Haydn Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: 10, III. Presto (Level 7)

In playing successive harmonic thirds, the top voice requires more careful handling since it often carries the melodic line. To do so well, pianists need to be aware of the roles of the wrists and hands so that they do not incur unnecessary tension. In the practice of playing harmonic intervals, students also need to be sure that both notes of the interval are played in a coordinated fashion—pressed and released simultaneously.

The sonatinas I chose to practice the skill of playing harmonic intervals, particularly intervals of a third so commonly used by Haydn, are Sonatina in C major by Haslinger and Sonatina in C Major by Clementi, as shown in Examples 4.11 and

4.12.

Example 4.11: Excerpt from Tobias Haslinger Sonatina in C Major, I. Allegro non tanto (Level 4)

33 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

In Haslinger’s sonatina, the execution of the successive harmonic intervals requires a two-note slur, drop-lift technique for clarity and control. In Clementi’s sonatina, students will be expected to play harmonic third melodic patterns with a legato articulation (see Example 4.12), which would be difficult without practice first on slurred two beat harmonic intervals, such as those seen in Haslinger’s sonatina.

For this reason, I would choose to introduce Haslinger’s sonatina first to students.

Once they feel confident with playing two beats slurred, students can transfer the drop-lift approach in a more extended manner to cover longer legato lines, such as those seen in Clementi’s sonatina.

Example 4.12: Excerpt from Muzio Clementi Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36, II. Andante (Level 5)

Clementi frequently incorporated harmonic thirds in his piano works and thus, his easier pieces, such as the sonatinas, serve as appropriate preparatory material for students to practice this technique in a musically-pleasing setting. As Gerig emphasized, Clementi’s harmonic thirds need “natural lightness, flexibility and smooth rapidity movements.”64 Example 4.13 shows material suggested by Clementi to practice harmonic thirds.65

64 Reginald R Gerig, Famous Pianists & Their Technique (Bridgeport: R.B. Luce, 1975), 56. 65 Muzio Clementi, Clementi's Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte (London: Clementi, 1801), 32.

34 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

Example 4.13: Excerpt from Clementi’s Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte

To achieve Gerig’s goal for the playing of thirds, students should focus on keeping flexible yet supportive wrists with the least amount of tension possible in the arms when playing. Strong fingers, buoyed by the knuckles of the hand, a supportive wrist, and a relaxed arm provide the tools for playing comfortable and beautifully sounding harmonic intervals.

The first step in learning to play stylistically correct harmonic thirds is by playing them with a detached articulation. This will help the physical approach to depressing and releasing the two keys in a coordinated fashion. After this, combining two legato beats is necessary to develop the physical skill of connecting harmonic intervals within one hand—a tool needed for playing longer legato lines comfortably.

After students master the flexible wrist and legato technique for harmonic 3rds, the next hurdle to clear is how to voice the top of the thirds. Usually, the top line requires more care since that voice is the melodic line. In guiding students, teachers should actively help them with the physical approach needed to bring out one voice. Fingers playing melodically important material should approach the keyboard in a more perpendicular fashion. In this case, curving the finger so that its tip makes contact with

35 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 the key will help produce a more projected sound. For the simultaneous bottom harmonic lines, students can be asked to play those with “flatter” fingers or with more of the fleshy pad (as opposed to the bonier tip) making contact with the keys to create a more subdued sound. As discussed in the previous chapter, the upper arm may assist in lining up the forearm and hand with the finger playing the top voice for added support. Clearly, this technique is sophisticated and requires quite a bit of physical control to execute correctly. For this reason, students that are too young or have not had enough piano experience before encountering harmonic intervals might find this approach very difficult, which can induce unnecessary tension and fatigue.

Teachers can practice with students learning or refining the playing of harmonic thirds in the following way:

1. Ask students to play only the top melodic line of the harmonic

interval. For detached articulation, students should use their whole

arm to lead the wrist and hand to produce sound; for legato

articulation, students should use more finger and wrist legato

technique.

2. Use only white-key harmonic thirds, such as those found in the key

of C major, then go further to apply to other keys.

3. Have student play the patterns using rhythmic variety in order to

bring attention to different beats in the pattern. Along the way, each

beat should be felt as the strong or long beat.

36 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

4. Ask the student to practice in variety of ways (using different keys

and rhythms) until he feels thirds can be executed physically

securely and comfortably and with good tone.

4.3 The Musical Characteristics of Mozart’s Piano Sonatinas and Sonatas

4.3.1 Alberti Bass

In Mozart’s keyboard works, his bass material usually plays an accompaniment role. This can be seen in his frequent use of broken chords, alternating

2-note patterns, and, particularly, Alberti basslines,66 as seen in his Sonata in C Major,

K. 545 (Example 4.14) and Sonata in D major K. 284 (Example 4.15).

Example 4.14: Excerpt from Mozart Sonata in C Major, K. 545, II. Andante (Level 7)

Example 4.15: Except from Mozart Sonata in D major, K. 284, III. Andante (Level 8)

Mozart’s tendency was to use the Alberti bass to accompany singing melodies of the right hand. In both examples above, the Alberti bass creates rhythmic and

66 Badura-Skoda and Eva, Interpreting Mozart on the Keyboard, 146-150.

37 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019 harmonic energy but still plays the secondary role to the melody. To execute appropriately, a dynamic difference between hands is necessary for a balanced sound.

Still, pianists should understand that the left-hand material establishes the harmonic foundation for the melody and they should shape the Alberti bassline according to direction of the harmonic progression.

Younger students usually encounter the Alberti bass during their learning of easier Classical sonatinas. These elementary pieces should help them to learn (1) how to execute Alberti basslines without tension and (2) how to play out right-hand melodies over a softer left hand. In Attwood’s Sonatina in G Major and Clementi’s

Sonatina in D Major, the traditional Alberti bass is used to support melodic right-hand lines (see Example 4. 16 and 17). Attwood’s sonatina uses harmonic movement from I to V7 several times allowing students to refine two different fingerings for the playing of Alberti bassline patterns (5-1-3-1 and 5-1-2-1).

Example 4.16: Excerpt from Thomas Attwood Sonatina in G Major, I. Allegro (Level 4)

38 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

Example 4.17: Excerpt from Muzio Clementi Sonatina in D Major, Op. 36, No.6 I. Allegro (Level 6)

Hummel stated, as a preparation for playing the Alberti bass, that the muscles of the arms and hands should act without any stiffness. The hand may be held in slightly rounded position so that it may turn freely without effort.67 In Attwood’s sonatina, the left-hand fingers should find the G five-finger position first, then use the flexibility of the wrist (like a fulcrum) to lead the fingers to play the notes in a comfortable way. Since the repeated alternation of fingers can easily cause tension in the hand and arm, teachers should guide students to gently push or rock toward fifth and middle fingers while keeping a flexible wrist. This approach should allow the hand to gently rotate back toward the thumb on alternating beats for most comfort. As students’ progress, emphasis can be given to the bottom note of the pattern with a more rapid attack to help emphasize strong notes of the harmonies. With enough practice, the repeated physical pattern of the Alberti bassline, complete with stylistic execution, will become second nature to the young pianist, benefiting the future learning of countless works that use this compositional approach.

67 Johann Hummel, “A Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instructions.” (1828): Chapter 2.

39 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

Students can be directed to practice these left-hand lines for optimal sound and style in in the following way:

1. Begin by blocking (simultaneously playing) all notes of the four-note

pattern together. Actively listen to changes in harmony and be aware

of how note and fingering changes from one chord to the next

produce differences in sound. Play several times in this fashion. On

later repetitions, dynamically shape according to harmonic line.

2. Continue to play blocked chord while singing melody

simultaneously. Match dynamic shaping in melody and

accompaniment.

3. Play Alberti bass as written, slowly and with focus on execution as

described above. Student should be reminded that forearm should

remain relaxed to avoid overuse and fatigue. Repeat as indicated in

Step 1, paying attention to how harmonic changes might call for

modifications of physical approach.

4. Practice hands together slowly, focusing on limited material at any

given time. Awareness should be on how the right- and left-hand

lines are physically coordinated to gain necessary security.

5. Later practice should focus on balance between the hands—bringing

out the right hand over an active, yet softer, left hand material.

40 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

4.3.2 Lyrical Themes

To achieve the lyrical and highly emotional quality in Mozart’s melodic lines, one of the most important steps for young pianists is to learn how to produce a legato and cantabile sound in long phrases. Many have stated that the melodic style of

Mozart’s keyboard works is indeed operatic and generally vocal with “aria” characteristics.68 Often, flowing melodic streams are lyrical , climbing up and down the keyboard with a feeling of forward movement. The melodic range within phrase is limited, with intervals between notes kept to within the octave. Below are two selected examples by Mozart demonstrating his use of the singing characteristic (see Example

4.18 and 19):

Example 4.18: Excerpt from Mozart Sonata in C major, K. 545, I. Allegro (Level 6)

Example 4.19: Excerpt from Mozart Sonata in D major, K. 284, III. Andante (Level 8)

68 Konrad Wolff, Masters of the Keyboard: Individual Style Elements in the Piano Music of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and Brahms (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990), 78.

41 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

To achieve a cantabile line, students need to master a legato technique in order to connect notes but also should have much experience early on in providing shape to groups of notes within a phrase. Perhaps the best way to initiate this practice is in having young students listen to music with lyrical lines both from the vocal and instrumental repertoires. Singing melodies with expression may also come easy to students, an ability that should be taken advantage of when guiding them to play with musical expression.

Biehl’s Sonatina in C Major (Example 4.20) and Kuhlau’s Sonatina in C Major

(Example 4. 21) are appropriate choices for preparing students for the continued learning of singing-like melodies of the Classical period and particularly of Mozart’s works later on. Melodic lines in these sonatinas are slow and lyrical and easy to sing.

This will help students with limited physical ability to practice shaping while actively listening.

Example 4.20: Excerpt from Albert Biehl Sonatina Op. 57, No. 1, I. Allegro moderato (Level 4)

42 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

Example 4.21: Excerpt from Friedrich Kuhlau Sonatina in C major, Op. 20, I. Allegro (Level 6)

Playing legato tones should be introduced through the use of weight and slow movement of the arm. Students must have a clear idea that when they want to play with a singing tone, the relaxation of the whole arm is essential. With fingers slight curved and supported by the hand, weight can be transferred effectively from one note to the next with the help of a flexible wrist that gently guides the forearm and hand in the direction of the notes needed to play the phrase.

Teachers can practice with students in the lesson for optimal sound and style in the following way:

1. Teacher asks student to sing the melody while listening to the

connection between notes. Ask student how groups of notes are best

shaped depending on direction, repetition, and/or articulation.

2. Once desired vocalization of the melody is reached, have student

play replicating what was sung. This may be accomplished by first

having student sing simultaneously while playing.

43 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

3. Remind student of technical approach needed to produce clear and

resonant tone as discussed above. The use of arm weight needed to

play to the bottom of each key should be emphasized. The slow

coordinated movement of the whole arm is necessary in helping

fingers play in a connected fashion.

4. Each phrase should be mastered at a time. Encourage students to

transfer effective approaches to subsequent phrases, asking them to

subsequently verbalize why the execution of lyrical melody lines

was successful or not.

4.3.3 Double-Octave Opening Statements

The use of the double opening statement is apparent in Mozart’s orchestral, chamber, and solo works. This approach, most of the time from forte to piano within the first few measures at the opening of the theme, provides direct access to express tension and contrast;69 not to mention, the doubling of notes simply serves to increase sonority and bring attention to important or dramatic material. One of the most famous chamber music pieces, Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525 demonstrates this effectively as all instruments play opening material in unison (see Example 4.22):

69 Charles Rosen, The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (New York: WW Norton & Company, 1997), 246.

44 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

Example 4.22: Excerpt from Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, I. Allegro

Double opening and octave statements were important techniques in Mozart’s keyboard works, as seen in a number of sonatinas and sonatas, such as Viennese

Sonatina in C Major, K.229 (Example 4. 23) and Sonata in D Major, K. 284 (Example

4. 24):

Example 4.23: Excerpt from Mozart Viennese Sonatina, K. Anh. 229, I. Allegro brillante (Level 6)

Example 4.24: Excerpt from Mozart Sonata in D Major, K. 284, I. Allegro (Level 8)

45 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

For pianists, this technique requires refined coordination between the hands to achieve clear and powerful sound. A good balance between the two hands will also produce a stylistically appropriate sound that is projected and bright instead of heavy and bogged down, which is possible when hands play in unison.

I would choose Sonatina in D major by Salutrinskaya (Example 4. 25) and

Sonatina in D major by Camidge (Example 4. 26) to prepare the technique needed to play assertive double opening themes. Both sonatinas have hands playing in unison at their starts.

Example 4.25: Excerpt from Tatiana Salutrinskaya Sonatina in D Major, I. Allegro (Level 4)

Example 4.26: Excerpt from Matthew Camidge Sonatina in D Major, No. 6, I. Allegro (Level 5)

46 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

To help young students play the double opening statements well, teachers can guide students to execute the physical steps needed for optimal musical emphasis of this material. First, relaxed shoulders are necessary in order to play with ease. Next, as

Sandor stated, the sheer muscular force of the fingertips is insufficient in commanding the modern piano to produce large sonority in sound.70 Therefore, it is most necessary to activate the upper arm through the shoulder joint and move energy down the arm through a whip-like action to achieve a dramatic sound.

Teachers can practice with students in the lesson for optimal sound and style in the following way:

1. As an introduction for this statement, teachers can use a video of an

orchestral performance of Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525,

I. Allegro. Students should be made aware of how string players

move in coordination, particularly when playing in unison at its

opening.

2. Ask student to sing the melody and “play” hands on the lid of the

piano with focus on coordinated movement of both limbs to produce

an unified energetic yet free attack.

3. Replicate this step on the piano keyboard slowly.

70 Sándor, On piano playing, 38.

47 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS I believe that introducing more opportunities for young students to explore the characteristics of the Classical period through piano sonatinas and easier sonatas can prepare them to be thoughtful musicians. Understanding what is physically required to execute the music of Haydn and Mozart, in particular, can help students to eventually perform pieces of these composers more musically and comfortably. Students will also be able to transfer the skills and knowledge acquired from sonatinas to pieces composed by other composers from the Classical period and beyond, in other styles and across levels of difficulty.

By using the guide here, teachers can help students to develop effective strategies to approaching the sonatinas that prepare them for the music of Haydn and

Mozart. By way of repeatedly listening, analyzing, and incorporating sound technical methods to achieve an appropriate musical effect, student will hopefully develop the ability to learn more independently as they gain more expertise.

Teachers should intentionally introduce several sonatinas as the steppingstones for students to synthesize the skills that can play a pivotal role for Haydn’s and

Mozart’s sonatas. Additionally, teachers can highlight the characteristics of Haydn’s and Mozart’s sonatas using the preparatory repertoire, as well as the potential challenges that may be imposed on young piano students, then lead students to master them. In doing so, students can reinforce clear ideas of the characteristics of Haydn,

Mozart, and the Classical period.

48 Texas Tech University, Xiao Yang, August 2019

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Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel, and William John Mitchell. Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments. New York: WW Norton, 1949.

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