HAYDN’S DRAMATIC DISSONANCES: CHROMATICISM AND FORMAL PROCESS IN HIS STRING QUARTETS, OPP. 9 AND 17 A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Adem Merter Birson January 2015 © 2015 Adem Merter Birson HAYDN’S DRAMATIC DISSONANCES: CHROMATICISM AND FORMAL PROCESS IN HIS STRING QUARTETS, OPP. 9 AND 17 Adem Merter Birson, Ph.D. Cornell University 2015 Most scholarship on the string quartets of Joseph Haydn favors the music he composed from Op. 33 (1781), citing evolutionary progress in his style according to limited criteria, such as voice equality and formal symmetry. Looking beyond this historical narrative, I examine Haydn’s compositions from the 1760s-70s in greater detail, focusing on the string quartets, Opp. 9 and 17 (1769-71). In these quartets, I investigate how destabilizing shifts to the parallel minor, bold chromatic gestures, and passages of intense chromatic voice-leading are used to disrupt the phrasing and heighten the tension of sonata-form movements, treating chromaticism under the rubric of form-generating dissonance. In so doing, I deemphasize traditional definitions of “sonata form”—long recognized as inadequate for describing Haydn’s approach—in favor of highlighting the role of dissonance in the expansion from smaller song and dance forms into larger vehicles for dramatic expression; I have termed this the sonata style. In the sonata style of Opp. 9 and 17, Haydn employs chromatic harmony and voice-leading especially during the act of initial modulation, prolonging the phrasing of his expositions and elevating the musical discourse from simple courtly song and dance to dynamic and psychological tonal process. Evidence from the Haydn repertoire suggests that this combination of chromaticism with formal process began in the string quartets with Opp. 9 and 17. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Adem Merter Birson is a musicologist specializing in the history and analysis of eighteenth- century Viennese instrumental music, with additional expertise in Ottoman Turkish classical music. He was born in 1984 in Milford, Connecticut, and received his first musical instruction at the piano at age seven. In 2006, he graduated from CUNY Queens College, where he studied Western music history and theory with Henry Burnett. He received his master’s in Music History from Queens College in 2008 while working under William Rothstein and Richard Kramer of the CUNY Graduate Center. In 2015, he completed his doctorate in Musicology at Cornell University, where he continued his musicological and theoretical development under James Webster and Roger Moseley. At Cornell, he earned a graduate minor in Near Eastern Studies under Ziad Fahmy and received training in Turkish and Arabic music theory (makam) and lute (‘ud) performance from Simon Shaheen, Ali Jihad Racy, Charbel Rouhana, Ahmet Erdoğdular, Ömer Erdoğdular, Yurdal Tokcan, Ross Daly, and Timuçin Çevikoğlu. iii To Merter Hikmet Birson (1945-91) iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Primary thanks must go to James Webster, whose work has been an inspiration to me since the day I began to study musicology. I continue to marvel at the historical responsibility, intellectual honesty, academic rigor, and insightful musicality of his writings. His mentorship as a scholar and teacher has meant the world to me and his example will remain with me throughout my career. Thanks to Roger Moseley, whose sensitive mentorship and intuitive suggestions assisted me considerably in the completion of this project. I will remember his office as a welcoming space for creative collaboration and musical and intellectual discussion. His example as a virtuosically imaginative scholar and keyboardist, not to mention his exceptional talents as a teacher and communicator, will also remain with me throughout. Thanks to Ziad Fahmy, who helped develop my interest in Near Eastern Studies and taught me how to be a scholar with broad range and capability. His mentorship opened my eyes to new modes of cultural criticism and offered a framework for understanding the complex dynamics of modern international political and cultural relations. My interests in Turkish classical music theory (makam) and lute (‘ud) performance have been encouraged and developed by Simon Shaheen, Najib Shaheen, Dr. Ali Jihad Racy, Charbel Rouhana, Ahmet Erdoğdular, Ömer Erdoğdular, Yurdal Tokcan, and Dr. Timuçin Çevikoğlu. I will try my best to honor all of their examples in my future endeavors. Special thanks to Nancy Birson, Kurt Birson, Juan José González, Socorro González, Halil Birson, Halime Birson, Dr. Marco Hernández Sr., Sonia Hernández, Natalie Hernández-Bell, and Marco Hernández Jr. for their love and support as a family. v Thanks to James and Virginia Bizzell, Sina Kiai, Fahri and Asu Unsal, John Burton, Oktay, Büşra, Zeynep and Yahya Altun, Danielle Cudmore, Mevlana Gemici, Sora Schpack, Evan Cortens, Joseph Prusch, Aylin Yavaş-Bozkurt, Meghan Witherow, Abdurrahman Gümüş, Hüsnü, Emine and Gülgün Küçükköşe, Vedat, Gülay, Enes and Talha Demir, Hasan and Neşe Çeğindir, Ali Erkan, Bari Doeffinger, Teoman Peköz, Osman and Aysu Yürekli, Raquib Zaman, Mukaddes Eroğut, Can Bilir, and everyone who touched my life through their friendship. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Biographical Sketch iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v List of Musical Examples viii List of Abbreviations and Symbols xi Introduction 1 1. Chromaticism in Haydn’s String Quartets 19 2. The Role of Formal Process in Haydn’s Early-Period Sonatas 52 3. The Use of Minor Mode and Playing with Sonority 89 4. The Modulating Sequence and Destabilizing Chromatic Gesture 116 5. Chromaticism and Sonata Style in the Slow Movements 142 Conclusion 175 Bibliography 183 vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Musical examples are cited from the following sources (used by permission): Haydn, Joseph. Streichquartette, “Opus 9” und “Opus 17”. Series XII, Volume 2 of Joseph Haydn Werke. Edited by Georg Feder. Munich: Henle, 1963. ———.Klaviersonaten 2. Folge. Series XVIII, Volume 2 of Joseph Haydn Werke. Edited by Georg Feder. Munich: Henle, 1970. ———. Frühe Streichquartette. Series XII, Volume 1 of Joseph Haydn Werke. Edited by Georg Feder with Gottfried Greiner. Munich: Henle, 1973. ———. Streichquartette, “Opus 20” und “Opus 33”. Series XII, Volume 3 of Joseph Haydn Werke. Edited by Georg Feder and Sonja Gerlach. Munich: Henle, 1974. ———. Streichquartette, “Opus 76”, “Opus 77” und “Opus 103”. Series XII, Volume 6 of Joseph Haydn Werke. Edited by Horst Walter. Munich: Henle, 2003. ———. Streichquartette, “Opus 42”, “Opus 50” und “Opus 54/55”. Series XII, Volume 4 of Joseph Haydn Werke. Edited by James Webster. Munich: Henle, 2009. Chapter 1: 1.1, Op. 50 No. 1 in B-flat major, mm. 1-30. 21 1.2, Op. 50 No. 1 in B-flat major, ii, mm. 1-12. 25 1.3, Op. 50 No. 1 in B-flat major, ii, mm. 23-26. 26 1.4, Op. 50 No. 1 in B-flat major, ii, mm. 54-61. 26 1.5, Op. 33 No. 1 in B minor, mm. 1-4. 29 1.6, Op. 33 No. 1 in B minor, mm. 56-63. 30 1.7, Op. 55 No. 3 in B-flat major, mm. 1-9. 33 1.8, Op. 55 No. 3 in B-flat major, mm. 19-26. 34 1.9, Op. 55, No. 3 in B-flat major, mm. 44-52. 34 1.10, Op. 55 No. 3 in B-flat major, mm. 60-66. 34 1.11, Op. 55 No. 3 in B-flat major, mm. 125-40. 35 1.12, Mozart, String Quartet in E-flat major, K. 428, mm. 1-4. 38 1.13, Mozart, String Quartet in E-flat major, K. 428, mm. 12-15. 38 1.14, Op. 76 No. 6 in E-flat major, mm. 1-36. 40 1.15, Op. 76 No. 6 in E-flat major, ii, mm. 1-17. 41 1.16, Op. 50 No. 5 in F major, mm. 1-8. 44 1.17, Op. 50 No. 5 in F major, mm. 22-28. 45 1.18, Op. 50 No. 5 in F major, mm. 9-21. 47 1.19, Op. 50 No. 5 in F major, mm. 44-56. 48 1.20, Op. 50 No. 5 in F major, mm. 66-79. 49 1.21, Op. 50 No. 5 in F major, mm. 99-122. 50 viii Chapter 2: 2.1, Sonata No. 20 in C minor, mm. 8-29. 60 2.2, Sonata No. 20 in C minor, mm. 30-37. 63 2.3, Op. 1 No. 2 in E-flat major, mm. 1-9 70 2.4, Op. 1 No. 2 in E-flat major, mm. 10-36. 71 2.5, Op. 1 No. 2 in E-flat major, mm. 81-117. 73 2.6, Op. 17 No. 2 in F major, mm. 1-17. 76 2.7, Op. 17 No. 2 in F major, mm. 35-38. 78 2.8, Op. 9 No. 6 in A major, mm. 1-7. 79 2.9, Op. 9 No. 6 in A major, mm. 37-51. 80 2.10, Op. 9 No. 4 in D minor, mm. 1-38. 82 2.11, Op. 17 No. 6 in D major, mm. 13-32. 85 2.12, Op. 17 No. 6 in D major, mm. 53-73. 86 Chapter 3: 3.1, Op. 1 No. 1 in B-flat major, mm. 25-40. 92 3.2, Op. 1 No. 4 in G major, mm. 38-58. 93 3.3, Op. 9 No. 1 in C major, mm. 13-31. 96 3.4, Op. 17 No. 2 in F major, mm. 18-38. 100 3.5, Op. 17 No. 6 in D major, mm. 13-59. 106 3.6, Op. 9 No. 6 in A major, mm. 82-102. 108 3.7, Op. 9 No. 2 in E-flat major, mm. 29-41. 109 3.8, Op.