Sonata in C Major, Hob.

XVI/35

This sonata is one of the best-known and most frequently performed of the Haydn sonatas. Its
appeal is perhaps partly a result of its more regular rhythm, sparser ornamentation, and more
immediately satisfying melodic phrases, in all of which respects it is more reminiscent of a Mozart
sonata. In character, though, it is distinctly Haydnesque, conveying a buoyant exuberance and
sanguine outlook on life.

The first movement, marked allegro con brio, is in a swifter tempo than many of Haydn’s other,
more stately moderato opening movements. The broken-triad accompanimental triplets have the
effect of a perpetuum mobile, since they are interrupted only by a few well-timed rhetorical
interludes such as the brief pianissimo sequences in measures 45–50 and 135–140 and the dotted-
rhythm motif—a repeat of the one he had used at the beginning but with one extra quaver— that
starts the development. In the development, the composer switches the triplets to the right hand as
he shifts from the major to the minor and ratchets through a series of modulations in typical
Haydnesque fashion, beginning in F major, moving to G major and then to A minor (the relative
minor). The pervasive key ambiguity is further emphasized in the vacillation between A minor and
its dominant of E minor. The whole purpose seems to be to create a suspenseful tone to set the
stage for the recapitulation, which Haydn announces is about to occur by returning to the
dominant key with the G major seventh chord. The way in which the composer accomplishes this
is particularly notable: a circle-of-fifths progression—D minor second inversion to G major
seventh chord in root position, setting the stage for completion of the circle in the return to C
major. Interestingly, the progression begins with a two-note melodic phrase in both hands, F-E,
that is marked adagio. The tempo shift serves to tease the listener à la Mozart. Adding to the
overall comic effect, the recapitulation restates the theme an octave lower, beginning on middle C,
then uses a C minor variation on the theme to pass into the dominant before returning to the tonic.
It is not until the final page that Haydn brings us back to a variation on his original theme, though
even then, there is a notable harmonic difference: the triplet accompaniment begins in C major
second inversion, a subtle variation that more naturally leads to the G major seventh and back to
the root-position C major tonic—a novel conclusion to a delightfully witty and energetic
movement.

The second and third movements may lack the structural ingenuity of the first, but they are no less
appealing. The middle-movement adagio in F major contains one of Haydn’s more expansive
melodies, a continuous line that in sentiment resembles the G major andante movement of the
celebrated C major Mozart sonata, K. 545. Few classical sonata movements more skillfully
contrast the serene with the tragic. The allegro finale is pointed and impish, marked by crisp
dotted rhythms. It follows a fairly standard, rondo-like ABABC pattern with a middle contrapuntal
minore and short coda. The movement concludes with assertive, yet playful, arpeggiations that
underscore the sonata’s spritely quality.