1. Chapter 15: Classical Forms: Theme and Variations, Rondo

2. Theme and Variations
Melody is altered, decorated, or adorned in some way by changing pitch, rhythm, harmony, or mode (major or minor)
Context around the theme can be changed
Theme should be well-known for easy to remember
Variations on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” by Mozart (c.1781)
Set of twelve variations for piano
Common for composer-pianists to improvise a set of variations on a well-known turn during a concert

3. Haydn: Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise,” 1792) Movement II: Theme and Variations (p. 180)
Haydn was the first composer to use Theme and Variations as a movement in a symphony
At the first performance, the audience cheered after this movement, and demanded that it be played again
Simple, binary form theme (AB)
Figure The Hanover Square Rooms in London, the hall in which Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony was first performed in Designed for an audience of 800 to 900, nearly 1,500 crowded in for the performances of these London Symphonies.

4. Rondo Form
Statements of the refrain alternate with contrasting sections
One of the oldest forms, existed since the Middle Ages
Classical rondo must have at least three statements of the refrain (A) and at least two contrasting sections (B, C)
Often creates symmetrical patterns
ABACABA or ABACA
Often was the last movement of symphonies, sonatas, and string quartets

5. Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in Eb major (1796) Third Movement (Finale) p
Prior to 1800, trumpets and horns were natural instruments – without valves
Difficulty of Haydn’s Concerto anticipates the continued technical development of the trumpet
Figure 15.4 A natural trumpet fabricated in Germany around Such an instrument could play a full scale only in the higher part of the register—and even then only with difficulty.

6. Form, Mood, and Listener’s Expectations
Four Movement Form
Movement 1 2 3 4
Form
Sonata-allegro
ABA, Theme and Variations, or Rondo
Minuet in Trio (ABA)
Sonata-allegro, Theme and Variations, or Rondo
Mood
Serious and substantive despite fast tempo
Lyrical and tender
Usually light and elegant, sometimes spirited
Bright, lighthearted, sometimes humorous
Tempo
Fast
Slow
Lively