Joseph Haydn
Andante with Variations
in F Minor,  Hob. XVII:  6

ID: 2213

Romantic, emotional Haydn

This work is contemporary with the last piano sonata, but it’s not the same in either scope or key. Haydn’s F-Minor variations actually has one theme in F minor (A) and one in F major (B), followed by alternating A and B variations, which is called double variation form. The double variation is strongly associated with Haydn, who wrote many such movements during his career. The sections in minor are melancholy or even somber and carry most of the expressive weight of the piece, while the major sections are more brilliant. The long coda takes the piece in very unexpected directions. The harmony of these variations is cutting-edge for the time. It’s not quirky in the same way as other Haydn pieces from the same period are. Instead, it’s full of dissonances that seem tame by modern standards but that were likely jarring in 1793.

Background

The F minor variations might have been inspired by the death of Haydn's very good friend Maria Anna von Genzinger. She was a skilled amateur pianist and singer whose correspondence with Haydn provides a very personal view of the composer. The musical elite of Vienna used to assemble and perform at the Genzingers' home, and Haydn loved to attend these gatherings whenever he was in Vienna. He also wrote his piano sonata in E flat, Hob. XVI:49, for Marianne.

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