Franz Joseph Haydn

The sonatas of Hoboken 35-39 were written for and dedicated to the Auenbrugger sisters, Franziska and Marianne, a fact that accounts for some weaknesses in these works as Haydn labored to fit the works to the desires of the sisters.

The sprightly opening has an almost flippant air. A recurring figuration, sometimes in the bass and sometimes in the treble, powers it along. After a conflation of opening theme with a quasi- scalar passage, the movement reaffirms itself and has a simple close. The second movement is quietly reflective with a passage suggestive of the chiming of bells. It has more in content than the surface allows for. After an exploration of unexpected connections, it has a sudden end. The gentle theme of the last movement makes much of elegantly negligent slurs. Theme chases theme and a heavy bass brings it to a final declarative stance and simple conclusion.