Joseph Haydn - string quartet op.33, no 3 "The Bird"

Joseph Haydn

Portrait of Joseph Haydn by Thomas Hardy (1791)

[31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809]

String Quartet op.33, no 3 "The Bird" 

This quartet in C major, nicknamed The Bird is numbered in variously as No. 32, Hob. III:39 and FHE No. 72.

1. Allegro moderato, 4/4
2. Scherzo: Allegretto. 3/4
3. Adagio ma non troppo, 3/4 in F major
4. Finale: Rondo – Presto, 2/4

The first movement opens with a melody in the first violin featuring repeated notes. Grace notes are inserted between the repeated notes which gives the melody a "birdlike quality"^[1] and hence gives the quartet its nickname