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Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) · sheet music

  • Key E minor
  • Time 6/8
  • Levels 6–9
  • Passages 5

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Joseph Haydn, Austrian classical (1732–1809). The reading release has 5 passages from this piece at levels 6–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 73–76 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 49–52 at level 9.

Your practice path

Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34.

  1. Hands together · bars 73–76 level 6
  2. The hardest bars · bars 49–52 level 9

How to play Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34

  1. Tempo:Presto in six-eight means two fast beats per bar, each divided in three. Several older editions mark the dotted quarter at 100 beats per minute; begin well below that and let the clarity of the staccato set your target.
  2. Left hand:The opening left-hand arpeggio is staccato and marked soft. Practice it as a clear, light rising pattern, then check that it connects to the right-hand answer.
  3. Right hand:Play the right-hand interjections as short statements, rising in register, and keep them in time. Later, play the double notes in thirds or sixths evenly, with a legato second theme.
  4. Hands together:The music is like a dialogue between the hands, so let one hand finish a thought before the other replies. Aim for clean handoffs, with no overlap or gap.
  5. Rhythm:Count in two and subdivide each beat into three. The pauses and fermatas are part of the rhythm, so hold them for their full length and then restart at the same tempo.
  6. Dynamics:Contrast is the heart of this movement: soft staccato openings, sudden accents and a gentler second theme. Aim for clear difference between them, not constant loudness.
  7. Pedal:Use little or no pedal. The sonata was written for harpsichord or early fortepiano, and the crisp articulation is part of the style.
  8. Practice:Practice each hand alone at a slow tempo, then the opening dialogue with both hands. Practice the pauses by counting through them with a metronome.

Common mistakes

  • Playing the staccato arpeggio too loudly and heavily. Fix: Keep the touch light and short, and keep the marking soft.
  • Cutting the fermatas and pauses short so the drama is lost. Fix: Count through each pause and begin again only when it has fully run its length.
  • Dragging the second theme and losing the six-eight pulse. Fix: Keep the same tempo for the lyrical theme and play it legato.
  • Starting too fast and losing control of the repeated-note passages. Fix: Begin at a comfortable tempo and speed up in small steps.

Structure: sonata form

The movement is in sonata form: a main theme in E minor built as a dialogue between the hands, a second theme in G major with double notes in the right hand, a development that opens with the main theme in E major, and a condensed recapitulation in which the second theme stays in E minor. It ends on three repeated E notes that set up the slow movement.

Exp. · Exposition (E minor to G major)
The movement opens with a soft, rising left-hand arpeggio answered by right-hand interjections that climb higher each time, then halts on a fermata. The second theme in G major brings right-hand double notes in thirds and sixths and another sudden pause.
Dev. · Development
The main theme is worked out, starting in E major. Near the end the hands swap roles, with the left hand descending in thirds toward a held dominant chord that announces the return.
Rec. · Recapitulation (E minor)
The main theme returns in E minor in condensed form, and the second theme now stays in the home key, keeping the mood dark.
Coda · Coda (E minor)
The closing passage stops on three repeated E notes, an unusually suspenseful ending for a first movement.

About Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34

Haydn's Sonata in E minor, Hob. XVI:34, also listed as L. 53, was written in the late 1770s and published in London around 1783 by Beardmore and Birchall. Only a few of Haydn's piano sonatas are in minor keys, and Henle's edition describes them all as somber and defiant in tone.

The first movement is a Presto in six-eight that keeps stopping short: its ideas break off into pauses just as they gather speed. One analysis calls it turbulent and unsmiling, unusual among Haydn's sonatas, and Henle hears its opening motif as impatient and insistent.

The sonata has three movements. A slow movement in G major follows the Presto and connects into a lively finale marked innocently. The overall key plan runs E minor, G major, E minor.

  • The first movement ends with three repeated E notes, which leaves a feeling of suspense and leads straight into the slow movement.
  • The finale carries the unusual direction Innocentemente, meaning innocently.
  • Haydn's Presto opens with a staccato left-hand arpeggio marked piano, answered by right-hand interjections that rise in register.
  • Haydn left the choice of instrument open: harpsichord or fortepiano.

Why the first passage is level 6

That passage is level 6 rather than 5 because it is in 6/8, not 4/4.

The passages on this page are in six-eight with a one-sharp signature, and the music moves quickly with some leaps. Read each bar as two groups of three notes, then check the accidentals.

Questions about Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34

How hard is Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34 to play?
Its passages grade from level 6 to level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 49–52 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 6, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 73–76 for both hands together, the level-6 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 6 because it is in 6/8, not 4/4.
What key and time signature is Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34 in?
Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34 is in E minor, 1 sharp. The engraving on this page is in 6/8 time.
Who composed Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34?
Joseph Haydn, Austrian classical (1732–1809). Haydn's Sonata in E minor, Hob.
Can I practice Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 5 graded passages from Piano Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI:34 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Is Haydn's E minor sonata number 53 or Hob. XVI:34?
Both refer to the same sonata. Hob. XVI:34 is its number in Hoboken's catalogue; No. 53 is the number it carries in the Wiener Urtext edition and in Landon's list.
Are the movements of Haydn's E minor sonata connected?
Yes. The first movement ends on three repeated E notes that lead into the Adagio, and the Adagio ends on a half cadence that runs straight into the finale in E minor, one of the few places in Haydn's sonatas where movements are linked.
How many movements does Haydn's E minor sonata have?
Three: a Presto in 6/8, an Adagio in G major, and a Vivace molto finale in E minor.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 5 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 6
bars 73–76 both hands
Level 8
bars 9–12 both hands
Level 9
bars 49–52 both hands · bars 109–112 both hands · bars 121–124 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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