String Quartet in C Major

Haydn’s String Quartet No. 32 Op. 33/3 is often dubbed “The Bird”, on account of the pertly chirping motif played by the first violin in its opening bars and repeated frequently later in the movement. The succeeding “Scherzando” movement initially seems more muted, all four instruments voicing the sedately swaying rhythms in a modest undertone. In the movement’s Trio, however, the bird tweets of the first movement return, this time in playful dialogue with the second violin’s insistently pecking accompaniment. Musical high jinks are absent from the serenely songful slow movement, where the fluttering excursions of the first violin add decorative interest. In the all-action finale, the chirping motifs are set in a more frantic context, as a scurrying folk-like dance portends a no-holds-barred conclusion. Instead the frenetic dance tails off unexpectedly, slipping unobtrusively into the musical undergrowth.