
Public and Private Modes of Musical Discourse
Haydn's London Symphonies and Late String Quartets
Lauri Suurpaeae(Author)
Indiana University Press
Published on 31. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
252 pages
978-0-253-07527-7 (ISBN)
Description
Public and Private Modes of Musical Discourse brings a new contribution to discussions on the difference between the public and private layers of music, which have often centered on issues of stylistic expression such as genre, performance venue, texture, and phrase organization. Symphonies, for example, have historically been seen as public expressions of grandeur with a festive, powerful musical character, while sonatas were associated with the subtler emotions of chamber music and private audiences.
Author Lauri Suurpaeae offers an alternative starting point for the distinction between these modes, grounding the public-private distinction on structure and expression. Focusing on Joseph Haydn's London symphonies and late string quartets, Suurpaeae exposes the interplay of details and large-scale narrative and unveils a key aspect of the music-its interactions and dialogues between public and private modes of discourse. In structure, if a musical segment adheres to conventional patterns, it is public; if it deviates from them, it is private. In expression, if a musical topic refers to an object shared by a crowd, such as a fanfare announcing a battle, it is public; if a topic refers to emotions felt by an individual, it is private.
With sonata theory, form-functional theory, Schenkerian analysis, hypermetrical analysis, and approaching musical expression from the perspective of topic theory, layers of structure and expression are peeled back. Public and Private Modes of Musical Discourse offers a valuable new way into how we discuss eighteenth-century music.
Author Lauri Suurpaeae offers an alternative starting point for the distinction between these modes, grounding the public-private distinction on structure and expression. Focusing on Joseph Haydn's London symphonies and late string quartets, Suurpaeae exposes the interplay of details and large-scale narrative and unveils a key aspect of the music-its interactions and dialogues between public and private modes of discourse. In structure, if a musical segment adheres to conventional patterns, it is public; if it deviates from them, it is private. In expression, if a musical topic refers to an object shared by a crowd, such as a fanfare announcing a battle, it is public; if a topic refers to emotions felt by an individual, it is private.
With sonata theory, form-functional theory, Schenkerian analysis, hypermetrical analysis, and approaching musical expression from the perspective of topic theory, layers of structure and expression are peeled back. Public and Private Modes of Musical Discourse offers a valuable new way into how we discuss eighteenth-century music.
Reviews / Votes
"While it fits into the ongoing wave of interest in musical form in the late eighteenth century, there also is no existing book that is quite like it. I will read it, and use it in my research and teaching, as will, I am convinced, many others." - Steven Vande Moortele, author of The Romantic Overture and Musical Form from Rossini to Wagner"[Suurpaeae] is obviously in command of an vast array of different analytical approaches and his mastering is impressive. The book is extremely well researched, and very up-to-date. Most major contemporary analytical approaches are masterfully dealt with, and put into dialogue with the difficult problem of historically informed analysis." - Giorgio Sanguinetti, author of The Art of Partimento: History, Theory, and Practice
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Bloomington, IN
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
6 b&w tables, 84 printed music items
Dimensions
Height: 154 mm
Width: 233 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
398 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-253-07527-7 (9780253075277)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Lauri Suurpää
Public and Private Modes of Musical Discourse
Haydn's London Symphonies and Late String Quartets
E-Book
03/2026
Indiana University Press
€38.99
Available for download
Person
Lauri Suurpaeae is Professor of Music Theory at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: Public and Private Modes of Musical Discourse
1. Introduction
2. Elements of Private and Public Modes of Musical Discourse
3. Musical Patterns and Conventions: Public Recognition and Private Interpretation
Part II: Analysis of Individual Movements
4. Primary Theme and Exposition: Opening Movements of Symphony No. 104 and Symphony No. 97
5. Slow Movements: Symphony No. 93 and String Quartet Op. 76, No. 1
6. Finales: Symphony No. 96 and String Quartet Op. 76, No. 5
7. First Movement: String Quartet Op. 71, No. 1
8. Punctuation and Continuity: The First Movements of Haydn's Symphony No. 93 and Mozart's Symphony No. 39
9. Three Contexts for Analyzing Haydn's Late Instrumental Music
References
Index
Acknowledgments
Part I: Public and Private Modes of Musical Discourse
1. Introduction
2. Elements of Private and Public Modes of Musical Discourse
3. Musical Patterns and Conventions: Public Recognition and Private Interpretation
Part II: Analysis of Individual Movements
4. Primary Theme and Exposition: Opening Movements of Symphony No. 104 and Symphony No. 97
5. Slow Movements: Symphony No. 93 and String Quartet Op. 76, No. 1
6. Finales: Symphony No. 96 and String Quartet Op. 76, No. 5
7. First Movement: String Quartet Op. 71, No. 1
8. Punctuation and Continuity: The First Movements of Haydn's Symphony No. 93 and Mozart's Symphony No. 39
9. Three Contexts for Analyzing Haydn's Late Instrumental Music
References
Index