Waiting for the <i>Schlußsatz</i> : Layers of Return in the Slow Movements of Joseph Haydn’s String Quartets, Opp. 9, 17, and 20

Abstract Of the eighteen slow movements in Joseph Haydn’s string quartets Op. 9 (1769–70), Op. 17 (1771), and Op. 20 (1772), fourteen are in sonata form. In eleven of these, their second reprise divides into two parts, the start of the second part signaled, in nine, by a double return and the regaining of the structural tonic chord. However, in the remaining three movements (Op. 9, No. 5; Op. 17, No. 4; and Op. 20, No. 6), the second reprise is not divided into two parts and the opening theme does not appear in the tonic; instead, the tonic key, the first reprise’s thematic material, and the structural tonic chord all appear at different points. This study focuses on the interactions among phrase structure, key areas, caesuras, and voice-leading structure in the second reprises of the three slow movements, arguing that the return in them is a process, not a moment.