Haydn's String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 4, opens like a dancer making a first entrance on stage, leaping into the spotlight only to pause self-consciously, as if holding arms out before the first bourrée. The movement is designed with impressive structure. Although light, the mood is expansive, as the recapitulation contains extensive elaboration of the main themes. The contours are more rounded. The finale's humor is subtle: the first violin undertakes wild leaps in the context of a rondo theme in which they would not normally occur. The second movement is scherzo, but only for the beginning ten bars. The rest is sheer minuet, delicate and languid at times, then dignified and symmetrical at the recapitulation. The largo is not particularly witty, but contains some frothy ornamentation for the lead violin. The movement is clearly monothematic, although the second subject plays a smoothly sculpted variant of it. Most impish is the presto finale in which the three play hide and seek with their melodies, concluding some, adumbrating others in mid-phrase, effectively subverting listener anticipation. The final touch of humor occurs in the last ten bars, in which all four musicians suddenly play "pizz. e piano."

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