How many mozart sonatas

Please enter the nearest major city. Please choose a prefecture. Thank you. We'll be in contact soon. We were not able to submit your information. Please try again soon. Would you prefer to visit our European site at steinway. Visit eu. The minor tonality gives this music a dignity and gravity unusual in the sequence of his violin sonatas, and though this music was composed when Mozart was only 22, it is universally regarded as one of his finest chamber works. Accompanied by his mother, Mozart had set out from Salzburg in September in search of the position his father was sure would bring him fame.

Mozart did not return until January , and the journey - which had taken him through Mannheim, Paris, and Munich - can hardly be regarded as a success: Mozart spent too much money and found no position at all. The true cataclysm, though, was that his mother became ill and died in Paris in July It was left to the young composer to send his father the news and then to make his way back to Salzburg with nothing to show for his month absence. He had, however, written seven violin sonatas during this trip, and he published six of these in Paris.

Affectionate sighs alternate with the gentle flow of tender melodic phrases. THIRD MOVEMENT The final rondo is in gavotte rhythm; it is packed with the expression of high spirits and concerto-like effects, for instance with the short cadenza in measure 43 and the return of the theme beneath a trill accompaniment m. The theme of the rondo is binary, the second part being a varied repeat in the sense of the C.

The second episode in minor introduces a hint of melancholy into the course of gay events, which the third episode also interrupts, this time with a loud, dramatically spread diminished-seventh chord m. The movement, which is related in form as well as key to the finales of the Sonatas K. But the form is not a Theme and Variation. Instead, the lyrical Adagio is in sonata form. It starts with an expressive theme in three-part writing which, surprisingly, is missing in the recapitulation and recurs only in the coda.

Melody and harmony are practically identical, only the rhythm is different. Is this a case of unconscious borrowing? A grazioso second theme begins in measure 9. Basically, this is a simple binary motif, which is repeated and merges imperceptibly into the concluding thought of the exposition. The development begins dramatically with a highly charged diminished seventh chord followed by two short crescendos. Inspite of its small dimensions, this movement shows Mozart at his best — expressive, exquisite.

He was meticulous in providing it with plenty of articulation signs and dynamic marks. Level of difficulty from 1 to 9 : medium 5—6. The diversity of its melodic invention is highly typical of Mozart, and so is the clear-cut sonata form of the first movement. The very first idea is a marvel of folkmusic-like invention. The ornamented unison passage which follows mm. This tutti effect was one of his favourites, and he also used it in later works, such as the Variation on a Theme by Gluck K.

Unlike the first movement, which in place of a new development section simply presents a new idea followed by an extended transition to the recapitulation, the second movement contains a true development in the 19th century textbook sense, presenting the subject first in the right hand in D minor and C major and then in the lower register and so no. At the very end, there is a typical Mozartian joke: he wrote the word Coda into the score; but instead of the expected elaborate epilogue, this tail consists of only two concluding chords.

Level of difficulty from 1 to 9 : medium 6. Suggested viewing on YouTube: Claudio Arrau, movements 1—3. It is undoubtedly the best, the most brilliant and the most technically demanding of these six early Sonatas.

Understandably, Mozart retained a special affection for it and continued to perform it himself. On the same page, he started anew to write the final version underneath. The thematic material of this opening movement and to a lesser degree also that of the following movements is laid out on a more ample, nearly orchestral scale, a departure from the intimacy of the early sonatas.

The tremolo effect in measures and the unison announcements of the first subject read very much like a piano reduction of an orchestral tutti. The second subject, a supple melodic line, unaccompanied in its opening bar, incorporates a descending chain of first inversions a favourite harmonic formula of the baroque and classical periods. This functions as a solo passage in contrast to the ensuing tutti entries in m. The development moves through a circle of minor keys before the recapitulation begins in measure The superficial impression of a diffuse form does not stand up to a closer inspection: it would not be at all easy to omit one of the twelve variations, or to add an extra one.

The adagio variation is on special interest to Mozart scholars, for it gives us some insights into his concept of impromptu ornamentation. The autograph is only modestly ornamented, and Mozart presumably embellished it in performance as his fancy dictated. Who else could embellish in such an ingenious way? The two sonatas K. These three sonatas are almost more consistent, more classical than the earlier Sonatas.

Suggested viewing on YouTube: Lili Kraus, movements 1—3. With sonata forms, as with Bach fugues, no formal dogmas underlie the process of composition, but each sonata varies anew a basic principle. For Mozart, this entailed strict adherence to certain fundamental patterns without his creative freedom. In his sonata movements in major keys, for example he favoured a distinct second subject in the dominant as most contemporary composers did.

Haydn, on the other hand, reveled in experiment at this point. The first subject is a distinctive, marcato opening followed by a five-bar response. He often uses it in the minor as well as the major, and many of his themes start with this motif e. The seven measures of the main theme are repeated, slightly varied. The transition consists of new material and then, in measure 35 after two measures of preparation comes a second cantabile theme, in the dominant G major comprising 2x4 bars, which is also repeated and proceeds to a spirited closing theme concluding group using passage-work m.

The exposition ends with a codetta of five bars. The development presents the opening motif first in g minor, and then the various ideas of the first subject are worked out. With this procedure Mozart is keeping much more closely to textbook principles than he usually does. Two further statements of the opening motif lead back to the recapitulation in measure The second subject, now in the tonic, has surprisingly changed place with its accompaniment.

The opening is recalled again in an effectively assertive coda. Suggested viewing on YouTube: Christoph Eschenbach, 2nd movement. The recapitulation starts in measure But no formal description can do justice to the poetical depth of this movement.

Under the seemingly simple statements there is a profound undercurrent of emotion. It combines rondo form and sonata form brilliantly. The second episode in B minor has the character of a development section, crowned by a small written-out cadenza. While many of the sonatas sound dainty and cheerful, they're actually pretty fiendish to play. As well as sounding great, each sonata offers a little window into the composer's character. As many of them began their life as improvisations, it's easy to imagine the young man sitting down at the piano and tinkling the ivories to create wonderfully inventive music.

He pushes the boundaries smilingly without breaking them, sticking to classical conventions while adding in an occasional hint of mischief. Charles Ives pigeonholed Mozart's piano sonatas as 'lady finger music', and yes, the music is delicate and twinkly at points. If you're expecting the stormy emotional depths of Beethoven's music, Mozart's earlier piano sonatas might not be for you, but why not give his other instrumental sonatas a chance?