Path 05
Understanding sonata form
The form behind most first movements, heard twelve times, from a small sonata to a symphony.
Mozart → Haydn → Beethoven → Schubert → Mendelssohn → Brahms → Prokofiev
Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545
This guide follows Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545 (1788) in three parts: Allegro (sonata form), Andante (rondo) and Rondo: Allegretto (rondo).
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Follow all 23 sections as they play
- I
- II
- III:
An in C major with a that is easy to remember: a melody in the right hand over an Alberti bass. Running scales form the into the , G major, where the arrives. The closes with a . The begins in G minor. Then comes the surprise: the starts in F major, not C major. Charles Rosen noted that this was rare in Mozart's .
Section boundaries in music are not always sharp; a transition may be felt over a pause or a held chord.
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MozartPiano Sonata No. 1 in C major, K. 279MozartPiano Sonata No. 2 in F major, K. 280MozartPiano Sonata No. 3 in B-flat major, K. 281MozartPiano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 282MozartPiano Sonata No. 5 in G major, K. 283MozartPiano Sonata No. 6 in D major, K. 284MozartPiano Sonata No. 7 in C major, K. 309MozartPiano Sonata No. 9 in D major, K. 311MozartPiano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310MozartPiano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330More in sonata form
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BachTrio Sonata No. 1 in E-flat major, BWV 525
HaydnSymphony No. 1 in D major, Hob. I:1HaydnHorn Concerto in D major, Hob. VIId:3HaydnPiano Sonata in A-flat major, Hob. XVI:46HaydnPiano Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI:20HaydnString Quartet in A major, Op. 20 No. 6HaydnString Quartet in C major, Op. 20 No. 2HaydnString Quartet in D major, Op. 20 No. 4HaydnString Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 20 No. 1HaydnString Quartet in F minor, Op. 20 No. 5In listening paths
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Path 07
Ten minutes or less
Short, complete works for a single sitting.
Bach → Mozart → Haydn → Beethoven → Schubert → Mendelssohn → Saint-Saëns → Sibelius → Ravel → Debussy → Gershwin → Copland
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