Piano Sonata in A major | |
---|---|
No. 11 | |
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | |
Key | A major |
Catalogue | K. 331 / 300i |
Style | Classical period |
Composed | 1783 |
Published | 1784 |
Movements | Andante grazioso, Menuetto, Alla turca – Allegretto |
The Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 / 300i, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a piano sonata in three movements.
The sonata was published by Artaria in 1784, alongside Nos. 10 and 12 (K. 330 and K. 332). [1]
The third movement of this sonata, the "Rondo alla Turca", or "Turkish March", is often heard on its own and regarded as one of Mozart's best-known piano pieces. [2] [3]
The sonata consists of three movements:
All of the movements are in the key of A major or A minor; therefore, the work is homotonal. A typical performance of this entire sonata takes about 20 minutes. [4]
Since the opening movement of this sonata is a theme and variation, Mozart defied the convention of beginning a sonata with an allegro movement in sonata form. The theme is a siciliana, consisting of two 8-measure sections, each repeated, a structure shared by each variation.
The second movement of the sonata is a standard minuet and trio movement in A major.
The last movement, marked Alla turca, popularly known as the "Turkish Rondo" or "Turkish March", is often heard on its own and is one of Mozart's best-known piano pieces. [3]
Mozart himself titled the rondo "Alla turca". [5] It imitates the sound of Turkish Janissary bands, the music of which was much in vogue at that time. [6]
The theme of the first movement was used by Max Reger in his Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart (1914) for orchestra. [7] The Israeli composer Ron Weidberg (b. 1953) used the same theme for a set of variations. Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo à la Turk" (1959) is not based on or related to the last movement. [8]
In 2014, Hungarian librarian Balázs Mikusi discovered in Budapest's National Széchényi Library four pages from the first and middle movements in Mozart's autograph manuscript of the sonata. Until then, only the last page of the last movement, which is preserved in the International Mozarteum Foundation, had been known to have survived. The paper and handwriting of the four pages matched that of the final page of the score, held in Salzburg. The original score is close to the first edition, published in 1784. [9]
In the first movement, however, in bars 5 and 6 of the fifth variation, the rhythm of the last three notes was altered. In the menuetto, the last quarter beat of bar 3 is a C♯ in most editions, but in the original autograph an A is printed. [10] In the first edition, an A is also printed in bar 3, as in the original, but on the other hand a C♯ is printed in the parallel passage at bar 33, mirroring subsequent editions. [11]
On 26 September 2014 Zoltán Kocsis gave the first performance of the rediscovered score, at the National Széchényi Library in Budapest. [12]
The Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was described by Mozart in his own thematic catalogue as "for beginners", and it is very commonly known by the nickname Sonata facile or Sonata semplice.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, commonly known as Sonata Pathétique, was written in 1798 when the composer was 27 years old and was published in 1799. It has remained one of his most celebrated compositions. Beethoven dedicated the work to his friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky. Although commonly thought to be one of the few works to be named by the composer himself, it was actually named Grande sonate pathétique by the publisher, who was impressed by the sonata's tragic sonorities.
The Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K. 332 (300k) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was published in 1784 along with the Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330, and Piano Sonata No. 11, K. 331. Mozart wrote these sonatas either while visiting Munich in 1781, or during his first two years in Vienna. Some believe, however that Mozart wrote this and the other sonatas during a summer 1783 visit to Salzburg made for the purpose of introducing his wife, Constanze to his father, Leopold. All three sonatas were published in Vienna in 1784 as Mozart's Op. 6.
Turkish music, in the sense described here, is not the music of Turkey, but rather a musical style that was occasionally used by the European composers of the Classical music era. This music was modelled—though often only distantly—on the music of Turkish military bands, specifically the Janissary bands.
The Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120, Nos. 1 and 2, are a pair of works written for clarinet and piano by the Romantic composer Johannes Brahms. They were written in 1894 and are dedicated to the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld. The sonatas stem from a period late in Brahms's life where he discovered the beauty of the sound and tonal colour of the clarinet. The form of the clarinet sonata was largely undeveloped until after the completion of these sonatas, after which the combination of clarinet and piano was more readily used in composers’ new works. These were the last chamber pieces Brahms wrote before his death and are considered two of the great masterpieces in the clarinet repertoire. Brahms also produced a frequently performed transcription of these works for viola with alterations to better suit the instrument.
Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385, also known as the Haffner Symphony, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1782. It was commissioned by the Haffners, a prominent Salzburg family, for the occasion of the ennoblement of Sigmund Haffner the Younger. The Haffner Symphony should not be confused with the eight-movement Haffner Serenade, another piece Mozart wrote on commission from the same family in 1776.
The Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major K. 488 is a concerto for piano and orchestra written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was finished, according to Mozart's own catalogue, on March 2, 1786, two months prior to the premiere of his opera, Le nozze di Figaro, and some three weeks prior to the completion of his next piano concerto. It was one of three subscription concerts given that spring and was probably played by Mozart himself at one of these.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15, was written in 1795, then revised in 1800. It was possibly first performed by Beethoven at his first public concert in Vienna on 29 March 1795. It was first published in 1801 in Vienna with dedication to his pupil Princess Anna Louise Barbara Odescalchi, known to her friends as "Babette".
The Piano Sonata No. 13 in B-flat major, K. 333 (315c), also known as the "Linz Sonata", was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Linz at the end of 1783.
The Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219, often referred to by the nickname "Turkish", was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1775, premiering during the Christmas season that year in Salzburg. It follows the typical fast–slow–fast musical structure.
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 11 in B♭ major, Op. 22, was composed in 1800, and published two years later. Beethoven regarded it as the best of his early sonatas, though some of its companions in the cycle have been at least as popular with the public.
The Serenade No. 10 for winds in B-flat major, K. 361/370a, is a serenade by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart scored for thirteen instruments: twelve winds and string bass. The piece was composed in 1781 and is often known by the subtitle Gran Partita, though the title is a misspelling and not in Mozart's hand. It consists of seven movements.
The six String Quartets, Op. 76, by Joseph Haydn were composed in 1797 or 1798 and dedicated to the Hungarian count Joseph Georg von Erdődy (1754–1824). They form the last complete set of string quartets that Haydn composed. At the time of the commission, Haydn was employed at the court of Prince Nicolaus Esterházy II and was composing the oratorio The Creation as well as Princess Maria Hermenegild Esterházy's annual mass.
The Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K. 448 (375a), is a work composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1781, when he was 25. It is written in sonata-allegro form, with three movements. The sonata was composed for a performance he would give with fellow pianist Josepha Auernhammer. Mozart composed this in the galant style, with interlocking melodies and simultaneous cadences. This is one of his few compositions written for two pianos.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 9 in D major, K. 311 / 284c, was written on the composer's stay in Augsburg and Mannheim in November-December 1777, and is contemporaneous with his Sonata No. 7 in C Major K. 309. The three sonatas K. 309–311 were published as a set 'Opus IV' in about 1782, by Franz Joseph Heina in Paris.
The Piano Sonata in A minor D. 845 (Op.42) by Franz Schubert is a sonata for solo piano. Composed in May 1825 and entitled Premiere Grande Sonata, it is the first of three sonatas published during the composer's lifetime, the others being D.850 and D.894. Conceived as a set, these works were composed during what was reportedly a period of relatively good health and spirits for Schubert and are praised for their quality and ambition. This first sonata in particular marks a significant step toward the composer’s mature piano sonata style; the format and several characteristic stylistic elements continue through the last.
Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata in D major D. 850, Op. 53, known as the Gasteiner, was written during August 1825 whilst the composer was staying in the spa town of Bad Gastein. A year later, it became only the second of his piano sonatas to be published.
The Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25, was composed by Johannes Brahms between 1856 and 1861. It was premiered in 1861 in Hamburg, with Clara Schumann at the piano. It was also played in Vienna on 16 November 1862, with Brahms himself at the piano supported by members of the Hellmesberger Quartet. Like most piano quartets, it is scored for piano, violin, viola, and cello.
The Rondo in A minor, K. 511, is a work for solo piano by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The Mozart Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4 is a 1973 album by the Canadian classical pianist Glenn Gould. It was Gould's fourth album of five dedicated to Mozart's piano sonatas. It includes the Sonata No. 11 In A Major, K. 331; Sonata No. 16 In C Major, K. 545; Fantasia No. 3 in D Minor, K. 397; and Sonata No. 15 in F Major, K. 533/K. 494.