The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed and completed in 1784, with the official date of completion recorded as 14 October 1784 in Mozart's own catalogue of works.[1] It was published in December 1785 together with the Fantasy in C minor, K. 475, as Opus 11 by the publishing firm Artaria, Mozart's main Viennese publisher.
The title page bore a dedication to Theresia von Trattner (1758–1793), who was one of Mozart's pupils in Vienna. Her husband, Thomas von Trattner[de] (1717–1798), was an important publisher as well as Mozart's landlord in 1784. Eventually, the Trattners would become godparents to four of Mozart's children.
The piano sonata was composed during the approximately 10-year period of Mozart's life as a freelance artist in Vienna after he removed himself from the patronage of the Archbishop of Salzburg in 1781. It is one of the earliest of only six sonatas composed during the Vienna years, and was probably written either as a teaching tool or for personal use.[2] Sonatas during this time were generally written for the domestic sphere – as opposed to a symphony or concerto, they were designed to convey ideas in a small, intimate setting.
The subject is stated boldly in octaves, occurring twice in the first 8 bars. The subject remains strong until the transition, where the opening motif is taken one octave higher, and a scale-type passage modulates the key to the relative major, E♭ major. The second subject has some very graceful melodies supported by Alberti bass, which continue until the second half of the piece. This section uses material from the first and second subjects to form the development. The most unstable section harmonically, this goes through the keys of C major, F minor, G minor, and returning to the original part in C minor. The recapitulation occurs from bar 100 to 168, this time the second subject is in C minor instead of the E♭ major of the exposition, and the coda ends the piece from bar 168 to 185.
II. Adagio
The principal subject of this movement is seven bars long, consisting mainly of bass broken chord accompaniment and a melody. The subject, however, sub-divides itself into regular one-bar sections, which is very unusual. At bar 8, the melody modulates immediately to the key of B♭ major, where a new melody is introduced. This carries on until the prolonged cadential extension from bar 13 to 16. The rest of bar 16 consist of a link on the dominant of E♭ major to the next section, so that the music can modulate back and repeat the original seven-bar melody again, with extra ornaments and decorations added to the melody.
The second section, or episode, begins in A♭ major. This melody starts off exactly the same as the second movement in Beethoven's Pathétique sonata. This first part of the episode modulates to a B♭ major cadence, which gives way to the second section of the episode, commencing in G♭ major. The same melody is repeated, followed by a sequential passage going through A♭ minor, B♭ minor, and C minor, ending on a half-cadence. Two more bars modulate back to E♭ major, where the original melody returns, embellished with decorations and ornaments to the maximum possible. The coda ends the movement, formed from previous material.
III. Allegro assai
This movement is distinguished by its profound sense of tragedy, setting it apart from the typically upbeat and up-tempo final movements in many of Mozart's sonatas.
The subject, which is unusually long, consists of two parts, both ending with perfect cadences. The first is introduced quietly, with melody in the right hand accompanied by left hand chords, with much calmness. However the second has a great fiery sense to it. Both share distinct and separate ideas. This subject is ended by a prolonged cadential repetition.
There is no passage of transition to the second subject, only a basic chord on E♭'s dominant seventh. The second subject then contains Alberti bass in the left hand, with a dancing, flowing melody in the right hand, completely changing the character in the ringing key of E♭. The second part of this subject is in fact based on a passage of the right hand in the first movement. The bridge to the next section is modulated from E♭ major to C minor.
At this moment, we hear the original principal subject cut short into half. In its place, a dramatic series of chords of F minor's diminished seventh, lasting for just one bar. This then gives way to the middle section of F minor.
This motif is shown twice exactly the same, the first is shown, modulating into G minor, then C minor, where the same cut-in-half principal subject is heard. This is where the motif is repeated the second time, then giving way to the coda.
The coda is founded on the second subject, starting in bar 262, with the right hand leading the melody along with the left hand accompanying with broken chords. In bar 296, the Neapolitan sixth is found in C minor. The coda ends with a perfect cadence.
The Fantasia in C minor, K. 475, was completed some seven months after the C minor sonata. Mozart recorded the date of completion as 20 May 1785 in his private catalogue of works. Opinions have differed on whether or not Mozart intended the two to be performed together. Although they were published together as the same opus, Mozart sometimes performed the pieces separately.
The Fantasy by nature has a more improvisational quality than the subsequent sonata, and the pairing presents a classical correlation to the baroque combination of fantasy and fugue. Both the fantasy and sonata are linked by a focus on the bass register and octaves in the bass clef.[2] The styles of both Muzio Clementi and C. P. E. Bach have been suggested to have influenced the composition of the fantasy, whether consciously or subconsciously.[2]
Significance of the key
The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor is only one of two sonatas Mozart wrote in a minor key, the other being the Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310, which was written six years earlier, around the time of the death of Mozart's mother. Mozart was extremely deliberate in choosing tonalities for his compositions; therefore, his choice of C minor for this sonata implies that this piece was perhaps a very personal work.[3]
Rediscovered autograph
An original autograph of the two pieces was rediscovered in 1990 at the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia by Judith DiBona, an amateur pianist and accounting manager at Eastern's sister school. Eugene K. Wolf at the University of Pennsylvania was contacted to identify and authenticate the manuscripts. He emerged with findings concerning the time of composition between the movements of the sonata and the fantasy, which were published in The Journal of Musicology in 1992. First, his findings further confirmed that the Fantasy and Sonata were written independently due to differences of stave spans, paper-types, and even ink color in between the two manuscripts.
Wolf also found differences in paper types between the first and third movements of the sonata and the second Adagio movement, which implies that the second movement was written down at a separate time from the rest of the sonata. He theorizes that the second movement was composed the earliest as an instructional piece for Theresia von Trattner. Since the second movement is in rondo form and slower than the others, it could exist independently from the sonata more easily than the other movements.[1]
Relation to Beethoven's "Pathétique"
Köchel said of this sonata, "Without question this is the most important of all Mozart's pianoforte sonatas. Surpassing all the others by reason of the fire and passion which, to its last note, breathe through it, it foreshadows the pianoforte sonata, as it was destined to become in the hands of Beethoven."[4]
John Gillespie, Professor of Music at the University of California, describes the Piano Sonata No. 14 as a uniquely "somber and passionate" work of Mozart's, and states that "no other music composed before Beethoven contains so many Beethovenian elements," namely the "contrast of themes and the sense of ceaseless struggle."[5]
Mozart's sonata feels in several ways prophetic of Beethoven's C minor sonata Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, "Pathétique" (which it predates by roughly fifteen years), and both works share a similar overall structure. One of Mozart's themes in his spacious second movement is very similar to the theme of Beethoven's sonata's second movement.
Sonata form is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th century.
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. Despite this, the sonata is actually not an easy work to perform and can hardly be described as "for beginners."
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.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B♭ major, Op. 106 is a piano sonata that is widely viewed as one of the most important works of the composer's third period and among the greatest piano sonatas of all time. Completed in 1818, it is often considered to be Beethoven's most technically challenging piano composition and one of the most demanding solo works in the classical piano repertoire. The first documented public performance was in 1836 by Franz Liszt in the Salle Erard in Paris to an enthusiastic review by Hector Berlioz.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 is among the three famous piano sonatas of his middle period ; it was composed during 1804 and 1805, and perhaps 1806, and was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick. The first edition was published in February 1807 in Vienna.
Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95, from 1810, was his last before his late string quartets. It is commonly referred to as the "Serioso," stemming from his title "Quartett[o] Serioso" at the beginning and the tempo designation for the third movement.
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53, known as the Waldstein, is one of the three most notable sonatas of his middle period. Completed in summer 1804 and surpassing Beethoven's previous piano sonatas in its scope, the Waldstein is a key early work of Beethoven's "Heroic" decade (1803–1812) and set a standard for piano composition in the grand manner.
Cyclic form is a technique of musical construction, involving multiple sections or movements, in which a theme, melody, or thematic material occurs in more than one movement as a unifying device. Sometimes a theme may occur at the beginning and end ; other times a theme occurs in a different guise in every part.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2, No. 3, was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his first and second sonatas in 1796.
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E♭ major and its parallel major is C major.
The Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491, is a concerto composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for keyboard and orchestra. Mozart composed the concerto in the winter of 1785–1786, finishing it on 24 March 1786, three weeks after completing his Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major. As he intended to perform the work himself, Mozart did not write out the soloist's part in full. The premiere was in early April 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna. Chronologically, the work is the twentieth of Mozart's 23 original piano concertos.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1 was composed some time during 1796–98.
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.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1, was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his second and third piano sonatas in 1796.
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 Quintet in E♭ major for Piano and Winds, K. 452, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on March 30, 1784 and premiered two days later at the Imperial and Royal National Court Theater in Vienna. Shortly after the premiere, Mozart wrote to his father that "I myself consider it to be the best thing I have written in my life." It is scored for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon.
Franz Schubert's last three piano sonatas, D 958, 959 and 960, are his last major compositions for solo piano. They were written during the last months of his life, between the spring and autumn of 1828, but were not published until about ten years after his death, in 1838–39. Like the rest of Schubert's piano sonatas, they were mostly neglected in the 19th century. By the late 20th century, however, public and critical opinion had changed, and these sonatas are now considered among the most important of the composer's mature masterpieces. They are part of the core piano repertoire, appearing regularly on concert programs and recordings.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, K. 279 / 189d (1774), is a piano sonata in three movements. It was written down, except for the first part of the opening movement, during the visit Mozart paid to Munich for the production of La finta giardiniera from late 1774 to the beginning of the following March. It is the first of his 18 piano sonatas. A typical performance of the sonata takes about 14 minutes.
Fantasia No. 4 in C minor, K. 475 is a composition for solo piano composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna on 20 May 1785. It was published as Opus 11, in December 1785, together with the Sonata in C minor, K. 457, the only one of Mozart's piano sonatas to be published together with a work of a different genre.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
